Speaking To Patients

Speaking to patients and family members about sepsis is one of the most important things healthcare professionals can do. It can be difficult to find the right approach to discuss the immediate and long-term effects of the condition because sepsis is still not well known or understood.

Sepsis Alliance provides information and resources that can be used by any healthcare professional to help with patient education. Selected downloadable and printable resources can be found at the bottom of the page, with more found in the Resource Library. All downloads are free of charge. If you are looking for professional resources and training, please visit Sepsis Alliance Institute.

The resources found here may also be helpful for patients and family members who have not received such information when they were hospitalized or being discharged.

Website Resources

If you are looking for ways to speak with patients and family members about sepsis, here are some website resources that may help:

  • Sepsis Basics: This top menu bar section has links to information like What is Sepsis, Risk Factors, Symptoms, and more.
  • Related Conditions: The Sepsis and library addresses over 50 conditions and other circumstances that are somehow connected to sepsis.
  • FAQs: Sepsis Alliance has collected many of the most frequently asked questions about sepsis.
  • Caregivers: You may find it helpful to give the Caregiver Guide to the patient’s loved ones so they have a better idea of what is happening. Caregivers can also join Sepsis Alliance Connect to find support from others.
  • Children: Sepsis Alliance also has resources for children, both for those who have sepsis and for their siblings or other young relatives and friends. Bug, Sepsis Alliance’s friendly ladybug, helps young children understand infections and how to prevent them.
  • Post-sepsis syndrome: Many sepsis survivors are left with lasting effects from their illness, including chronic fatigue, depression, and symptoms of PTSD. Post-sepsis syndrome (PSS) is becoming more known in the medical community, but still too many healthcare providers don’t know about or understand the issues related to PSS.
  • Support for Survivors and Loved Ones: Sepsis Alliance Connect is a virtual support community designed for the millions of people personally affected by sepsis.
  • Multi-Language Resources: Sepsis Alliance has selected resources available in Spanish, Tagalog, Chinese, and Vietnamese. The sepsis.org website can also be translated into multiple languages by clicking the accessibility menu icon that appears on the bottom right corner of every website page.

Updated February 10, 2025.

Downloadable and Printable Resources

When a Loved One Has Sepsis: A Caregiver’s Guide
Guide
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Sepsis Fact Sheet
Fact Sheet
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Sepsis Alliance Connect Printable Flyer
Infographic
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Tienes Sepsis. Ahora ¿Qué Sigue?
Information Guide
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Tienes Sepsis. Ahora ¿Qué Sigue?

  • To submit this form you are required to enter your first name, last name, a valid email address and your role.

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You Have Sepsis. Now What? (for children)
Information Guide
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You Have Sepsis. Now What? (for children)

  • To submit this form you are required to enter your first name, last name, a valid email address and your role.

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Life After Sepsis – Español
Information Guide
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Life After Sepsis – Español

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Life After Sepsis
Trifold
PreviewDigitalPrint

Life After Sepsis

My Guide to Sepsis and the Intensive Care Unit – Children
Information Guide
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My Guide to Sepsis and the Intensive Care Unit – Children

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After Discharge Checklist
Checklist
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Life After Sepsis
Information Guide
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Life After Sepsis

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Life After Sepsis
Video
View
Life After Sepsis Fact Sheet
Fact Sheet
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For additional free downloadable and printable resources, visit the Sepsis Alliance Resource Library.

Sepsis Alliance Institute

Are you looking to connect with other healthcare professionals to see how they communicate with the public? Or you want to learn more about managing sepsis?

Elevate your sepsis care with education, resources, and peer-to-peer networking. Sepsis Alliance Institute provides online sepsis education including best practices in sepsis recognition, treatment, and care. There are training modules and webinars (live and recorded), many with free RN CE credits.

Faces of Sepsis

Anastasia Lucia

In January, 2019, I fell on the ice and severed my femur, which resulted in a hip replacement. Six weeks following that, same hip get slammed by a malfunctioning elevator door, almost knocking me to the ground. From that point on, my leg was constantly draining what seemed to be lymphatic fluid. The doctors input on this, “I’ve never seen this before. I guess some people are extra juicy”. This went on for weeks, until there developed an infection. Now 8 weeks of antibiotics with a PICC at home. Continued pain off and on… for 4 years! Sometimes so bad, ... Read Full Story

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Shama Dunlow

As a 19-year-old, I never thought I’d get sepsis. I initially thought it was bad asthma since the it started getting colder and with college and work, I thought maybe I was pushing myself too hard. It was Thanksgiving break and I was at work when I first started feeling out of breath. It felt like asthma, I didn’t feel sick. It wasn’t until 4 days later that I started to get a fever and my lungs felt like they were being weighed down. I couldn’t eat and I started to throw up throughout the night. It was the night ... Read Full Story

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Ron N.

Started December 15 when at a business Xmas party, all of a sudden could not stop shaking. Everyone wanted to call an ambulance but being a stubborn male went home. The next day my knee was in so much pain could not walk and we called ambulance. Was quickly put through as my condition was getting worse. I was having heart failure. The next 10 days I was comatose. I learned later they called my family to come in as they did not think I would survive. When I came out of it. I could not walk after many tests ... Read Full Story

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Mars H.

I was unaware that I caught a kidney infection after my high school prom in 2023. It wasn’t until I had a horrible pain in my side I mistook for hunger pangs that I knew something was wrong. I brushed it off and hoped the pain would be gone after a good night’s sleep. That next morning, I woke up disoriented, and in unimaginable pain. My mom rushed me to the ER, and I woke up in a hospital bed. They had told me I had a kidney infection and sepsis. I hadn’t heard of something like that ever being ... Read Full Story

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Kathleen C.

In April 2024 went into severe septic shock from bowel rupture. (Sepsis and Perforated Bowel) Was on ventilator for 8 days, went into liver failure, heart failure, Afib, and renal failure requiring dialysis. I then develop PRES syndrome and lost my vision. Was in hospital for 7 weeks. All organs have returned to normal and my vision is back. I currently have post sepsis syndrome but blessed to have made it through such a critical health crisis. Read Full Story

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