All age groups
Sepsis
Sepsis is a very serious medical condition that can present with patients with a fever. It is also sometimes referred to as septicaemia. There are lots of possible symptoms. They can be like symptoms of other conditions, including flu or a chest infection.
Some symptoms may include
- acting confused, slurred speech or not making sense
- blue, grey, pale or blotchy skin, lips or tongue – on brown or black skin, this may be easier to see on the palms of the hands or soles of the feet
- a rash that does not fade when you roll a glass over it, the same as meningitis
- difficulty breathing, breathlessness or breathing very fast
- has not had a pee all day
- has a very high or low temperature, feels hot or cold to the touch, or is shivering
Those patients who have had surgery or given birth recently are more likely to experience complications from these procedures. For example, an infected wound or infection after giving birth.
Fever while having chemotherapy
Patients who have chemotherapy often have very low white cell blood counts. These are the blood cells that are needed to fight an infection - therefore they have limited ability to fight infections while undergoing chemotherapy. Therefore, patients who experience a fever while undergoing chemotherapy can get very unwell very quickly. This is why we direct these patients to A&E where they can get blood tests and treatment quickly.
Fevers after travelling
Those that have been abroad may be at risk of getting an infection from a disease that we commonly do not experience here in the UK. Commonly these will cause fevers - for example, typhoid, yellow fever, malaria, dengue fever. These patients should be seen promptly so that we can establish if these infections are likely or not.