Signs and symptoms of sepsis difficulty breathing. fast heart rate or low blood pressure (hypotension) extreme pain.
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.
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.
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 occurs unpredictably and can progress rapidly. In severe cases, one or more organ systems fail. In the worst cases, blood pressure drops, the heart weakens, and the patient spirals toward septic shock. Once this happens, multiple organs—lungs, kidneys, liver—may quickly fail, and the patient can die.
The early symptoms of sepsis include: a high temperature (fever) or, due to changes in circulation, a low body temperature instead. chills and shivering.
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.
Long term effects of sepsis
Symptoms of post-sepsis syndrome include: feeling lethargic or excessively tired.
An estimated 27% of people with sepsis in hospitals and 42% of people in intensive care units will die.
You cannot catch sepsis from another person. It happens when your body overreacts to an infection.
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.
Many people who survive sepsis recover completely and their lives return to normal. However, as with some other illnesses requiring intensive medical care, some patients have long-term effects.
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'.
High heart rate or weak pulse. Fever, shivering, or feeling very cold. Confusion or disorientation. Shortness of breath.
As severe sepsis usually involves infection of the bloodstream, the heart is one of the first affected organs.
Bacterial infections cause most cases of sepsis. Sepsis can also be a result of other infections, including viral infections, such as COVID-19 or influenza, or fungal infections.
Patients with sepsis accounted for 45% of ICU bed days and 33% of hospital bed days. The ICU length of stay (LOS) was between 4 and 8 days and the median hospital LOS was 18 days.
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.
However, there might be other symptoms related to sepsis based on where the infection is. Abdominal pain is one such symptom.
Fever. Tender, swollen glands in the neck or under the jaw. Bitter, salty taste in mouth.
It's known that many patients die in the months and years after sepsis. But no one has known if this increased risk of death (in the 30 days to 2 years after sepsis) is because of sepsis itself, or because of the pre-existing health conditions the patient had before acquiring the complication.
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.
Recovery at home: After discharge from hospital, the sepsis survivor needs detailed care at home along with regular reviews with the healthcare provider. They need to have complete rest and build up their strength with slowly increasing activities, as they are likely to feel weak and tired.
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.