Cellulitis Of The Legs - Causes, Symptoms, And Treatment

In more advanced cases, small swellings that are lled with uid (called vesicles) develop over the skin. These can rupture and release a clear yellow liquid

While a diagnosis of cellulitis is primarily clinical, you will sometimes be asked to undergo certain blood investigations that can aid in the management of the condition.

This can include a complete blood count, a blood culture test, wound swab, and sometimes ultrasound scans of the aected area. Your blood sugar will be closely monitored as well.

Patients who have mild cellulitis without any worrying signs of infection can be treated with simple antibiotics. These are administered orally for a period of 5 to 7 days.

But for people with diabetes whose cellulitis is very bad, getting antibiotics through an IV in the hospital is often the best way to treat it. This is because antibiotics work faster in the aected area when they are injected directly into a vein.

In addition to antibiotics, patients who are critically ill and have low blood pressure may warrant admission to the intensive care unit. Intravenous uids will be started along with the antibiotics, and close monitoring of not just blood pressure but also the patient’s vital organ function will be done.

There is always a risk that cellulitis will spread deeper into the body and necessitate surgical treatment in people with low immunity. Remember that cellulitis is an infection, and essentially the swelling contains pus. Removing this pus becomes paramount in order to relieve the infection.

In my work, I have often sent patients with cellulitis in their lower limbs to a plastic surgeon. The plastic surgeon will look at the skin carefully to see how healthy it is and may remove any dead skin that is on the surface.

If the skin over the cellulitis area starts to die and demonstrates necrosis, emergency debridement surgery may need to be performed. This is a surgical procedure where the dead tissue is removed to allow healthy tissue from underneath to grow.

It is rare for patients with cellulitis to require amputation. But if the infection is spreading quickly and aecting the person’s vital functions, surgery may be the only way to save their life.

If the bacterial overload from the cellulitis infection is very high, it can lead to a condition called bacteremia.