"I thought I could cure my UTI with cranberry juice until it gave me sepsis - this needs to be taught in sex education"
- 6 months ago
A young woman who tried to treat her mild urinary infection with just “water and cranberry juice” was rushed to hospital after developing deadly sepsis.
Maisie Lewis, 20, tried to 'flush out' the urinary tract infection(UTI) for four days after first noticing that she needed to use the toilet more frequently.
But her symptoms were got worse - including 'excruciating' lower back and pain while passing urine - and she finally went to her GP.
She was sent home with antibiotics - but she deteriorated quickly, noticing hot and cold flashes, as well as dizziness, shakiness and hallucinations.
She was rushed to hospital and diagnosed with urosepsis - a specific type of sepsis which develops from UTIs and cystitis.
Now she is urging other women to take their UTIs seriously.
Maisie, a self-employed hair stylist from Cardiff, said: “Every single woman has had a UTI in her lifetime - I didn’t even realise you could get sepsis from it.
“If I’d known how ill you could get just from ignoring a UTI, I never would’ve left it.
“People need to know how bad things can get… My body went through so much in such a short space of time.”
A UTI - or urinary tract infection - is an infection in your bladder, kidneys or the tubes connected to them.
Maisie first noticed her symptoms in late August, while on holiday in Milan.
She said she felt “absolutely fine” - aside from needing to go to the toilet more often.
But within four days of treating it at home by drinking lots of water and cranberry juice, Maisie said her symptoms became “dramatically worse”.
Her lower back became painful, and using the toilet was “excruciating.”
Suspecting a kidney infection, she visited her GP once she arrived home - who took a urine sample and prescribed a course of antibiotics, lasting two weeks.
“I had hardly any side effects at first,” Maisie said. “All I noticed was that I needed to use the loo more. That was literally it.
“I get UTIs all the time - just like every other woman. Nothing flagged up for me because I’d had them so much worse in the past.
“This was minor. But I went from absolutely fine to quite severe within a matter of days… it got progressively worse. I had a bad back and it hurt to wee.
“I called my GP a couple of times at first - after being told to keep treating it at home by drinking lots of water, they asked me to come in.
“I did a urine sample, they told me I likely had signs of a kidney infection, and then I was sent home with antibiotics.”
Within two weeks of first noticing the “mild” UTI, Maisie began having hot and cold flashes, as well as dizziness and shakiness.
She told her parents and they rushed her to the Prince of Wales Hospital in Bridgend with suspected sepsis.
She was hooked up to a heart monitor, which showed her heart rate “skyrocketing” to 130 BPM - and was told her organs were beginning to shut down.
“I was given the strongest antibiotics you can possibly have,” Maisie added. “I was hooked up to an IV drip; flui
Maisie Lewis, 20, tried to 'flush out' the urinary tract infection(UTI) for four days after first noticing that she needed to use the toilet more frequently.
But her symptoms were got worse - including 'excruciating' lower back and pain while passing urine - and she finally went to her GP.
She was sent home with antibiotics - but she deteriorated quickly, noticing hot and cold flashes, as well as dizziness, shakiness and hallucinations.
She was rushed to hospital and diagnosed with urosepsis - a specific type of sepsis which develops from UTIs and cystitis.
Now she is urging other women to take their UTIs seriously.
Maisie, a self-employed hair stylist from Cardiff, said: “Every single woman has had a UTI in her lifetime - I didn’t even realise you could get sepsis from it.
“If I’d known how ill you could get just from ignoring a UTI, I never would’ve left it.
“People need to know how bad things can get… My body went through so much in such a short space of time.”
A UTI - or urinary tract infection - is an infection in your bladder, kidneys or the tubes connected to them.
Maisie first noticed her symptoms in late August, while on holiday in Milan.
She said she felt “absolutely fine” - aside from needing to go to the toilet more often.
But within four days of treating it at home by drinking lots of water and cranberry juice, Maisie said her symptoms became “dramatically worse”.
Her lower back became painful, and using the toilet was “excruciating.”
Suspecting a kidney infection, she visited her GP once she arrived home - who took a urine sample and prescribed a course of antibiotics, lasting two weeks.
“I had hardly any side effects at first,” Maisie said. “All I noticed was that I needed to use the loo more. That was literally it.
“I get UTIs all the time - just like every other woman. Nothing flagged up for me because I’d had them so much worse in the past.
“This was minor. But I went from absolutely fine to quite severe within a matter of days… it got progressively worse. I had a bad back and it hurt to wee.
“I called my GP a couple of times at first - after being told to keep treating it at home by drinking lots of water, they asked me to come in.
“I did a urine sample, they told me I likely had signs of a kidney infection, and then I was sent home with antibiotics.”
Within two weeks of first noticing the “mild” UTI, Maisie began having hot and cold flashes, as well as dizziness and shakiness.
She told her parents and they rushed her to the Prince of Wales Hospital in Bridgend with suspected sepsis.
She was hooked up to a heart monitor, which showed her heart rate “skyrocketing” to 130 BPM - and was told her organs were beginning to shut down.
“I was given the strongest antibiotics you can possibly have,” Maisie added. “I was hooked up to an IV drip; flui