A mum whose baby was given a devastating diagnosis is urging other parents to be aware of the signs.
Lara Cope, said her 11-week-old daughter Aurora woke up from her nap on January 20 very "unsettled", but nothing that seemed too alarming.
However, her 'mother's intuition' told her something 'wasn't right'.
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Lara told the ECHO : "It started as a normal day for her, she's normally quite a happy baby but about 5pm that day she woke from her nap and was very unsettled, she didn't want a feed which is unusual for her.
"She'd been showing signs of teething so I gave her some Calpol but she just wasn't herself. Her temperature was fine but then she vomited and continued to be unsettled.
"She just wasn't right, call it mother's intuition, so we took her to Whiston hospital.
"I honestly thought when we went they'd say you're crazy, there's nothing wrong go home but she had a temperature of 40 and heart rate of 200 and was diagnosed with sepsis."
Lara, from Warrington, said she never would have thought her 11-week old would be so poorly which was "hard" to watch.
She added: "They did everything at A&E and when she was diagnosed everything went so fast, they acted really quickly and she was in hospital for five days on antibiotics and she came home last Tuesday.
"My husband and I are both doctors and we never would have thought it was sepsis. She wasn't showing a temperature whilst she was at home."
Lara is now urging other parents to keep an eye on their children as "babies get poorly so fast".
She said: "I took her in because the sounds she was making weren't right, she sounded like she did when she had her immunisations.
"There's quite a wide range of symptoms in babies like feeding different or nappy changes or colour changes but Aurora's only sign was irritability.
"It's the last thing you want to see your child go through, it's scary. We were really lucky we went when we did, if we hadn't I dread to think what could've happened.
"Please if you worry about your child just get them checked. The worst thing that can happen is you are told they are fine and you get sent home, but at least they have been checked over.
"That's what they are there for. Babies can't tell you what's wrong, our job is to interpret what is going on, it's really scary.
"It takes time to sink in as a mum. It wasn't until I saw her results that I realised just how poorly she is, I thought it was probably just viral.
"If your baby is showing any signs of sepsis, get them to hospital quickly."
Aurora is now "much better" and has been discharged from hospital.
The NHS urges people to call 999 or go to A&E if their baby or young child has any of the following symptoms of sepsis:
- blue, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue
- a rash that does not fade when you roll a glass over it, the same as meningitis
- difficulty breathing (you may notice grunting noises or their stomach sucking under their ribcage), breathlessness or breathing very fast
- a weak, high-pitched cry that's not like their normal cry
- not responding like they normally do, or not interested in feeding or normal activities
- being sleepier than normal or difficult to wake
They may not have all these symptoms.
Sepsis can be hard to spot in babies and younger children but parents are urged to call 111 for advice if their child is very unwell, has not had a pee in the last 12-hours, has swelling, redness or pain around a wound or has a very high or low temperature.
More information can be found online by clicking here.
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