'It can hide behind any infection': Radio presenter Carl Mullan shares experience with sepsis

Mullan, who is also fondly known for his viral comedy videos on social media, shared his experience on Instagram on Tuesday, which he described as “very different” from the videos he usually uploads to social media.

“This is a story time about my own run-in with sepsis. Hopefully it’s of some use to people,” he said.

“It all starts a few years ago when I got a sore throat. That was it, very simple - a sore throat."

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After a couple of days, it was getting worse and worse.

“After a few days of it not going away, I went to the doctor and found out it was actually glandular fever. Glandular fever itself is fairly common. There’s no actual cure for it, so you just have to ride it out and take whatever the doctor prescribes for it.

“After about three more days, and just to warn you, this is where the story starts to get a little bit disgusting. After three more days, I was so run down, I was in so much pain and I was taking anti-inflammatory stuff but it was doing nothing for me. I was in a bad way.

“At this point, I took a look at the back of my throat. Again, this is where it gets a bit disgusting. It was covered in white and yellow patches and it was just so raw and so painful. It was awful.

“I probably shouldn’t have let it get to the point that it did and I should have gone back to the doctor sooner. I was in so much pain, I went back to the doctor who sent me immediately to A&E because it was in such a bad way.

“So, I went to A&E and I was seen straight away and I always remember the doctor audibly gasped when he saw the back of my throat because it was in a bad way.” Mullen went on to explain that he had bloods taken and that he was put on painkillers and antibiotics while waiting for his blood results to come back.

“A couple of hours later, the doctor came back and sat me down, and was like ‘you’re really lucky you came into hospital when you did. Why? You’re in the early stages of sepsis’.

He basically told me that had I not come into the hospital when I did, 12 or 18 hours later I would have been arriving into the hospital in the back of an ambulance.

Mullan said that the possibility that he had sepsis never crossed his mind as he “just had glandular fever and a sore throat”.

“I was doing the typical Irish thing of ‘I don’t want to be bothering the doctor. Ah, it will be fine, it’ll be grand, I’ll get over it in a few days.’ 

“Little did I know that by not wanting to bother people, in the background, what was just a normal infection was actually turning into a very dangerous situation because with sepsis, you can get very sick, very quickly. If you don’t treat it quickly you can go into organ failure and ultimately, it can be fatal.

“I’m obviously no medical expert but I think even if this story just serves as a reminder to look up the symptoms of sepsis or things to look out for or to just have it in the back of your mind, I think that's worthwhile.” 

He said that sepsis can affect anyone of any age and can “hide behind any infection” and warned people to go get checked if they think something is wrong.

“Time is of the essence. Look up the symptoms and make yourself familiar with it because it could end up being very, very important down the line,” he said.

According to the HSE, it is not always easy to tell if you are developing sepsis. There are lots of possible symptoms, and symptoms can be vague. They can be similar to symptoms of other conditions, including flu or a chest infection. Sepsis cannot develop unless you have an infection.

Early signs of sepsis in babies and children under 5 

Contact your GP or GP out of hours urgently if your baby or child has an infection and has:

• a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius or higher (in babies under 3 months) 
• a temperature of 39 degrees Celsius or higher (in babies age 3 to 6 months) 
• a low body temperature (below 36 degrees Celsius) - check again after 5 minutes to confirm 
• difficulty breathing, breathlessness or is using their stomach muscles to help them breathe 
• no interest in feeding (in babies) 
• not drank anything for more than 8 hours when awake 
• vomited repeatedly 
• blood in their vomit or their vomit is green or black 
• sunken eyes 
• a bulging soft spot on their head 
• no interest in anything, even with encouragement 
• been less responsive, irritable or difficult to console 
• a stiff neck, especially when trying to look up and down 
• not been themselves and you are worried 

Early signs of sepsis in adults and older children 

Contact a GP or GP out of hours urgently if you or someone you care for has an infection and:

• a high temperature (38 degrees Celsius or above) 
• a low body temperature (below 36 degrees Celsius) 
• chills and shivering 
• a fast heartbeat 
• problems with or changes to your breathing 
• is feeling or acting differently from normal 
• is vomiting 
• a headache 
• is feeling unwell 

For more information on the signs and symptoms of sepsis, visit the HSE website here.