What Is Cellulitis: Your Answers To This Condition

Cellulitis is the inflammation that occurs in the connective tissue under your skin. The cause of cellulitis is often coming from bacterial infection. Cuts, burns, blisters, insect bites, surgical wounds, and cracks in the skin can also cause cellulitis. Affected areas can be found on any part of the body but are typically found on the face and lower legs. If you’d like to know what is cellulitis and its diagnosis, signs and symptoms, treatment, and prevention, read through this article.

Diagnosis

What is cellulitis and how do you know if you have the condition? The answer lies in getting a proper diagnosis. When you get a diagnosis for cellulitis, your doctor may ask you about your medical history, give you a physical exam, and perform blood tests. He or she will then be able to determine whether you have cellulitis or not and what treatment options are available.

When checking your medical history, your doctor may ask you about certain medical conditions and/or treatments you’ve had such as certain cancers, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, IV drug abuse, and chemotherapy. Furthermore, you may be asked if an animal has bitten you or if you’ve been with individuals who may have had any skin infection recently.

A physical exam will check on redness, inflammation, pain and warmth on the affected areas of the skin. Bruises, cuts, ulcers, and scrapes will also be examined. Blood tests are required if the doctor needs to know about the presence of an infection.

Signs And Symptoms

The initial symptoms of cellulitis are redness and a painful sensation on the skin. These symptoms then spread and cause inflammation, which is characterized by warmth, redness, pain, and swelling. In more severe cases the lymph nodes can also become swollen and the patient can end up having a fever.

Treatment

The main treatment for cellulitis is antibiotics. Treatment with antibiotics depends on how your cellulitis developed and where it is located. Oral antibiotics such as penicillin, cefurosime, flucloxacillin, and erythromycin are usually prescribed for those who have mild cellulitis. In this case, your doctor will monitor the duration of your medication to see if the infection is improving. Home remedies such as using warm compresses can also help treat mild cellulitis and relieve symptoms. Mild cellulitis that is treated accordingly will often subside in a minimum of 10 days. On the other hand, those with severe cellulitis may need hospitalization and be given antibiotics through the vein.

Prevention

To prevent cellulitis and infections linked to the condition, treat wounds with antibiotic ointment, wash/clean wounds everyday, apply bandage over open cuts/wounds, change bandages regularly, and treat signs of infection (swelling, redness, pain etc.) right away. Other preventive measures you can take are moisturizing your skin, maintaining clean and healthy nails, and protecting your hands and feet.

Cellulitis can easily occur and so prevention is always the best treatment. If you have more questions on what is cellulitis and how you can treat it, ask for medical advice from a healthcare professional.