Cellulitis is caused by bacteria. It is normal for bacteria to live on your skin. When you have a break in your skin, those bacteria can enter and cause an infection. A break in your skin can be caused by many things.
It could happen when you scratch dry skin, when an insect bites you, or you accidentally bump up against something that scrapes your skin. Your doctor will most likely be able to tell that you have cellulitis by looking at your skin.
He or she will also feel your glands to see if they are swollen. He or she could also collect fluid from the affected area to test it. Cellulitis cannot always be prevented. You can lower your risk for cellulitis by moisturizing and taking care of your skin. You should also wash your hands often and keep your fingernails trimmed. If you have a skin wound, make sure to keep it clean. You should wash it daily or use an antiseptic or antibiotic cream to keep it clean.
Look at it every day for possible signs of infection. If you see that the wound is growing or becoming more painful, contact your doctor.
Certain illnesses or conditions may increase your risk for getting cellulitis. If you have diabetes or vascular disease, you may have more breaks in your skin in the form of ulcers. Eczema can cause more breaks in your skin, too. You may also be at higher risk if you use medicines that could suppress your immune system, such as corticosteroids.
Obesity can also increase your risk for cellulitis. Your doctor will most likely prescribe oral antibiotics to treat your cellulitis.
Usually, the skin becomes red and itchy as well. Another symptom that often accompanies the rash is a hot feeling when it is touched. This hot feeling is often due to enhanced blood flow to the area as a response to inflammation. Having a rash that is hot to touch can be a sign of a mild or more serious cause. Many different rash types exist.
Some of the common ones that are known to cause skin that is hot to touch can include:. This eczema type causes plaques to develop on the skin that may be hot to touch. Other symptoms can include:. Cellulitis is an example of a serious cause of a rash that is hot to touch. A bacterial infection causes cellulitis within the deep layers of the skin.
A person with cellulitis can have swelling, tenderness, and redness in the affected area, as well as it feeling hot to touch. Common areas where cellulitis appears are the lower legs, face, or neck, but it can happen anywhere on the body. Because cellulitis can cause widespread infection, a person should not delay in seeking medical care. This rash type occurs when a person comes in contact with something that causes them to be allergic.
Common causes include nickel, other metals in jewelry, makeup, and latex gloves. Diaper rash and cracked hands due to excess water contact are other examples.
Lupus is an autoimmune disorder that can affect the skin and cause rashes, patches, and sores. This reaction often occurs after a person is exposed to the sun or experiences high levels of stress. The rash may also occur on the thighs. It occurs when bacteria get into the tissues beneath the skin. The bacteria that cause cellulitis often live harmlessly on the skin. But if the surface of your skin is damaged, they can get into the layers underneath and cause an infection.
Cellulitis isn't normally spread from person to person as the infection occurs deep within the skin and is often caused by bacteria that live on the skin's surface without causing problems. Ensuring the underlying health conditions mentioned above are well controlled may help reduce your risk of getting cellulitis. Cellulitis can often be treated at home with a course of antibiotics, although severe cases may need to be treated in hospital.
If you're treated at home, you'll usually be prescribed antibiotic tablets to take two to four times a day for a week. A longer course may be needed if your symptoms don't improve after a week or you have an underlying condition that makes cellulitis more difficult to treat, such as lymphoedema.
Commonly prescribed antibiotics include flucloxacillin and clarithromycin. Possible side effects can include an upset stomach or diarrhoea. Your symptoms may get worse in the first 48 hours after treatment starts, but should start to improve soon afterwards. While you're recovering at home, the following steps can help ease your symptoms and aid your recovery:.
If you need to be admitted to hospital for treatment, you'll be given antibiotics directly into a vein through an injection or a drip intravenous antibiotics. Once you've recovered from the initial symptoms, you can usually be treated with antibiotic injections or tablets at home or as an outpatient, rather than staying in hospital. Home Illnesses and conditions Skin, hair and nails Cellulitis. Cellulitis See all parts of this guide Hide guide parts 1. About cellulitis 2. Symptoms of cellulitis 3.
Causes of cellulitis 4. Treating cellulitis. About cellulitis Cellulitis is an infection of the deeper layers of skin and the underlying tissue. Symptoms of cellulitis Cellulitis causes an area of skin to suddenly become: red hot swollen painful tender It most often affects the lower legs, but can occur anywhere.
Swelling may be widespread or confined to a single limb or part of a limb. Swelling is often in the feet and These disorders should be identified and treated to decrease the likelihood of cellulitis developing again.
Prompt treatment with antibiotics can prevent the bacterial infection from spreading rapidly and reaching the blood and internal organs. Antibiotics that are effective against both streptococci and staphylococci such as dicloxacillin or cephalexin are used.
If doctors suspect methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus MRSA infection, such as when pus is draining from under the skin or when other serious symptoms develop, treatment may include antibiotics such as trimethoprim with sulfamethoxazole, clindamycin , or doxycycline by mouth. People with rapidly spreading cellulitis, high fever, or other evidence of serious infection or who have not been helped by the drugs taken by mouth are hospitalized and given antibiotics by vein.
Also, the affected part of the body is kept immobile and elevated to help reduce swelling. Cool, wet dressings applied to the infected area may relieve discomfort.
Symptoms of cellulitis usually disappear after a few days of antibiotic therapy. However, cellulitis symptoms often get worse before they get better, probably because, with the death of the bacteria, substances that cause tissue damage are released.
When this release occurs, the body continues to react even though the bacteria are dead. Antibiotics are continued for 10 days or longer even though the symptoms may disappear earlier.
Abscesses Skin abscesses Folliculitis and skin abscesses are pus-filled pockets in the skin resulting from bacterial infection.
Cellulitis Cellulitis Cellulitis is a spreading bacterial infection of the skin and the tissues immediately beneath the skin. This infection is most often caused by streptococci or staphylococci. Redness, pain, and Cellulitis involving the soft tissues under the skin is generally not contagious, but it can be somewhat contagious depending on what bacteria is causing the cellulitis and whether there are any blisters, fluid, or pus oozing out, which make it easier to spread.
Cellulitis may itch a bit, but most people usually describe it as uncomfortable or slightly painful. Cellulitis in the skin most typically appears red, feels warm, and is tender to the touch.
The skin may be slightly swollen and pitted like the skin of an orange. Sometimes there are blisters. The danger of cellulitis varies depending on what type of bacteria are involved, how deep the infection goes, how large the affected area is, and whether the person has any immune system disorder or other serious health problem. Generally, a small patch of cellulitis in a healthy person is not dangerous. Cellulitis that spreads widely or deeply can be life threatening.
With treatment, a small patch of cellulitis in a healthy person can resolve in 5 days or so.
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