Other accompanying symptoms
A general feeling of weakness is a rather unspecific symptom and yet an expression of the fact that the body is using its energy to deal with the pathogens that have penetrated. The body’s energy metabolism is increased during this time, as, for example, the heart rate is elevated and the body produces more cells that serve to defend against the pathogens. The loss of appetite is a consequence of hormonal dysregulation of the body in the brain.
Here, hormones and other messenger substances regulate our feelings of hunger and satiety, which deviate from the norm in the event of illness. In an acute state of illness, it is “more important” for the body to correct the disease, so that it tolerates the defective regulation and only tries to regain a normal feeling of hunger once the acute phase of the illness has been overcome. Weight loss is also a relatively unspecific symptom in endocarditis and basically fits every inflammation, since the body in this situation consumes more energy than is made available to it.
Frequently, food intake is restricted during an illness and fluid intake is also usually reduced. Due to the increased body temperature, the person burns more energy in this situation, as our metabolism runs faster, the heart pumps more and more is breathed. In addition, the increased sweating leads to water loss, which is also reflected in weight loss.
Muscle and joint pain is not a bad thing per se, but rather a sign that the body is in the process of killing off the pathogens that have invaded. The immune system uses messenger substances to recognize and localize pathogens, but their side effect is that they make people more sensitive to pain.The pain threshold is thus lowered. In addition, however, a small amount of toxins and breakdown products are stored in joints, which cannot be removed immediately, but are only gradually eliminated, so that they can cause pain during the illness.
The so-called petechiae are pinhead-sized bleedings of the skin. Usually several of these petechiae are found arranged in small groups. They are caused by a coagulation disorder of the blood in which the number of blood platelets, the so-called thrombocytes, is noticeably reduced.
The natural balance between blood coagulation and bleeding tendency is disturbed due to the lack of platelets and small superficial bleedings of the skin can occur. A disturbance of blood clotting is an expression of the body’s strong inflammatory reaction, which consumes platelets and does not keep up with the production of new platelets as quickly. Osler nodules are reddish nodules about four to six millimeters in size that appear on fingers and toes.
They are painful and a typical accompanying symptom of bacterially induced endocarditis. They are probably caused by a deposit of endogenous antibodies in the small blood vessels of the hands and feet, which in turn cause inflammation. As with bleeding in the skin, bleeding in the eye can also be explained by a reduced number of thrombocytes.
Blood clotting is greatly delayed and the tightness of the blood vessels is not perfect. In addition, an inflammatory reaction similar to the Osler nodules also occurs in the blood vessels of the eye. However, the small bleedings in the eye can only be made visible with certain equipment and are a relatively specific sign for the presence of endocarditis. In medical dealings they are called “Roth spots”.
