All About Cellulitis- The Skin Infection

All About Cellulitis- The Skin Infection

C.D. Mohatta
October 24, 2007

Cellulitis - Overview

Cellulitis is a bacterial infection of the skin. Cellulitis generally affects only one limb, but can also affect other parts of the body. The skin may become red, swell, warm and have other clinical features. Cellulitis may create complications if left untreated. Therefore it is necessary, that we find out more about what is cellulitis.

Cellulitis Symptoms

Cellulitis commonly affects one limb. The skin appears red with swelling and blisters may form. The affected limb becomes tender. There is a feeling of warmth on the affected site. Abscesses may also form on the affected site and the lymph glands may swell to drain the infection. Fever may also develop with cellulitis.

Cellulitis Causes

A bacterial infection causes cellulitis. Streptococcus pyogenes causes most of the cellulitis. Staphylococcus aureus also causes many cases of cellulitis. These are bacteria that attack the skin and cause inflammation and swelling.

The bacteria normally cause more trouble to those, who are weak and vulnerable for various reasons. Diabetics have lesser immunity than others. Diabetics may form chronic ulcers of the feet and these ulcers are vulnerable to bacteria entry.

Some people may be on immune suppressant drugs for some diseases. Their immune system gets suppressed and bacteria can easily flourish if they find an entry in such people. Many diseases such as AIDS, etc. also suppress the immunity and make the person more vulnerable to bacterial attack. I

If you have a healthy immune system, your body can easily fight the bacterial infection. As your defense becomes weak, the bacteria find it easy to attack you. The same is true with aged people, because their blood circulation becomes poor and the body is unable to send the required number of white blood cells to all parts of the body.

If you have chronic problems such as athlete's feet, bacteria find it easy to enter the body via the cracked and peeling skin.

Complications

The face and lower legs are common places affected by cellulitis, but note that any part of the body can get affected. Many complications may arise with cellulitis.
If the infection enters the deeper layers of the body issue, it can cause serious complications. Once the bacteria enter the deeper layers, it spreads rapidly in the body. By entering the blood stream and the lymph nodes, the bacteria causes big harm to the body. The major complications of unchecked cellulitis can be meningitis (if cellulitis is on the face), sepsis, gangrene, etc.

Cellulitis treatment

Topical and oral antibiotics are commonly used to treat the early cases of cellulitis at home. If the infection is severe, hospitalization is recommended and intravenous antibiotics are administered.

For further advice, consult your doctor.

Precautions:

If you are susceptible to frequent cellulitis or are immune depressed, take care to prevent it.

Treat fungal infections immediately.

Protect yourself from the smallest skin injury by wearing protective clothing and shoes.

Moisturize the skin regularly so that it does not crack.

For further advice, consult your doctor.

American Chronicle

Acute bacterial skin infections and cellulitis

Acute bacterial skin infections and cellulitis
Curr Opin Infect Dis. 2007 Apr
Gabillot-Carré M, Roujeau JC.
Hopital Henri Mondor, Créteil, France.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Acute bacterial skin infections are very common, with various presentations and severity. This review focuses on deep skin infections. We separate acute nonnecrotizing infections of the hypodermis (erysipelas), forms with abscesses or exudates and necrotizing fasciitis. These three types actually differ in risk factors, bacteriology, treatment and prognosis.

RECENT FINDINGS: Leg erysipelas/cellulitis occurs in more than one person/1000/year. It remains mainly due to streptococci. Foot intertrigo is an important risk factor. Necrotizing fasciitis is much rarer and usually occurs in patients with chronic diseases. Staphylococci, especially community-acquired methicillin-resistant strains in some areas, play a growing role in the intermediate form of cellulitis with abscesses and exudates. For erysipelas or noncomplicated cellulitis, antibiotic treatment at home, when feasible, is much less expensive and as effective as hospital treatment. Intermediate cases with collections and exudates often require surgical drainage. For necrotizing fasciitis early surgery remains essential in order to decrease the mortality rate.

SUMMARY: Antibiotic treatment of deep skin infections must be active on streptococci; the choice of a larger spectrum of activity depends on clinical presentation, risk factors and the burden of methicillin-resistant staphylococci in the environment.

Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins