A scratch while gardening spiraled into a fatal bout of sepsis for a mother of two from the United Kingdom, her family says. 
 
 Lucinda Smith’s family, reported The Telegraph, said the 43-year-old went to see her doctor earlier this year due to pain in her shoulder that occurred shortly after she suffered a minor hand scrape while gardening. 
 
 The doctor diagnosed a trapped nerve and prescribed anti-depressants to relax her and she was also told to see a physiotherapist to help with rehabilitation of the so-called trapped nerve. 
 
 Within three days, Smith’s fingers and arm became red and swollen, The Telegraph said. She also was vomitting and had increased pain. She saw a second doctor who thought she might have a blood clot and sent her to Basildon Hospital where a blood test revealed within 30 minutes that she had sepsis. 
 
 Sepsis is a potentially life-threatening complication of an infection, according to Mayo Clinic experts. It happens when chemicals released into the bloodstream to fight the infection trigger inflammatory responses throughout the body. That process can lead to organ damage and failure. 
 
 Septic shock occurs when the person’s blood pressure drops dramatically, which may lead to death. 
 
 Smith, a lawyer from Billericay, Essex, immediately received intravenous antibiotics and was moved to a critical care unit, but she suffered organ failure and died. 
 
 A CDC report released in August showed that in the U.S., for nearly 80 percent of patients, sepsis begins outside of the hospital. But it is also linked to exposure to medical environments -- 7 in 10 patients with sepsis had recently used health care services or had chronic diseases requiring frequent medical care. 
 
 Anyone can develop sepsis but seniors and people with weaker immune systems are more vulnerable, say Mayo Clinic experts. Early treatment of sepsis, usually with antibiotics and large amounts of intravenous fluids, improves chances for survival. 
 
 People should know the signs and immediately seek medical care if they notice these symptoms after developing an infection: 
 
 · Shivering, fever, or very cold 
 
 · Extreme pain or discomfort 
 
 · Clammy or sweaty skin 
 
 · Confusion or disorientation 
 
 · Shortness of breath 
 
 · High heart rate 
 
 At the CDC press briefing in August, CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden, said his own son survived sepsis more than two decades ago. 
 
 “Helping patients to know to ask ‘Could this be sepsis?’ empowers them to potentially save their own or family members’ lives,” he said. “Recognition and treatment against sepsis is a race against time.” 
 
 The most common infections that can lead to sepsis include lung infections, such as pneumonia, urinary tract infection, gut infection, and skin infection. ||||| The mother of a woman who died from sepsis after she cut her hand gardening says she believes her daughter would still be alive if she had been given the correct medical treatment when she first complained of feeling unwell. 
 
 Lucy with her partner Darren O'Neill 
 
 Lucinda Smith started feeling unwell with a pain in her shoulder a few days after she scratched her hand while gardening at her home in Billericay in Essex. The 43-year-old mother of two went to see her GP but was sent away with a prescription to control the pain and was told to see a physiotherapist. 
 
 Lucy with her children Megan (9) and George (6) 
 
 Miss Smith 's condition continued to deteriorate and 3 days later she went to the accident and emergency department at Basildon Hospital. Her mother, Shirley believes by then her fate was already sealed. 
 
 It was too late. By then her arm and hand were swollen and blotchy and she was vomiting. – Shirley, mother 
 
 Lucy with her children Megan (9) and George (6) 
 
 A blood test revealed Miss Smith had sepsis, which is a form of blood poisoning. She was immediately admitted for emergency treatment but died two days later from organ failure. 
 
 If she'd been given the test and had her blood pressure taken when she first complained of feeling unwell I'm convinced she could have been saved. The saddest thing is her children have been left without their Mummy and it could have been avoided. – Shirley, mother 
 
 The inquest ruled she died of toxic shock caused by sepsis. ||||| A mother of two died from sepsis after scratching the back of her hand while she was gardening, her family has revealed. 
 
 Lucinda Smith, 43, went to see her GP after feeling pain in her shoulder following the minor scrape, in March last year. 
 
 The doctor diagnosed a trapped nerve and prescribed anti-depressants to relax her and she was also told to see a physiotherapist.
– Lucinda Smith, a 43-year-old attorney and mother of two in the United Kingdom, was gardening in March of last year when she suffered a minor scrape on her hand. After feeling pain in her shoulder she visited her general practitioner, who diagnosed a pinched nerve and sent her home with anti-depressants to relax her and advice to visit a physiotherapist, reports the Telegraph. But three days later she was vomiting and in significantly more pain, and her fingers and arm were red and swollen, so she saw another doctor, who sent her to the emergency room. It was there, after a simple blood test, that Smith was diagnosed with sepsis, sent to critical care, and put on intravenous antibiotics. Days later, she died of toxic shock triggered by the sepsis, reports ITV. "If she'd been given the test and had her blood pressure taken when she first complained of feeling unwell I'm convinced she could have been saved," says her mother. Sepsis is a complication that can arise from an infection and, if untreated, quickly become life-threatening. With cases on the rise, the CDC recently launched a campaign to make the general public more aware of its symptoms—including fever or chills, elevated heart rate, confusion, and pain—and thus more likely to ask for a test when in doubt. At a press briefing, CDC director Dr. Tom Frieden said he almost lost his infant son to sepsis 20 years ago and that "recognition and treatment against sepsis is a race against time," CBS News reports. (This UK student nearly died of sepsis after forgetting to remove a tampon.)