It may start in your bladder, abdomen (tummy), chest, or even your skin. With sepsis, your body's immune reaction to the infection causes an inflammatory response, which makes things worse, not better. This causes your body's organs to not work properly, which is life threatening.
However, there might be other symptoms related to sepsis based on where the infection is. Abdominal pain is one such symptom.
The early symptoms of sepsis include: a high temperature (fever) or, due to changes in circulation, a low body temperature instead. chills and shivering.
Weakness or aching muscles. Not passing much (or any) urine. Feeling very hot or cold, chills or shivering. Feeling confused, disoriented, or slurring your speech.
About sepsis
severe breathlessness. a high temperature (fever) or low body temperature. a change in mental state – like confusion or disorientation. slurred speech.
High heart rate or weak pulse. Fever, shivering, or feeling very cold. Confusion or disorientation. Shortness of breath.
If the infection has spread or you have a generalized infection, you may develop other signs and symptoms, such as fever, fatigue, pain, etc. Sometimes however, you may have an infection and not know it, and not have any symptoms.
Many conditions mimic sepsis by meeting criteria for SIRS.
These conditions include: pulmonary embolism (PE), adrenal insufficiency, diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), pancreatitis, anaphylaxis, bowel obstruction, hypovolemia, colitis, vasculitis, toxin ingestion/overdose/withdrawal, and medication effect.
"When an infection reaches a certain point, this can happen in a matter of hours." Sepsis usually starts out as an infection in just one part of the body, such as a skin wound or a urinary tract infection, Tracey says.
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.
Sepsis may cause abnormal blood clotting that results in small clots or burst blood vessels that damage or destroy tissues. Most people recover from mild sepsis, but the mortality rate for septic shock is about 40%. Also, an episode of severe sepsis places you at higher risk of future infections.
As severe sepsis usually involves infection of the bloodstream, the heart is one of the first affected organs.
Sepsis Symptoms
Because it can begin in different parts of your body, sepsis can have many different symptoms. The first signs may include rapid breathing and confusion. Other common symptoms include: Fever and chills.
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 lung, urinary tract, skin, or gastrointestinal tract.
The condition can arise suddenly and progress quickly, and it's often hard to recognize. Sepsis was once commonly known as “blood poisoning.” It was almost always deadly. Today, even with early treatment, sepsis kills about 1 in 5 affected people.
When treatment or medical intervention is missing, sepsis is a leading cause of death, more significant than breast cancer, lung cancer, or heart attack. Research shows that the condition can kill an affected person in as little as 12 hours.
It can take several days to get the results of a blood culture. Prothrombin time and partial thromboplastin time (PT and PTT), platelet count, and d-dimer: Sepsis can have serious effects on blood clotting inside your body. If the PT and PTT are too high, it can indicate your blood is not clotting well.
If an infection does occur, your immune system will try to fight it, although you may need help with medication such as antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, and antiparasitics.
The majority of patients with diagnosed sepsis have a fever; however, 10% to 20% of patients are hypothermic [1]–[4]. The study by Kushimoto and colleagues in a recent issue of Critical Care demonstrates that hypothermia is a very important manifestation of infection [1].
Loss of appetite isn't uncommon post sepsis. First, you're not as physically active, so you may not be working up an appetite. Foods may taste funny. The idea of eating may make you feel nauseous.
Sepsis symptoms can start off very subtly or they can come on suddenly. The symptoms may mimic a flu or virus. It's important to look for the warning signs of sepsis. Spotting these symptoms early could prevent the body from entering septic shock and could save a life.
Severe breathlessness or sleepiness. It feels like you're going to die or pass out. Skin mottled or discoloured. An extremely high or a very low temperature; repeated vomiting; seizures; and a rash which doesn't fade when you press a glass against it are also possible 'red flags'.