A person with septic shock can develop chest pain, heart failure, and may appear like he or she is having a heart attack. Medications known as pressors may be needed to keep up heart function and blood pressure for survival. may have kidney failure, called acute kidney injury (AKI).
Regardless of the cause, the pain can be severe and many survivors say it was the worst pain they had ever felt. Severe abdominal pain may also cause nausea and vomiting, which can in turn increase the pain and cause dehydration if you're not able to replace lost fluids.
Infections that lead to sepsis most often start in the lung, urinary tract, skin, or gastrointestinal tract. Without timely treatment, sepsis can rapidly lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death.
Sepsis is a life-threatening reaction to an infection. It happens when your immune system overreacts to an infection and starts to damage your body's own tissues and organs. You cannot catch sepsis from another person. Sepsis is sometimes called septicaemia or blood poisoning. Page last reviewed: 05 September 2022.
In sepsis, blood pressure drops, resulting in shock. Major organs and body systems, including the kidneys, liver, lungs, and central nervous system may stop working properly because of poor blood flow. A change in mental status and very fast breathing may be the earliest signs of sepsis.
As sepsis worsens or septic shock develops, an early sign, particularly in older people or the very young, may be confusion or decreased alertness. Blood pressure decreases, yet the skin is paradoxically warm. Later, extremities become cool and pale, with peripheral cyanosis and mottling.
This can cause vital organs to shut down. This usually starts with the kidneys. Blood pressure can drop dangerously low. This can cause less oxygen and nutrients to reach your kidneys.
Cardiac dysfunction is a consequence of severe sepsis [3–5] and is characterized by impaired contractility [6], diastolic dysfunction, as well as reduced cardiac index and ejection fraction (EF) [7]. Cardiac dysfunction is an important component of multiorgan failure that is caused by severe sepsis [8, 9].
In some cases, and often very quickly, severe sepsis or septic shock can develop. Symptoms include: feeling dizzy or faint. confusion or disorientation.
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.
People with sepsis often develop a hemorrhagic rash—a cluster of tiny blood spots that look like pinpricks in the skin. If untreated, these gradually get bigger and begin to look like fresh bruises. These bruises then join together to form larger areas of purple skin damage and discoloration.
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.
Sepsis is known as the 'silent killer' because its symptoms often mimic that of other illnesses such as the flu or gastro. But, if it is identified and treated early, patients can recover.
Sepsis patients typically present with symptoms of infection and organ dysfunction. Some symptoms of sepsis are easy to identify, such as fever and chills, productive cough, or dysuria. However, in some patients, particularly the elderly or immunocompromised, these symptoms might be vague or atypical.
Recovering from sepsis
Most people make a full recovery from sepsis. But it can take time. You might continue to have physical and emotional symptoms. These can last for months, or even years, after you had sepsis.
It's clear that sepsis doesn't occur without an infection in your body, but it is possible that someone develops sepsis without realizing they had an infection in the first place.
Am I likely to have sepsis? It's important to remember that not everyone who gets sepsis has a high temperature or fever.
Most sepsis is caused by bacterial infections, but it can also be caused by viral infections, such as COVID-19 or influenza; fungal infections; or noninfectious insults, such as traumatic injury.
If you have sepsis, you already have a serious infection. Early symptoms include fever and feeling unwell, faint, weak, or confused.
A – The public should also be aware of the signs and symptoms of sepsis – fast heart rate, fever or chills, nausea and vomiting, fatigue or weakness and blotchy or discoloured skin. Not all need to be present and some symptoms may be milder than others.
Patients with atypical symptoms, such as a general decline in health status, inability to perform activities of daily living, change in mental status, or incontinence, are more likely to have increased mortality rates from sepsis.