Health Articles : Infections : Cellulitis
Cellulitis : Recurrent Cellulitis
Skin CellulitisSkin Cellulitis is bacterial infection of the skin, which can potentially serious. The Cellulitis is a ..... Cellulitis is an acute infection of skin and soft tissues characterized by localized pain, swelling, tenderness, erythema, and warmth. Cellulitis generally follows a break in the skin, such as a fissure, cut, laceration, insect bite, or puncture wound. Patients with tinea pedis and those with lymphatic obstruction are usually vulnerable to recurrent episodes of cellulitis. Organisms on the skin and its appendages gain entrance to the dermis and multiply to cause cellulitis. The vast majority of cases are due to Streptococcus pyogenes or Staphylococcus aureus. Occasionally, cellulitis might be caused by the emergence of subjacent osteomyelitis. Cellulitis might rarely result from the metastatic seeding of an organism from a distant focus of infection, especially in immunocompromised individuals. This is usually common in cellulitis due to Streptococcus pneumoniae and marine vibrios.
Patients with recurrent cellulitis should avoid trauma, wear long sleeves and pants in high risk activities e.g. gardening. One should always keep skin clean and well moisturized, with nails well tended. One should also avoid having blood tests taken from the affected limb. Sufferers should treat fungal infections of hands and feet early. And one should always keep in mind to keep swollen limbs elevated during rest periods to aid lymphatic circulation. Infection is mostly common in the lower extremities. A cutaneous abnormality as for example, skin trauma, ulceration, tinea pedis, dermatitis that often precedes the infection; areas of lymphedema or other edema seem especially susceptible. Scars from saphenous vein removal for cardiac or vascular surgery are common sites for recurrent cellulitis, especially if tinea pedis is present.
Frequently, however, no predisposing condition or site of entry is evident. The major findings are local erythema and tenderness, frequently with lymphangitis and regional lymphadenopathy. The skin is hot, red, and edematous, often with an infiltrated surface resembling the skin of an orange. The borders are usually indistinct, except in erysipelas, a type of cellulitis in which the raised margins are sharply demarcated. Petechiae are common; large areas of ecchymosis, rare. Vesicles and bullae may develop and rupture, occasionally with necrosis of the involved skin. Systemic manifestations like that of fever, chills, tachycardia, headache, hypotension, delirium may precede the cutaneous findings by several hours, but many patients do not appear ill. Leukocytosis is also widespread but it is not constant.
Preseptal CellulitisPatients with preseptal cellulitis presents with an acutely painful, swollen eyelid. It is because of the .....
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