How can I recognize blood poisoning?

There are several symptoms that can occur in the context of blood poisoning. Nevertheless, blood poisoning is often not easy to detect. A prerequisite for the development of blood poisoning is an infection.

But even this does not necessarily have to be noticed by the person affected. If fever occurs and the general condition deteriorates, a doctor should therefore be consulted as soon as possible. This doctor can make a diagnosis of blood poisoning by means of a physical examination, blood tests, as well as ultrasound and X-ray examinations.

Sepsis symptoms

Blood poisoning is always caused by an infection. For example, an infected wound can be the trigger. However, there are also numerous other possible infections.

An infection of this kind is often not noticed by the person affected at first if it is in the body and is not obvious, such as a wound. If blood poisoning is present, the person affected usually develops a fever, often with chills. It can also lead to an acceleration of breathing.

A healthy person breathes in and out about 12 times per minute. In the case of blood poisoning, the breathing rate is often more than 20 breaths per minute (tachypnea). The heart rate, which is normally between 60 and 100 beats per minute, can also be over 100 beats per minute (tachycardia).

Low blood pressure (hypotension) and confusion can also occur. The affected person usually feels exhausted, clearly reduced in performance and quickly tired. Fever is one of the main symptoms of blood poisoning.

Temperatures are then above 38 degrees Celsius. The fever is often accompanied by chills. Fever is very common in blood poisoning, but is not an obligatory criterion.

So there are also blood poisonings that occur without fever. Under-temperature, i.e. a body temperature below 36 degrees Celsius, can also occur in sepsis, but this is much less common than fever. Diarrhoea is not a typical symptom of blood poisoning.

However, persistent diarrhoea accompanied by symptoms such as fever, fatigue and other symptoms such as low blood pressure, high pulse or rapid breathing can in some cases be an indication of the presence of blood poisoning as part of a gastrointestinal tract infection. Pain is also not a typical symptom of blood poisoning. However, if the blood poisoning is caused by an infected wound, for example, it can be accompanied by severe pain.

The myth of the red line that spreads slowly and announces death when it reaches the heart is well established and is associated with sepsis. However, much of this myth is not medically correct. The disease described by the red line on the skin is an inflammation of one or more lymph vessels.

In medical jargon it is called lymphangitis. Confusingly, this disease is also sometimes popularly called blood poisoning. The disease is relatively rare and is caused by the penetration of (bacterial) pathogens into the lymphatic system. It is treated with antibiotics and cooling. It is not true that the proximity of the line to the heart has something to do with how likely death is.