Other Cellulitis Articles

Cellulitis Types

Basic Directions in Conventional Way of Treatment
for Cellulitis Skin Infection

Introduction

In this medical oriented article intention will be pointed to presentation of general steps used in the medical practice of treating cellulitis skin infection. Cellulitis is a very common infection of the skin and soft tissue (... or infection of dermis and subcutaneous tissue,...or infection of deep skin tissue,...). This disease mostly starts with combination of the following symptoms: redness of affected skin, inflammation, swelling, warmth of infected body area and pain to touch of infected skin area. Even fever and chills are not rare symptoms of this infection. The purpose of treating this medical condition is to reduce the strength of inflammation and severity of infection, so as reduction and complete removal of the pain caused by infection and the removal of other unpleasant symptoms, accelerate the recovery process and ultimately prevent the return of this potentially dangerous infection. In most cases of cellulitis, infection is treated with antibiotics (if the patient is not allergic to the particular medication). Because that, it is very important when a patient visit a doctor tell if he/she is allergic to any kind of medicines ( especially on penicillin), because most antibiotics for cellulitis include penicillin as one of its basic components.

Medical Treatment at Home (for mild and moderate cellulitis)

In most cases of this medical condition first choice for treatment usually are strong antibiotics which are taken orally or intravenously (depending on the severity and stage of skin disease). In case of mild cellulitis (doctor will decide about that, not patient himself), infection is treated orally with antibiotics, and the treatment lasts 10-14 days. During this period, it is crucial to take all prescribed medications till the end of therapy (till last pill) and never skip or stop taking the medication earlier than the scheduled period. Also, it is common for visible symptoms to withdraw after a short period of therapy (3-4 days), although infection is not completely healed. So, it is important to take medications till last pill and not to risk return of infection.

Hospital Treatment (for serious cellulitis cases)

If medical professional decide to treat cellulitis intravenously and retain the patient in the hospital, infection is probably not in basic stage. This term may been recognized as moderate or serious case of cellulitis. In this case, it is important to emphasize that this type of infection may uncontrollably spread throughout the body - very quickly (sometimes in a just few hours). Also, it can be very dangerous to the long-term health condition, even life of the patient may come in danger. Precisely because of previous mentioned facts, the doctor will (should) keep the patient in the hospital (usually 3-5 days on IV and 0-24 medical care) and then release to home care (if treatment shows certain improvement in general condition of patient). It is important to control the infection in certain proportions so the patient may dismissed to home care. After release to home care, regular check ups are every three days, then as the doctors conclude that is necessary (mostly is determined by GP after every next checkup). Any changes in the skin during the cellulitis treatment at home, which leads to worsening of the symptoms of infection, and other changes that may be due to infection must be immediately reported to a doctor. If the doctor is unavailable immediately go to the nearest hospital for examination.

Conclusion

Cellulitis infections of the skin and deeper tissue are very common and affects people of all ages. Fortunately, there are antibiotics that successfully suppress the source of infection (mostly bacteria). With treatment it is crucial to take all prescribed steps properly, so that the infection get healed, and off course to not return again. Statistically, 50% of patients have repeated infection of this type. In this case, the antibiotic treatment period lasts up to several months.
Sometimes in mild cases of cellulitis, patients use natural medicines (such as garlic, echinacea, goldenseal,...) for treatment .These natural medicines are proven way in help returning of natural defense system and prevention of recurrence. But, that is an another story...

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