Mild sepsis symptoms often mimic the flu or a bad infection, including fever/chills, rapid heart rate, fast breathing, body aches, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, or confusion, but they get worse instead of better. Key signs to watch for are feeling very unwell, experiencing confusion or slurred speech, difficulty breathing, reduced urination, or a rash that doesn't fade, requiring urgent medical help.
Symptoms of sepsis
Sweating for no clear reason. Feeling lightheaded. Shivering. Symptoms specific to the type of infection, such as painful urination from a urinary tract infection or worsening cough from pneumonia.
your lips or skin are turning very pale, blue or grey – on brown or black skin this is easier to see on the palms of your hands. you feel more drowsy than usual or find it more difficult to wake up. you have cold, clammy and pale or mottled skin – on brown or black skin this is easier to see on the palms of your hands.
Patients with sepsis usually develop a rash that looks like a cluster of small spots of blood. These may get bigger and start to look like fresh bruises.
Sepsis can be hard to spot. At the start you may look okay but feel really bad. Call 999 if you or someone else has any of these signs of sepsis. Signs of sepsis are: • Pale, blotchy or blue skin, lips or tongue.
To check yourself for sepsis, watch for a combination of symptoms like fast breathing, confusion, high heart rate, fever/shivering, extreme pain/discomfort, and clammy/blotchy skin, especially if you have an infection; use the TIME acronym (Temperature, Infection, Mental Decline, Essentially Ill, Shortness of Breath); and seek emergency care immediately if you suspect sepsis, as it's a medical emergency.
Time matters when diagnosing and treating sepsis. Seek immediate medical attention if you have a severe infection and are experiencing symptoms such as shivering, fever, chills, extreme pain or discomfort, clammy or sweaty skin, confusion or disorientation, shortness of breath and rapid heartbeat.
blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue – on brown or black skin, this may be easier to see on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet. a rash that does not fade when you roll a glass over it, the same as meningitis. difficulty breathing, breathlessness or breathing very fast.
Because sepsis is hard to detect, seek out medical care if you or a loved one has any of the following symptoms:
When you have an infection, your body's temperature usually rises as it tries to fight off the bug causing the infection. Interestingly, some people see their body temperature go down (hypothermia) instead of up. This is why any change, high or low, can be a sign of sepsis.
These conditions include anaphylaxis, gastrointestinal emergency, pulmonary disease, metabolic abnormality, toxin ingestion/withdrawal, vasculitis, and spinal injury.
Sepsis is the first stage when the body reacts to an infection. It causes symptoms such as fever, fast heart rate, quick breathing, and changes in mental state. Severe sepsis occurs when it progresses, leading to organ dysfunction.
Recovering from sepsis
You might continue to have physical and emotional symptoms. These can last for months, or even years, after you had sepsis. These long-term effects are sometimes called post-sepsis syndrome, and can include: feeling very tired and weak, and difficulty sleeping.
Sepsis comes in three stages, each more severe than the last. The first stage is called sepsis, sometimes called mild sepsis. This initial infection is when your body's response to the disease gets out of hand. If not treated quickly, it can progress to severe sepsis, where organs like your kidneys start to fail.
The six main symptoms of sepsis are: Shortness of breath. Fever, chills, shivering, or feeling very cold. High heart rate or low blood pressure.
What is a 'low' grade infection? The usual bacterial infections have symptoms of severe pain, swelling, redness, high fevers, pus and generally feeling unwell. These are the recognised infections.
These infections are most often linked to sepsis:
The Sepsis Six consists of three diagnostic and three therapeutic steps – all to be delivered within one hour of the initial diagnosis of sepsis: Titrate oxygen to a saturation target of 94% Take blood cultures and consider source control. Administer empiric intravenous antibiotics.
Early warning signs of sepsis include fever or low temperature, chills, rapid breathing or heart rate, confusion, slurred speech, extreme pain or discomfort, clammy/sweaty skin, and reduced urine output, with children potentially showing fewer wet nappies, vomiting, or a non-fading rash. These symptoms, often appearing after an infection, signal a severe body response and require immediate emergency care, as sepsis can rapidly worsen, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Sepsis happens when an infection you already have triggers a chain reaction throughout your body. Infections that lead to sepsis most often start in the: Gastrointestinal tract. Lung.
Testing for sepsis involves a combination of rapid clinical assessment (vitals like temperature, heart rate, breathing) and various lab/imaging tests, as there's no single definitive test; doctors look for infection sources via blood cultures, urine tests, X-rays, and blood work (CBC, lactate) to check organ function and clotting, quickly identifying a life-threatening response to infection.
Others survive longer if the infection is slower to overwhelm the body or if some supportive care is provided. The core message: untreated sepsis can be rapidly fatal, often within hours to a few days, and the risk is much higher in nursing-home populations.
With systemic response, all blood vessels dilate causing the blood pressure to drop. Instead of assisting in fighting the infection, the body's response to sepsis actually slows down blood flow making our immune system less effective.
Symptoms of Sepsis and Septic Shock
Most people have a fever, but some have a low body temperature. People may have shaking chills and feel weak.