Early Signs of Bone Infection You

Infection anywhere in your body is never good news, but we always hope for a superficial infection that we can easily access and treat. And that’s the opposite of a bone infection (osteomyelitis).

When an infection spreads to your bone, it’s a very serious complication that can place your limb at risk unless we take immediate action.

With that in mind, double board-certified foot, ankle, and leg wound specialist Dr. Thomas Rambacher and the team at Foot Ankle Leg Wound Care Orange County want to cover the early signs of a possible bone infection, signs you should never ignore.

Setting the stage for bone infection

Before we get into early signs of osteomyelitis, we want to review how a bone infection can develop on the heels of a foot, ankle, or lower leg wound or ulcer.

In most cases, slow-healing wounds in your lower legs are caused by circulatory issues, such as peripheral artery disease (PAD), which affects about 12 million Americans, or diabetes, which impacts more than 38 million Americans.

As well, issues in your veins can also set the stage for lower leg ulcers, such as chronic venous insufficiency (CVI), which is found in 10% to 35% of adults in the United States. 

When oxygenated blood struggles to get in and out of your lower legs, you’re more vulnerable to ulcers, and these ulcers don’t heal quickly thanks to a lack of resources. As a result, bacteria and fungi can get in and create an infection that can spread throughout the tissues, including in your skin and bones. And when an infection reaches your bone, it can wreak havoc and cause irreversible damage in these hard tissues.

Now let’s walk this back in the other direction and review early signs of bone infection. 

Recognizing the early signs of bone infection

As you might imagine, when it comes to osteomyelitis, the earlier we can intervene, the better your outcome. So, with that in mind, let’s review signs of a brewing bone infection, which include:

Pain and tenderness

We understand that your wound is already painful, but if your pain runs deeper, it might be in your bone. As well, you might develop extreme tenderness in the area.

Feeling generally unwell

When you develop an infection, your body is throwing all of its resources and energy toward containing the infection, which can leave you feeling generally unwell and tired.

Fever and chills

Another telltale sign of bone infection is a fever, which occurs when your body fights infection. You might also develop chills alongside the fever.

Nausea and vomiting

Another sign of a bone infection is gastrointestinal upset in the form of nausea and vomiting.

Pus and discharge

If your lower leg, ankle, or foot wound oozes pus, this is a clear sign of infection, which might be in the skin as well as in the bone.

So, if you recognize even one of these signs of bone infection, it’s paramount that you come see us right away so that we can contain and fight off the infection to preserve your bone.

For expert and experienced care of all lower limb wounds, we invite you to call our office in Mission Viejo, California, at 949-832-6018 today or you can request an appointment online.