Woman who treated common infection with water and juice ends up with sepsis

A young woman who tried to treat her mild urinary infection with just “water and cranberry juice” has been 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 as her symptoms got worse – including “excruciating” lower back and pain while passing urine – she finally went to her GP.

She was sent home with antibiotics, but she deteriorated quickly, noticing hot and cold flushes, 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.

Maisie, a self-employed hair stylist from Cardiff, is now urging other women to take their UTIs seriously. She 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”, she said.

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; fluids constantly pumping through me.

“I was close to going into complete septic shock – but luckily they got to me in time. I couldn’t stop shaking, was unable to breathe and I just felt really faint.” Maisie even began to hallucinate – changes in mental state, including confusion and disorientation, are common symptoms of sepsis according to the NHS.

She says her life flashed before her eyes in the style of an “old film reel” – and she could see herself growing up. “I was hallucinating, which I was told was common for urosepsis it was horrendous,” she added. “The best way to describe it was like seeing an old film going round and round.

“I saw myself as a baby, I could hear my grandparents’ voices, it wouldn’t stop. It was all so physically and emotionally draining. I wasn’t getting any sleep I’d never been this ill before.” During her first two nights in hospital, doctors were monitoring Maisie’s condition 24/7.

But after her second night, Maisie’s condition slowly began to improve – and her white blood cell count was decreasing. She was discharged after six nights – but it took weeks for Maisie to get back on her feet – and she lost out on a lot of work due to exhaustion.

She said: “It took two weeks for me to feel normal again – my job means I’m on my feet all the time, and my kidney infection and sepsis took a big chunk of my working life. I had to cancel five weeks’ worth of clients – I just didn’t feel like I could stand. I’ve only recently, in the last couple of weeks, felt back to normal. I can’t believe all of this was caused by a UTI.”

Now Maisie is on the mend, but she feels something needs to be done about the “lack of education” surrounding UTIs – and believes the risks need to be taught in schools. She said: “None of my friends knew it could get this bad – and when I opened up about it on TikTok, a load of commenters said the same thing.

“All I’ve ever known is, drink a little cranberry juice and you’ll be fine. It’s just not that simple. This needs to be taught in sex education – not only that, but doctors need to be more vigilant. Don’t just send people away and tell them to drink more water.

“If you call up about a suspected UTI, it should be a definite that you go in to see someone in person. Every single woman has had a UTI – but not everyone knows just how bad things can get.

“I’ve since spoken to women who have had their legs and arms amputated – and parents of people who have died – due to urosepsis. No matter how small your symptoms may be – make sure you go to the doctors, get antibiotics and get all the help you can. Don’t just treat it like it’ll pass on its own – it won’t.”