Tposted a while back asking for tips to cope with long haul flights. Well, I arrived in Australia 6 weeks ago and didn’t have any problems after the flights, I just took an extra dose of Pred as suggested.
However, two weeks ago I developed cellulitis in my left leg, I haven’t had any injuries or broken skin, but I am now on my second lot of antibiotics as the first didn’t really do anything. I’ve also had an ultrasound to check for a DVT and thankfully that was clear. I’m now waiting for results from blood tests but wondered if the PMR could affect my response to the antibiotics or if anyone could suggest anything that might help. I have another two weeks here before flying home. Thank you.
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GreatGranny4
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My daughter, who lives in Australia got cellulitis from a mosquito bite. I do find that their medicine seems very good at this sort of thing. I hope your antibiotics are helpful this time. Keep it up and scrupulously clean. Pred shouldn’t adversely effect the effectiveness of the antibiotics.
Thank you for reply SheffieldJane. I haven’t had any bites or cuts, I wore flight socks for the journey but this developed when we’d been here 5 weeks. I had blood tests done yesterday, I don’t have any PMR symptoms but wondered as both are due to inflammation I wondered if one could make the other harder to deal with.
I understand that it is a deep skin infection, usually caused by a skin puncture of some sort, hers was red and swollen. The danger is it developing into sepsis , which scares me. What very bad luck. I hope you don’t feel too ill with it. It probably doesn’t have anything to do with our diseases at all.
I don’t feel ill or have a raised temperature, my leg is very red and swollen just above my ankle to mid calf. Hopefully the antibiotics helped to suppress it even though it hasn’t improved with the first prescription.
Inflammation is not always a bad thing. Cellulitis is an infection, usually caused by bacteria. Inflammation is one of the natural ways our body fights the infection: it makes the affected area hotter than normal, which makes it harder for the bacteria to thrive and reproduce. It also floods the area with fluids so our immune cells can get at the invaders and kill them. That's why inflamed areas often look swollen and red, and it's where 'inflammation' gets its name from.
Inflammation is only a bad thing when: a) there is no infection to fight (autoimmunity), or b) the body overreacts and the inflammation causes more harm than good. Doctors have to balance the two.
Thank you AtopicGuy, I was only diagnosed with PMR in June 2023 so I’m still on a bit of a learning curve and wasn’t sure if the PMR might have made the cellulitis harder to deal with. I’m hoping that it’s now responding to the second prescription of antibiotics.
So sorry you’ve got this: I know what it’s like, I’ve only recently recovered from a bout myself and it took three weeks and three different antibiotics to get rid of it. All I can say is, hang on in there, don’t get too downhearted. You will be free of it eventually. I’ve had it more than once, this is only the first time since my PMR diagnosis, and I don’t think PMR affects it either way. As SheffieldJane says, I do believe there has to be a skin puncture: in my most recent case, probably my cat’s claws climbing onto my lap when I was on a higher chair than usual (long story). If the (I assume) hot Australian weather means you have swollen ankles, and your skin is also dry and prone to cracking, that could be enough. Moisturise, moisturise - it will make you feel better too!
… and, if your leg is swollen, put it up as much as possible. A great tip: sleep with it on a pillow, so it’s higher than your heart: but put the pillow UNDER the end of the mattress. Really works
Many thanks for your advice calibriel. I always moisturise and you are right it has swollen up from my ankle to my knee but it does look slightly better today, not quite so red and a little less swollen so hopefully the second course of antibiotics are starting to work. I have been keeping my leg raised whenever I am sitting and in bed, thanks for the tip about putting the pillow under the mattress as I have been chasing it during the night. I hope you remain free from cellulitis now, it certainly isn’t a very nice experience!
I should have added, athlete’s foot can also be a culprit for letting the infection in. I used to suffer from this, probably because I swim, so I’m very careful now. When I go to the pool, I always treat myself for athlete’s foot as a precaution, and I haven’t had any symptoms for a while
The only way that I can think of, for it to be related to your illness, is that pred can make your skin thin and more prone to being torn or punctured. Any break in the skin can be prone to those kind of complications in that kind of climate.
Gimme, thank you for your reply. I think there is some slight improvement today so I’m hoping the second lot of antibiotics will do their job now and clear up the infection.
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