Symptoms of Staph Infection

Potential Complications of Staph Infections

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

Sepsis

Sepsis is a life-threatening complication of an infection. Symptoms of sepsis usually include fever, chills, fast breathing, a high 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 that’s above 100.4 degrees F or below 96.8 degrees F
• A heart rate that’s higher than 90 beats per minute
• A respiratory rate that’s higher than 20 breaths per minute
• A white blood cell count greater than 12,000, less than 4,000, or a band cell count of more than 10 percent (band cells are also known as immature neutrophils, a type of white blood cell)

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 a fever.

Toxic Shock Syndrome

Toxic shock syndrome, which can occur when staph bacteria get into your blood and produce toxins, can be deadly. 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 aches
• Seizures
• Redness in the eyes, mouth, or throat
• Headache

Endocarditis

• Fever and chills
• Night sweats
• A new or changed heart murmur
• Shortness of breath
• Aching joints and muscles
• Fatigue
• Chest pain when breathing
• Swelling in the feet, legs, or stomach

If endocarditis goes 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 at the affected area along with:

• Fever
• Chills
• Irritability
• Swelling, warmth, or redness around the infected bone

Rarely, this type of infection has no symptoms.

Bacterial Pneumonia

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

• Cough that produces phlegm
• Chest pain when you breathe or cough
• Fatigue
• High fever
• Sweating or shaking chills
• Confusion (especially in older adults)
• Shortness of breath
• Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea

Food Poisoning

Signs and symptoms of food poisoning caused by toxins produced by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria usually come on quickly — within hours of eating contaminated food — and go away promptly too.

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

• Stomach cramps
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Dehydration
• Low blood pressure

Pyomyositis

Pyomyositis, which is an infection of the skeletal muscle, can cause the following symptoms:

• Pain and tenderness near the affected muscle
• Fever
• An abscess or lump under the skin