Cellulitis . I was told by doctor at lymphoedema clinic that you don't have have to
have breaks to skin to have cellulitis as the infection can come from within the body . I now have to make a decision with a red and burning sensation in my ankle . As my local GPS always look for breaks in the skin .
Not enough knowledge about lymphoedema and appointments at clinic are every
6 months . Does anyone have any knowledge about this .
Thank you
Yes, you are right - cellulitis can occur spontaneously. I currently have it, in my breast. Bloody painful. Call NHS 24 (cos it’s a weekend) - they may advise attending an Out of Hours clinic, or A&E.
I get cellulitis quite regularly 3 times in the last year. Just came out last time no cuts or infection. Only thing I can say was stress ????! I wear compression sleeves all the time and do try and exercise regularly swimming is my choice.. Good luck
If you experience repeated cellulitis attacks , the BLS concensus document on treating cellulitis in lymphoedema suggests that you are prescribed long term preventitive antibiotics (usually a low dose taken daily ) for a year or more. This breaks the cyc;le that your impaired lymph ( and therfore immune system) is struggling with. Each time you have cellulitis your lymphatic system is damaged some more. Lymphoedema Support Network have produced alert cards which explain this to medical personnel.
I agree that you need to get it attended to. Probably calling NHS 111
will direct you to the most appropriate resource in your area for
attention today.
Any condition ending in 'itis' is an inflamatory condition. Amy Berger, a nutritionist from the US, a few years ago wrote an indepth series in 8 parts, and each part takes a lot of reading: "ITIS: Its the Insulin Stupid" - this is the link to the first part: tuitnutrition.com/2015/09/i... . She explains in great depth how insulin works in the body and how to keep insulin low. Put simply, if we eat sugar and starchy foods our bodies require insulin to remove it from the blood. Many of you have lymphodema as a result of cancer. Cancers use sugar as their primary energy source.
redness, inflammation and a burning sensation may be signs of cellulitis. If you also feel unwell (flu like symptoms, aching, a temperature, etc) then you definitely have cellulitis and need antibiotics. This should be a 2 week course. In lymphoedema the standard 1 week course is not effective enough when your lymphatic system and therefore immune response is impaired. There is information on LSN website which you could also direct your GP to.There is also info on the Britsih medical journal website .... I often direct medics to this.
I used to get cellulitis every 4-6 months (and I took a penicillin-based antibiotic every night).
Drs always look for 'a point of entry' but you do not need a break in the skin; it's usually because of some other reason; often an infection your immune system just can't deal with; or (if you do not seek immediate medical attention - no GP appointments available? dont waste your time with 111, go straight to A&E!) your own immune system can turn against itself & you can get sepsis (blood poisoning; your body's overreaction to an infection which can lead to kidney failure).
Been there & got the t-shirt! - 5 weeks in a coma in ITU with severe infective sepsis, kidney failure & hypoxic brain injury. Got cellulitis while husband driving back from our holiday in southern Spain. Husband took me straight to A&E morning after getting home - they admitted me immediately & was put in a side room as had 'come from abroad'; found next morning collapsed on hospital floor in a coma! Thing is, I can't remember anything about it! Can't remember the holiday, anyone visiting me in hospital and generally large parts of my life have been erased. MRI scans have shown 'white spots all over the brain' - this is where parts of it have literally 'died.
I've got secondary lymphoedema in my arm. Every time I get a sore throat & neck ache I've got my fingers crossed it's not going to spread to swollen glands above my collarbone & then rigor (feeling cold & shivering, almighty temperature & sweating, sleepy & waking up with tomato-red arm & [normally] being admitted to hospital, staying 2-3 days on IV antibiotics & discharged with 2 different lots of tablets for 14 days).
It can sometimes be due to ill-fitting, or oldish compression garments. If too much 'stale' fluid gathers in your arm it traps bugs your antibodies find it hard to deal with.
My lymphoedema clinic changed me to a review & new custom-made compression garments every 4 months just over a year ago & have not had cellulitis since! Dr also changed me from Penicillin V to taking Flucloxacillin 250mg every night. No cellulitis for almost 18 months now, so looking good. Keeping fingers crossed though!
