Symptoms of staph infection

Possible complications of staph infections

Invasive staph infections can lead to serious complications that may require immediate medical attention. Symptoms vary depending on the type of infection, your general health, and the location of the infection.

Septicemia

Sepsis is a complication of a life-threatening infection. Symptoms of sepsis typically include fever, chills, rapid breathing, elevated heart rate, and disorientation.

Your doctor will diagnose you with sepsis if you have an infection and at least two of the following symptoms:

A body temperature higher than 100.4 degrees F or lower than 96.8 degrees F
A heart rate greater than 90 beats per minute.
A respiratory rate greater than 20 breaths per minute.
A white blood cell count greater than 12,000, less than 4,000, or a band cell count greater than 10 percent (band cells are also known as immature neutrophils, a type of white blood cell)

Sometimes sepsis can develop into a more serious problem called septic shock. This causes dangerously low blood pressure.

Septic arthritis

Septic arthritis is an infection in a joint. You may experience severe pain around the joint that makes movement difficult. Other symptoms include redness, warmth, or swelling around the joint and fever.

toxic shock syndrome

Toxic shock syndrome, which can occur when staph bacteria enter the blood and produce toxins, can be fatal. Symptoms include:

A sudden high fever
Vomiting
Diarrhea
low blood pressure
A rash that looks like a sunburn (usually on the palms of your hands or soles of your feet)
Confusion
muscle pain
Seizures
Redness in the eyes, mouth, or throat.
Headache

Endocarditis

Fever and chills
night sweats
A new or changed heart murmur
Difficulty breathing
Pain in joints and muscles
Fatigue
Pain in the chest when breathing.
Swelling in the feet, legs, or stomach.

If endocarditis is left untreated, it can lead to the spread of a staph infection to other parts of the body.

Osteomyelitis

Osteomyelitis, an infection of a bone, can cause pain in the affected area along with:

Fever
Shivers
Irritability
Swelling, warmth, or redness around the infected bone.

Rarely, this type of infection has no symptoms.

Bacterial pneumonia

Pneumonia causes inflammation and a buildup of fluid and pus in the air sacs of the lungs. Staphylococcus is one of several types of bacteria that can cause pneumonia.

Cough that produces phlegm.
Chest pain when breathing or coughing.
Fatigue
High fever
Sweating or chills
Confusion (especially in older adults)
Difficulty breathing
Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea.

Food poisoning

Signs and symptoms of food poisoning caused by toxins produced by Staphylococcus aureus Bacteria usually appear quickly (within hours of eating contaminated food) and also disappear quickly.

If you eat foods contaminated with these toxins, you may experience: