The five signs of infection are redness, swelling, heat, pain and loss of function.
The five signs of an infection are also known as the five cardinal signs of inflammation.
Other symptoms that can commonly accompany an infection include fever, fatigue, muscle aches, headache, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cough, sore throat, painful urination, discharge from wounds or body orifices and changes in your mental status such as lethargy and confusion.
Some infections are serious and require medical treatment and hospitalization and other infections are less serious and often resolve on their own.
Generally feeling unwell or not being able to get out of bed, high fever, chills or feeling cold and shivery, having headaches, aching muscles and or coughing up green phlegm can be signs that you have an infection.
Sepsis and meningitis are examples of serious infections that require prompt medical treatment or they can be deadly.
The beginning of sepsis can manifest itself with symptoms such as low body temperature or fever, chills, rapid breathing or difficulty breathing, fast heart rate, and a change in mental status such as disorientation or confusion.
You may also find it hard to breath with sepsis, or you may breathe very fast or feel breathless and your heart rate may change and may beat faster than usual.
With sepsis your kidneys are the organs that are most often affected first.
With sepsis your urine may also be dark red, black cloudy or bloody.
Dark red or black urine can indicate that sepsis is caused by Clostridium Perfringens and may be accompanied by acute hemolysis and methemoglobinemia and requires immediate medical attention.
Cloudy or bloody urine can indicate a urinary tract infection or kidney infection and can also be a symptom of urosepsis which is a complication of a UTI.