Wound Infections

Is My Wound Infected?

Wound infections can be very serious. If you have recently had surgery or you have been injured, it is important to know all of the symptoms of a wound infection so that you can seek medical help or obtain proper treatment as necessary.

Some signs of a wound infection include:

1. Fever – If you have a fever of 101 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, contact your doctor. This is a common sign of a wound infection. While minor fevers of 100 degrees Fahrenheit or less is relatively normal after a surgery, higher numbers are cause for concern and action.
2. Fluid draining – While clear or yellowish fluid draining from a wound after an injury or surgery is normal, you should contact your doctor if drainage appears green or cloudy or if it smells bad. This could be a sign of an infection.
3. Malaise – While a difficult symptom to describe, don’t ignore a feeling of exhaustion and energy loss following a surgery or injury. Malaise is a common sign of an infection. If you are not feeling increasingly better in the days following your surgery, or if you have suddenly started experiencing symptoms of exhaustion after initial improvement, this could be a sign of an infection.
4. Localized redness and swelling – If redness and swelling does not diminish but gets actively worse or you notice streaks of redness radiating from the wound, the wound may be infected.
5. Heat – If the wound or incision site is hot or warm to the touch, you may have an infection.
6. Pain – Pain is of course to be expected after a surgery or injury. However, if the pain gets steadily worse or does not decrease as expected, you could be experiencing a bigger problem such as a wound infection.

Learn more about recognizing and treating wound infection on our site, or call your Washington Health Medical Group internist in Fremont if you have any questions.