Measuring Systemic Inflammation With Signs and Symptoms

These are symptoms we can use to test for overall inflammation in the body.

UPDATED: July 22nd, 2025

Welcome to the Healthy Aging Newsletter, a free publication translating trustworthy medical research into simple habits to age well, free of chronic disease. I’m Dr. Ashori, a family medicine doctor turned health coach. 

This is the sister article to my other article about measuring systemic inflammation using blood tests. You can check it out below. In this article, I want to dive into an even more relevant way to assess inflammation and oxidative stress in the body.

Measuring Systemic Inflammation With Blood Tests

The Importance of Signs and Symptoms for Inflammation

It’s one thing to do a blood test which could miss systemic inflammation or show non-specific signs of inflammation. It’s another to look for the physical manifestations in the body. The latter is more accurate and can be verified or tracked with serum inflammatory markers.

A sign is something the clinician or patient observes or measures on focused examination (ankle swelling, fever, rash) and symptom is something the patient feels or notices and can describe (pain, nausea, numbness, ringing in the ear.)

Common Signs and Symptoms of Systemic Inflammation:

1. Persistent Tiredness

Feeling wiped out despite getting enough sleep or adequate rest can hint at whole body inflammation or heavy oxidative load. I usually ask about total sleep time, quality of sleep, and daytime energy. Track patterns with a simple fatigue diary or wearable sleep tracker to see if rest truly equals recovery.

Just like everything else on this list, there are many causes for such symptoms. For example, persistent tiredness could be due to sleep apnea or moderate to severe anemia.

2. Brain Fog, Slower Recall, or Trouble Focusing

Inflammatory molecules and reactive oxygen species can disrupt neurotransmitters. I’ll screen with a simple recall tests like naming animals in 60 seconds or using a cognitive app that records baseline scores. I pay attention to tasks that take longer than usual or frequent word finding pauses.

3. Morning Join Stiffness, Join Swelling, Muscle Soreness

Cytokines gather in connective tissue overnight, leading to stiffness on waking. Check duration of stiffness after getting out of bed and look for puffiness around small joints. A basic self exam comparing joint size side to side and noting time to comfortable movement works well.

4. Frequent Headaches

Vascular inflammation and oxidative stress can sensitize pain pathways. I suggest keeping a headache diary noting onset time, intensity, and context such as stress, food, or sleep. Recurrent headaches without an obvious pattern warrant looking at inflammatory contributors.

Especially when there are days of no headaches followed by days or hours of headaches that leave someone feeling foggy, I’d suspect inflammation. But only after ruling out all other causes.

5. Acne, Rashes, Slow Healing Cuts

Skin is an early warning surface for immune activation. We inspect for new rashes, persistent acne in adulthood, or scabs that linger. Time to heal after a minor scrape is a practical gauge. Photograph lesions every few days to track progress.

Acne and rosacea or sudden flare ups of psoriasis or eczema are common sign of inflammation.

6. Bleeding Gums, Receding Gum Line

Periodontal tissue is sensitive to systemic inflammation. Brush and floss then note bleeding points or soreness. A simple oral mirror check each week and recording gum health in a journal can reveal trends early.

7. Digestive Bloating, Cramping, Irregular Stools, Heartburn

Low level inflammation alters gut motility and barrier function. We use a Bristol stool chart to classify stool form and log post meal bloating or reflux episodes. Consistent patterns suggest a systemic component rather than a one off food reaction.

8. Weight Gain, Unable to Gain Weight

Visceral fat stores secrete proinflammatory cytokines. I recommend track waist circumference at the level of the navel each month with a tape measure. Rising measurements without dietary change point to metabolic stress. And not being able to put on muscle mass with adequate exercise and nutrition would indicate possible inflammation or major metabolic dysfunction.

9. Elevated Resting Heart Rate, Rising Blood Pressure

Inflammatory mediators can tweak autonomic balance. Measure resting pulse first thing in the morning and log blood pressure weekly with a home cuff. Trending upward curves may mirror a growing inflammatory load. Less commonly, someone might have unstable blood pressure readings or very low blood pressure.

10. Poor Sleep, Waking up Unrefreshed

Cytokines influence sleep architecture. Assess with subjective scales like the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index or objective wearables that record sleep stages. Note how often you wake at night and how rested you feel on rising.

I’m cautious recommend wearable technology for health because it can often lead to more anxiety, sometimes offering little clinical insight.

11. Recurrent Colds, Lingering Infections, Slow Recovery

Chronic inflammation can dampen effective immune responses. We record frequency and duration of colds or minor infections over a year. Recovery longer than 10 days from simple viral illnesses is a red flag for immune imbalance.

12. Tingling or Numbness

Oxidative stress can harm small nerve fibers. Performing simple touch and pinprick checks on fingertips and toes or using a vibration tuning fork test can give us some answers. Persistent sensory changes call for further evaluation.

13. Low mood, Irritability, Anxiety

Proinflammatory cytokines can alter serotonin and dopamine pathways. We use mood journals or short validated tools like the PHQ-2/9 question screen. Look for mood dips that coincide with other inflammatory signs.

14. Reduced Exercise Tolerance, Quick Fatigue

Inflammation impairs mitochondrial efficiency. I track heart rate during a familiar walk or timed stair climb and note perceived exertion. Rising heart rate for the same workload or earlier fatigue suggests underlying stress.

What to Do With This Information

All of these symptoms can happen to us all from time to time. When they are persistent or don’t resolve with basic lifestyle changes it’s time to track them. Tracking for 10-14 days gives you valuable data.

Next, I work with my clients to make adjustments based on what we think might be the most likely cause - diet, sleep, stress, exercise. Using the T-R-E-N-D method, we will perform further tests (T) if necessary, modify relationships with self and the environment (R), modify nutrition (N), and create structured downtime (D) to see if we can improve the signs and of symptoms of systemic inflammation.