The Best Treatment for Your Cellulitis

Cellulitis Treatment Guidelines

       Cellulitis usually starts as a small, painful, red area on your skin. This area spreads to surrounding tissues, resulting in the typical symptoms of inflammation - redness, swelling, and pain. People with cellulitis may also have fever and/or swollen lymph nodes in the area of infection.

Cellulitis Definition

What are cellulitis? It is a bacterial infection of your skin and underlying flesh. Cellulitis symptoms include redness and swelling, often be accompanied by a common feeling of being unwell. The face, neck, legs and arms are the most commonly affected areas. Treatment is with cellulitis antibiotics.

Cellulitis is a skin infection that frequently hurts humans. It may first appear as a swollen area that is discolored and hot, and feels tender to the touch. The discoloration and swelling can spread quickly.

On light skin, cellulitis will usually look red or pink. On dark skin, it will appear dark brown, gray, or purple.

It most commonly affects your lower legs and feet, although cellulitis infection can occur anywhere on a person's body or face.

Cellulitis usually occurs on the surface of your skin, but it can also affect the underlying tissue. The infection that occurs can spread to the bloodstream and lymph nodes.

If you don’t handle cellulitis, it could become life threatening. Get medical help as soon as posible if you have the cellulitis symptoms.

Cellulitis is simply defined as an acute infection of the skin implicate your dermis and subcutaneous tissues. Erysipelas classically refers to more superficial cellulitis of your face or extremities with lymphatic involvement classically, because a streptococcal infection. Diabetic foot infections and wound infections are specific entities. While they may share some features with cellulitis, their management is different and beyond the scope of this blog.

Cellulitis Causes

Cellulitis how do you get it? It is commonly triggered by a bacterial infection. The bacteria can infect the deeper layers of the skin if it's broken. For example, because of an insect bite, or if it's cracked and dry.

Sometimes the wound on your skin is too small for you to notice.

You can't catch cellulitis from other people because it affects the deeper layers of the skin.

Things that trigger cellulitis include: infection after surgery, wounds that tear the skin, foreign bodies in the skin, and long-term skin conditions such as eczema or psoriasis.

Infection of the bone under your skin. (An example is a wound that is open long enough and deep to expose the bone to bacteria.)

Cellulitis Symptoms

The various symptoms of cellulitis can range from mild to severe, and can include:

warmth, swelling, redness of your skin, tenderness or pain in an field of your skin, weeping orleaking of yellow clear fluid or pus.

Where does cellulitis happen?

Cellulitis can occur anywhere on your body; the foot is the most frequent location.

-The lower leg is the most general site of the infection, especially in the area of the tibia or shinbone, and in the foot.

-followed by the arm, 

-then your head and neck areas.

In certain circumstances, such as after surgery or a traumatic injury, cellulitis can develop in your abdomen or chest area. People with morbid obesity can also develop cellulitis on the skin of the abdomen. Special kinds of cellulitis are somewhile designated by the location of the infection. Examples include

-buccal (cheek) cellulitis,

-perianal cellulitis.

-orbital cellulitis and periorbital (around the eye socket),

-facial cellulitis, and

Cellulitis Treatment and Duration

For mild cellulitis that affects small areas of your skin, your doctor will prescribe antibiotic tablets, usually for a week. Cellulitis treatment commonly includes a prescription oral antibiotic. Within 3 days of begin an antibiotic, let your medical doctor know whether the infection is responding to treatment. You should take cellulitis antibiotic treatment for as long as the doctor suggested, generally 5 to 10 days, but maybe 14 days. It's necessary to maintain taking antibiotics until they're finished, even when you feel better. (mayoclinic)

Somewhile, the antibiotic is given through an IV. When this is crucial, a hospital stay is often prescribed. This can assist clear severe cellulitis or cellulitis on your face. Most people are hospitalized for more than 1 week.

Elevation: If you have cellulitis on your feet, keeping your feet elevated can help reduce swelling and help you heal.

Rest: This can help forestal cellulitis from becoming serious and help the body heal.

Wound care: This is a necessary part of cellulitis care plan. Covering the skin will help it heal. If you require special wound coverings or dressings, you’ll be shown how to perform and change them.

Treatment for another medical condition: If the bacteria got into the body because you have another skin condition like athlete’s foot, it’s necessary to treat that condition, too.

You should stay in the hospital if:

- You have an infection around the eyes

- You've been treated with antibiotics, and the infection is getting worse (spread beyond the original pen marking)

- You are so sick (have a high temperature, blood pressure problems or nausea and vomiting continuously)

- require antibiotics through a vein (IV)

- your immune system is not working properly (due to cancer, HIV)

Can Cellulitis Be Prevented?

This is ways to prevent cellulitis:

-Wash hands often.

-Use good personal hygiene.

-Use gloves when cuts and scrapes may happen.

-Apply lotion to dry, cracked skin.

-Wear protective footwear.

If there is damage to your skin, keep the area clean and use an over-the-counter antibiotic ointment. Watch for signs of infection. If you have diabetes, visually check for signs of skin breakdown or infection in the feet.Also, don't trim warts or calluses, and don't trim your toenails too short.