Symptoms may vary greatly.
In children, infection is more rapid and manifests as:
- Pain or tenderness over affected bone.
- Difficulty or inability to use affected limb or to bear weight or walk.
- Fever, chills and redness at infection site.
In adults, symptoms are more gradual and manifest as:
- Fever, chills, irritability, swelling or redness over the affected bone, stiffness, nausea.
In individuals with diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, or peripheral vascular disease, there may be no pain or fever.
- The only symptom may be an area of skin breakdown that is worsening or not healing.
Acute osteomyelitis:
- Rapid onset with symtoms of pain, fever, and stiffness.
- Usually occurs after a break in the skin from injury, trauma, surgery, or skin ulceration from wounds.
Chronic osteomyelitis:
- Slow (insidious) onset with symptoms of fever, pain, redness, or discharge at the site of infection.
- May be the result of a previous infection of osteomyelitis.
- Reoccurence is possible Despite multiple courses of antibiotics.