All The Things That You Should Know About Cellulitis And Its Treatment

Cellulitis is a bacterial infection, which affects the deeper layers of your skin and soft fat. The affected part seems red and swollen. When you touch the affected area, you feel it is warm and painful.  A study states that the United States has approximately 14.5 cellulitis cases each year.

Usually, it affects the skin in your lower legs. However, cellulitis can occur on any part of your body, like the arms and the face. It occurs when your skin has a break or crack, allowing the bacteria to enter inside your body. If not treated well, it can be a threat to your life by entering your bloodstream. 

Risk factors

You have a higher risk of having cellulitis if you have health issues like: 

• Age (during or after middle age)
• Diabetes
• Crack or tear in your skin
• Obesity
• Circulatory problems, like poor drainage of your veins, a lack of proper blood flow to arms and legs, etc.
• Liver problems like cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis
• Weakened immune system
• And skin issues such as psoriasis and eczema 

Types

Based on the location of the infection, cellulitis is of several different types. Some of them are as follows: 

• Breast cellulitis
• Facial cellulitis, which occurs close to the nose, and around cheeks
• Periorbital cellulitis, which affects the area around the eyes
• Perianal cellulitis, which builds around the anal orifice 

Symptoms

Potential signs and symptoms of cellulitis are as follows: 

• Blisters
• Fever
• Pain
• Red spots
• Redness on the affected skin area with a tendency of expansion
• Skin dimpling
• Swelling
• Tenderness
• Warmth 

Some of you may feel cold sweats, shivering, and nausea. 

Complications

Usually, people have no complications. However, if you make any delay in your cellulitis treatment, you can notice severe complications like:

• Constant swelling – On a delay in cellulitis treatment, you may have a steady swelling in your affected body part.
• Blood infection – It occurs when a cellulitis bacteria enters your bloodstream and can be a threat to your life.
• Infection in other body parts – In sporadic cases, cellulitis bacteria spread to other body parts like bones, muscles, and heart valves to infect.  

 Cellulitis Treatment

In most cases, the use of antibiotics in early treatment is effective and successful. Most of you can get well with the first treatment at home while some of you may need to go to a hospital. Your doctor can suggest you one or more than one of the treatments mentioned below:

• Diagnosis – At first, your doctor will do the physical examination of your affected body part. Through this, your doctor will know the warmth and redness of the affected area. Based on the stage, your doctor may want to monitor your body parts suffering from cellulitis. In some cases, the doctor can ask you to have a blood test and the scanning of the infected part.    
• Medication – In an early to a mild phase of cellulitis, your doctor can advise you to take a dose of antibiotics for 7 to 14 days. You can experience an increase in your problem. However, you can start an improvement in your cellulitis symptoms within two days. Different types of antibiotics (such as Penicillins, Amoxicillin, Amoxicillin & clavulanate, Ampicillin & sulbactam, and Cefazolin) can help you get rid of your problem. Your doctor will prescribe the best antibiotics by having a look at the severity of your cellulitis.
• Surgery – Most of the people get well by taking the prescribed dosage of antibiotics. Your doctor will ask you for a short surgery if you have an abscess even after taking the complete dose of the prescribed antibiotics. The doctor will apply a medicine to numb your affected body part and make a small cut to drain the pus out. After the surgery, the doctor will tie a bandage to make the wound heal. You may have a scar for a short period after the healing process.
• Prevention – There is a chance of having cellulitis again if you suffer from it once. Your doctor may recommend taking preventive antibiotics and some precautions. Here are some of the precautions that you should consider:

1. Proper care of cuts or wounds as they occur
2. Keep your skin moisturised to stay away from cracks or breaks on your skin
3. Regularly examine your feet  
4. Have a piece of protective equipment while playing or exercising outside
5. Keep a close watch on your weight and try to keep it healthy one  
6. Limit your intake of alcoholic drinks and avoid smoking

• Home remedies – You need to consult a doctor immediately when you notice that the redness or swelling on your skin is expanding fast. Until you see a doctor, you can do the following things to feel relaxed:

1. Drink enough water
2. Keep the infected area raised to decrease the pain and swelling
3. Keep the infected area moving to avoid stiffness
4. Take pain relief medicine
5. Avoid wearing socks or stockings until the complete recovery
6. Apply cypress or thyme oil. People believe that these have antibacterial properties. However, there is no scientific evidence backing the belief.