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When to Call Your Doctor... |
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Call your doctor if you experience the following symptoms:
Fever of 102 or greater
Thick, greenish mucus
Severe headache
Stiff neck
Sudden onset of symptoms
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Symptoms
A bacterial infection causes symptoms based on the location and type of an organism. Most types of primary bacterial infections can spill over into the bloodstream, leading to a life-threatening condition called sepsis.
Symptoms of sepsis include:
- High fever.
- Chills and shaking.
- Confusion.
- Loss of consciousness (due to low blood pressure).
Respiratory tract infections: Bacterial sinusitis may cause colored nasal discharge, headaches and pain on one or both sides of the nose, around the eyes or forehead. Streptococcus pyogenes, or group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus, causes strep throat. Usually affecting children, it causes the throat to become red and inflamed. There is throat pain and trouble swallowing, and there are often white streaks or pus on the tonsils.
Coughing and difficulty breathing are common symptoms of bronchitis or pneumonia.
Digestive tract symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are often caused by foodborne bacterial illnesses.
Urinary tract infections: Symptoms of urinary tract infections include pain on urination, hesitation, dribbling or interruption of urination. Blood in the urine may be a symptom of a kidney infection.
In the Encyclopedia: Abscess incision & drainage
Nocardiosis
X-linked agammaglobulinemia
Aminoglycosides
Anaerobic infections
This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.
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