What happened to this 4-year old will ensure you never try on shoes without socks again
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Trying on shoes without socks could prove to be a fatal mistake. Sienna Rasul, a four-year-old girl is fortunate to still be alive in the wake of getting a life-threatening infection while trying on footwear at a local shop. She turned out to be very sick following a day of shoe shopping with her mom, Jodie Thomas, in Cardiff, Wales.
Speaking to Metro U.K, Thomas disclosed that her daughter had previously been putting on sandals, before trying out various shoes from the shop, so she did not bother to wear socks. The day after the shopping trip, Thomas says Sienna woke up crying in agony and was immediately taken to a hospital. The hospital specialists recognized a wound on her foot and drew a line around the tainted region. By the following day, the area of infection had spread up Sienna’s leg and her fever spiked.
“I drove her straight to the hospital,” Thomas said. “She was shaking and twitching – it was horrible to see my little girl like that.” Doctors informed Thomas that they could avoid a surgical operation if they drained the pus out of her leg. This was after Sienna had been diagnosed with Sepsis.
Sepsis happens when the body goes into overdrive trying to battle some form of contamination. Rather than fight the bacteria in the bloodstream with the chemicals the body releases, the whole body gets inflamed. Sienna was on an antibiotic drip for five days at Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales. “The shoes she liked had been tried on by other little girls so that’s how Sienna picked up the infection,” Thomas said. “I knew you risk getting things like athlete’s foot from trying on shoes but blood poisoning is far more serious… You don’t know whose feet have been in the shoes before you.”
According to the World Health Organization, an excess of six million individuals die from sepsis every year. Individuals with compromised immune systems, as well as kids and the elderly, are at a higher risk. Doctors are of the opinion that Sienna probably had a tear in her skin, probably a cut on her foot or a bug bite, which created a pathway for the infection to get into her bloodstream. Once Sienna got out of the hospital, Thomas spread the word about her ordeal on Facebook.
She wrote, “For all parents please put socks on your children while trying new shoes on, I’m guilty of not doing it for mine and myself, but this can be the outcome (of) infection spreading throughout the body. You don’t know whose feet have been in them beforehand!” Along with this warning, Thomas also included photographs of Sienna in the hospital, alongside photos of her infected foot.
Prompt and proper injury care can stop the buildup of a disease that can lead to sepsis. Cleaning cuts or abrasions with soap and water, and bandaging the wound will go a long way to prevent further irritation and reduces the possibility of harmful microbes entering the body. If your injury gets worse or develops a discharge, you should see a doctor immediately.
Who would think trying on new shoes could make someone sick? Sienna had one hell of an experience and thankfully recovered fully. So if you’re taking the kids out for some pre-school shopping, be sure to carry along some socks!