Hi doctors, can you tell me what is septic shock, and how would you know?

Shock: Shock means there is low blood pressure with the body's response of increased heart rate. Add to this that it is due to overwhelming infection so there is fever (or abnormally low temperature) increased breathing effort, increased ( or low) WBC poor oxygenation, then you have septic shock and those are the things you see.

O2 delivery problem: Shock is a severe condition where adequate amounts of oxygen (and other substrates) cannot be delivered to the tissues of the body. There are multiple causes, one of which is an overwhelming bacterial infection, most typically including bacteria in the bloodstream, that is known as septic shock. The physiology of septic shock is complex, including cellular blocks of oxygen utilization.

Sepsis: This is fever or hypothermia, high or low wbc, rapid respirations and pulse due to infection and resulting in low blood pressure unresponsive to fluid replacement. This is not something for a lay person to diagnose since it may rapidly lead to multi-organ failure and death. This should be diagnosed by intensivists and infectious disease experts and other physicians.