What does generalised weakness feel like with sepsis?

You may feel unusually heavy, exhausted, or unable to carry out ordinary movements. Standing, walking, or holding your head up can become difficult. The feeling may affect the whole body rather than one limb. Sepsis can develop when the body’s response to an infection begins to injure its own tissues and organs, so weakness can appear alongside feeling very unwell.

Other features can include confusion, fast breathing, clammy or mottled skin, shivering, fever or a low temperature, and passing much less urine. These signs can occur with different illnesses, so weakness alone cannot identify the cause.

If this weakness is new, severe, or occurring during an infection, treat it as urgent. Call emergency services or go to an emergency department, especially if the person is confused, difficult to wake, breathless, faint, or rapidly worsening. Do not drive if you feel faint or confused. Bring a list of medicines and mention recent infections, procedures, or immune problems.

Seek emergency help immediately for weakness with trouble breathing, blue or mottled skin, a new change in alertness, collapse, severe dizziness, or very little urine. A person with suspected sepsis needs prompt assessment because treatment may include monitoring, fluids, oxygen, and medicines aimed at the infection.

Ask what infection may be causing the illness, which warning signs should prompt emergency help, and whether you need tests to check organ function. Tell the clinician when the weakness began and whether it is changing.