cellulitis

[Jimi5]

I somehow got this cellulitis stuff. I started taking Augmentin. I never heard of cellulitis before.
What is it? Is it serious? How common is it? Is there anything I can do to prevent this?
I got my baclofen pump last week and it's great. But now this.

[Buck_Nasty]

Dude, I just had that. It can be serious if let go. Have you seen
a Dr. yet? When I went to the ER, they admitted me right away
and put me on the antibiotic drip. I was in for 2 days, now I also
take augmentin. I got it from a cut that I had on my foot. It slowly
developed into a small infection around the cut, then it spread
through my leg. Just go see a Dr. or hit the ER, a bad case of it
can lead to amputation. Later

[Rbrauer]

Anyone can get it, but I believe those with poor circulation are more susceptible to it actually settling in. I've had it in the ankle, knee, and calf.

The one to watch out for now it the MSRE (hope I got that one right) It's a staff infection that is resistant to antibiotics. I had it, was put in the hospital for a week, then still had 2 weeks of drip at home before CDC released me. You can get that from any cut or abrasion.

[smokey]

jimi, I got celluitis just from having my toenails clipped. A little chunk of skin was cut with the clippers, hardly bled at all. In a couple days my toe was kind of pink, then all my toes, then half my foot and it was very warm. Went to the doc and he put me in the hospital for a few days on IV antibiotics. I felt fine but it is a very serious condition that cannot be ignored. My circulation isn't great but don't let it go unchecked.

[Mrkite33]

So, it's caused by poor circulation? My circulation is terrible, especially in my right foot. Do you have to have some type of open wound for it to occur? thanks

george

[Aly]

I don't think you have to have an open wound. My doc seemed to think I got mine from leaning on my elbow all the time and accidently banging it on stuff all the time. I had no real open cut. Since mine was in my elbow I could feel it (kind of, I have partial sensation throw the back side of my arms). Any way it hurt, not to mention it made me feel very sick and I had a temp that got up to 103. My surgeon drained the pussy stuff and the doc gave my Mom Rocefin to give me (she is a NP) and I was on a 2 week antiobiotic and another one for a month. The ortho I went to used to be a linebacker in the NFL he said he used to see it in quarterbacks elbows all the time from getting hit on stuff or from catching themselves with there elbows when they feel back when getting hit and throwing at the same time.

My uncle got it after he was bitten by a spider. They kept him in the hospital for a week and he was not allowed to go back to work for about two more weeks after he got out.

[SCI-Nurse]

Cellulitis is an infection of the skin. It occurs when there is a small break in the skin that bacteria can get through and is more likely to occur in the presence of poor circulation (because the blood carries the immune system thingies).

RAB

[Wise Young]

I somehow got this cellulitis stuff. I started taking Augmentin. I never heard of cellulitis before.
What is it? Is it serious? How common is it? Is there anything I can do to prevent this?
I got my baclofen pump last week and it's great. But now this.

Jimi, as everybody else is saying, cellulitis is serious. It is a common infection in the skin that can spread if it is not taken care of. Sometimes it is associated with a break in the skin but sometimes it can occur without any break in the skin. It shows up as redness of the skin and possible swelling in the area. If it occurs in an area where you can feel, it should be tender and sore. But, in many people, it occurs in areas of the body where you cannot feel and therefore diagnosis is sometime delayed.

Cellulitis is usually caused by bacteria and therefore should be treatable with antibiotics. Hopefully, it is a bacteria that is sensitive to the antibiotic that you are taking (Augmentin). If it does not get better within several days or you start develooping a fever, you need to get a hold of your doctor and get it re-evaluated and perhaps change antibiotics. Usually, they will admit you to give you intravenous antibiotics when this happens.

Wise.

[woman from Europe]

Is is the same as erysipelas?

Cellulitis is something quite different in Norwegian :)

[feisty]

so it's just unexplainable redness and swelling?

[Aly]

so it's just unexplainable redness and swelling?
Within 12 hours of noticing slight swelling I had a fever and nausea.

[Rrrrronnn]

Yea I had a fever when I had it twice in my foot. After the second time I started scrubbing a lot more on my feet to keep them cleaner. Haven't had it since. I've always showered daily, but sometimes I would just rinse my feet since they don't sweat. I also get cuts more often cause I only wear sox, no shoes.

[fuentejps]

i had it at 2 years post, i burnt my ankle and it swelled up huge and like aly, flu like symtoms came on rapidly. i still have a scar from it. doc put me on oral antibiotics

[Rbrauer]

Cellulitis is not caused by poor circulation. Poor circulation just allows it to settle down and grow.

[SCI-Nurse]

We don't know why people with paralysis get cellulitis more often than AB people. We see it very often in our clinic, often with no signs of broken skin. My mother (who has MS) got it on our most recent cruise (I diagnosed it mid-Pacific, confirmed by the ship's physician).

Caught early, it is often treatable with oral antibiotics, and septicemia can usually be prevented. If it is rapidly progressing or oral antibiotics are not working, or if the person has a high fever, then hospital admission and IV antibiotics are indicated. Don't mess around with this. See a physician or go to the ER the day you notice the symptoms (red, warm, sometimes firm or hard skin), esp. if it is in your legs.

(KLD)

[lynnifer]

When I had it, the skin was reddened, stretched and leaking fluid ... and very very heavy. It was horrible.

[SCI-Nurse]

Erysipelas is a specific type of cellulitis which is caused by the streptococus bacteria. Here is more information:

www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000618.htm (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000618.htm)

AAD