Treatment Of Cellulitis
Cellulitis will rarely go away on its own, and will require treatment based on the severity of the condition. Most of the treatment options are designed to contain the infection, prevent spreading to other parts of the body, heal the damage done to the skin tissue, reduce the problematic symptoms that come with the infection, and, most importantly, prevent the infection from coming back. Your doctor will select the appropriate treatment based on the severity of the case.
Antibiotics are typically the first line of treatment. For minor to mild cases, antibiotics can be taken orally. Oral antibiotics can take longer to get into the blood stream, which can make quick healing more difficult. Penicillin, cephalosporin, erythromycin, or vancomycin are all common oral antibiotics used in the treatment of cellulitis. For more severe or widespread cases (where the injection has entered the blood stream or spread to other body parts), antibiotics can be injected or intravenously fed into the boyd. This allows for a more localized treatment, and the antibiotics get to the infection much faster. Some of the common intravenous antibiotics include cephalosporin, levofloxacin, and nafcillin.
While this will help to eliminate the bacterial infection, it does not help the symptoms and other issues caused by cellulitis until the infection starts to subside. For this, doctors try to rely on several different therapeutic treatments to help reduce the heat and swelling caused by the infection. Doing this also helps to slow the spread of the bacteria, which aids in treatment.
- Elevating the limb can help to reduce swelling by reducing the blood flow and allowing fluids to drain. This will decrease the amount of pain you experience from the infection. When combined with the antibiotic treatments, this will not help to spread the infection.
- Using a cold compress will help to both reduce the radiating heat and decrease the amount of swelling. Ice packs or cold, wet cloths can be used for this. Adding a cold compress also reduces the amount of blood flow in the area, keeping the infection localized.
You doctor will give you more recommendations after your diagnosis.
You should know that many cases of cellulitis do require a hospital stay. Cellulitis is a very severe infection, and once it starts spreading, it can be difficult to stop. Doctors often place you under hospital care to allow for the intravenous antibiotic treatments and constant observation to see that the antibiotics are working. They will also use several therapeutic techniques to reduce the discomfort of the condition. You will be discharged after either the infection has been eliminated or it has been reduced enough to allow for home treatment.
One of the larger concerns is children. Children often get optical cellulitis, which requires immediate medical treatment. Having an infection that close to the brain can be dangerous, and knocking it out quickly is key. Luckily, most of the cases of optical cellulitis can be easily taken care of with antibiotics. This type of the bacteria has not built up much of a resistance to the treatment options.
If you are prone to recurring cases of cellulitis (if you have other conditions where a redevelopment of the infection is common), you should discuss options with your doctor. Good hygiene and immediate treatment of fungal infections is key. If you are prone to severe recurrence, then your doctor may place you on preventative antibiotics to help ward off any potential infections.
The Mayo Clinic book I have, and my sister, who is a nurse, say to use heat on cellulitis, not cold packs. Any rational for this that anyone might be aware of?