14 Symptoms of Osteomyelitis

Osteomyelitis is a common health condition that is known to affect both children and adults, although is more likely to affect those who already have a compromised immune system due to an underlying infection somewhere in the body or due to other conditions and habits which can further compromise how the immunity works, like high blood pressure, cholesterol or being a long-term smoker.

The condition most commonly happens when infection seated somewhere in the body (such as the skin) makes its way through to the bone; normally, the body doesn’t react like this to an infection at all, but with the risk factors in place, it weakens the body’s natural immune response to the point where the infection has a way into the bone – and this is what begins osteomyelitis.

Osteomyelitis can be treated with a strong course of antibiotics, sometimes one that lasts months.

Here are 8 symptoms of osteomyelitis that you should know.

1. Fever

A fever is one of the natural ways in which the body tries to counter infection in the body; by raising the temperature of the body past what’s normal, the immune system attempts to flush out the infection by making the body the kind of environment where the infection doesn’t want to take root – but often times the body’s response in the form of fever only happens when the infection has already entered the body.

Fever should be treated as a separate condition, and the goal should always be to bring a fever back to normal body temperature as soon as possible through over-the-counter medication or medical attention if this doesn’t work. While a fever serves some use, it’s considered very dangerous and fatal to have an out-of-control fever, especially for an extended period of time.

Running a fever for days or weeks at a time is a sure sign of an underlying infection such as osteomyelitis within the body.