Hope the above makes sense. Cellulitis is a serious illness.
Hi there,
That's very interesting reading. I agree that doctors will only give you a 7day supply of antibiotics and then you could spend a week waiting for them to work, then the doctor changes it to another standard antibiotic. I'm allergic to anything pennecillin or it's derivatives so tablet wise I'm a bit limited. When I was admitted to hospital a few times they used tycoplanin (not sure of the spelling!) and it worked quite well. The downside for me was the shivers and shakes I suffered and the lethargy for a period of time. But it has to be given via an iv in your arm/foot, so quite often you've had the infection some time before you get to this stage. I'm currently at this stage now so probably will be in hospital this week.
Sheilamoose I’ve just read your post and it’s a stark reminder of how serious this can be. I’ve just been prescribed 7 days of antibiotics for cellulitis in my left leg but I am a lymphoedema sufferer (right leg) and my therapist has recommended another week’s worth to make sure the treatment has worked. I’m aware of the BLS Consensus document and will go to my GP armed with it! I'm so sorry for your horrific ordeals and hope that another 4 months on you’ve remained cellulitis free. My recent episode did not involve any breaks in the skin and has had me completely flummoxed. Thanks to your post it has helped me gain a better understanding of what may have happened and how to proceed. I wish you well in your continuing health.
Yes, had this beyond most peoples ideas. My lower legs were as round as fire hydrants. I found blood giving once a month was extremely helpful. The diameter of my legs went down like you would not believe. Raw Milk, Raw Honey and now, I have been using Horse Chestnut Extract and my color of my lower legs, the foot pain and the discomfort at night have almost gone.
You need to understand, the Raw Milk is the only thing other than Human Milk that can repair your Gut Biome. Second Honey, when in contact with injured tissue turns into Hydrogen Perozide. This is basically Oxygen on Steroids. Damaged tissue gets every bad bug killed imediately upon application of honey. Honey also turns into Tryptophan (indegredient in Turkey) it aids Sleep! Horse Chestnut Extract solves circulation problems in the legs by repairing the one way valves in the vasculature, thereby causing the Blood Born Toxins you reference to not pool in the feet but to continue to the liver and kidneys for elimination. I also drink 1 Gallon fo Reverse Osmosis water each night to eliminate urination all thru the night.
Remember my CURE is non toxic and will not kill you or forever alter your body like toxic drugs!
Do you rub honey on legs or eat it . Horse chestnut extract does that come in tablet or cream .have heard of these things but not sure what you with them . Thanks
21 years ago i developed a straight red line about 4 inches long on my lower leg. thegp told me that had i not aeen it that it would have turned into cellulitis. it cleared up with drugs. 3 months later i developed flu like symptoms i went to my gp who sent me straight to hospital in an ambulance. i had developedcellulitis, with no red line this time. my infection was so bad that i was kept in having anti biotic injections every six hours. i was discharged christmas eve 1999. i was laid up in bed for another 6 weeks until it finally cleared up. as a result i developed secondary lymphodeama in, at that time just my left leg. over the years it has spread to both legs,i now have severe mobility problems.
I have recently had my first bout of cellulitis but could not see a break in the skin. I am a scientist and a microbiologist and have spent a lot of time researching the literature. I have found nothing that suggests that cellulitis can occur without bacteria getting in through some puncture in the skin, which could be a bite or an injury. The papers I've read say that its not always obvious where the break is - I had a small split between my toes a week before my cellulitis so maybe this was the entry point. If anyone knows of any publications that day cellulitis can occur spontaneously I'd be really interested in reading more. Thank you
Hi there,
Yes I was told the same thing recently after my leg bumped into some furniture. It didn't draw blood but I got ill just the same. I was so surprised to hear that as I'd also spent years looking for a cut or tear to be the culprit. Also on a couple of occasions I've had an attack after visiting the chiropodist, which my doctor maintains is nothing to do with it. I'm currently suffering with it now which is the 4th time this year. The doctor kepps asking me " why do you keep getting this?" funny, I went there hoping they'd be able to tell me!
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