Is there ANY cure for this celulitus
Posted , 5 users are following.
I have had this on both legs for some considerable time now, iv been on 2 different antibiotics, and no improvement, im now on long term antibiotics, which is making me wonder if it will become immune to it. I am really wondering now if there is any cure for this or will the pain and bad legs always be there for the rest of your life. To be honest I really dont think even the doctors know how to cure this, and if they do what is the sucessful percentage rate. I hope a doctor can answer this for everyones benefit
1 like, 7 replies
glenn06752 chrisdevelop
Posted
Cellulitis is basically caused by stagnating fluid, similar to scum in a pond. The fluid sits in the lower limbs and does not return through urination. As the fluid stagnates, it becomes more and more succeptible to infection. Infection can be caused by a variety of things. Bug bites. an open wound, sometimes so small it's undetected, cracking between the toes, due to dry feet or athletes feet and sometimes the cause will go unfounded. It is imperative to keep your feet and legs clean and cover them during the summer months of mosquitoes and ticks. I might almost mention hot tubs are not recommended.
Here's what I have found that helps - keeping my weight down, wearing compression garments, wearing Solaris Tributes ( a boot like garment) while sleeping, laying off excessive amounts of salt and doing moderate exercise without straining the legs or lymphatics.
I do believe most cellulitis can be controlled through medications but there's always a problem with the body becoming immuned to the antibiotic during long time use. I have had success with Amoxi Clav - 875mgs orally twice a day when I have an onset of cellulitis and amoxiclav IV when I have to enter the hospital.
There are some people that benefit from leg pumps that are sold in most medical stores to pump the fluid from the legs. I have never gone that route.
Finally there are lymphedema/cellulitis physical therapists that can assist. There aren't too many in my area but the one that is available is great!
I hope I helped.. I know you asked for a doctor to reply but felt compelled to answer.. I'm sorry you are suffering with this. I guess the good thing is cellulitis cannot kill you if controlled. I hope you get a handle on yours.
Please let us know how you're doing in future posts.
chrisdevelop glenn06752
Posted
glenn06752 chrisdevelop
Posted
Again, I think if you take care of yourself you'll live a normal life with flare ups of cellulitis. Get fitted for compression garments. I wear Juzo brand and although they are expensive, about 60 bucks a pair, they are a blessing. Keep your feet clean and dry and use lubiderm lotion daily, massaging the legs to the outside of the leg and upward. There are many self exercises you can do to assist with lymphedema and keep the fluid moving.
Again, I wish you the best and hang in there... The body wants nothing more to do than correct itself when something goes wrong. We just need to help it out.
ladyjack51 chrisdevelop
Posted
I'm sort of the nightmare side of the fence compared to what 2glenn06752 just told you but maybe knowing how it can get get...might help you now. 2glenn is right about what the lymphoedema is and also that there aren't too may folks to treat it either. I'm in Dallas Texas...big city and I go to a large hosp program and there's only 1 lady that treats it. But here's what happened to me, I begin swelling overtime slowly in my left leg. My doctor never put me on compression stockings. I don't know why but I really wish he had. I have poor venous insufficiency in that leg and it started with swelling in the ankle. Then slowly it started to creep up that leg and in the past 4 years or so it got very large. I thought it was just poor circulation but then as Dr begin to look at it they were testing me for blood clots and blockages, my heart, and all kinds of things including diabetes which made me realize how abnormal I was bc they never found anything. The worst part about all this is that that leg got too large to put a compression stocking on. The skin begins to get translucent and bubbly. And then those bubbles will begin to burst and make small sores that leak and ooze and get infected. I was taking Clindamycin but now I'm ammune to it and am taking Keflex or Cephalexin if it gets infected. That fluid has to have somewhere to go and so it just simply drains out of your leg and those sores get larger because they can't heal because of all the swelling and fluid in the tissues. My leg became this huge wound which is called cellulitis. For the past 6 or 7 months I have had to go once a week almost religiously to my hospital to the wound care department and get treated. They scrape off any dead skin that won't heal or infection that sticking to it and then literally bandaged up my whole leg. That bandage stays dry for maybe 24 hours if I'm lucky. Thank God they do supply me with bandages to bring home or else it would cost me a fortune to try doing this at home. Right now I'm free of infection but my leg is still really huge and drains and there's nothing more the wound department can really do so they are trying to discharge me. So I am in the process of trying to work out transportation to get to the lymphedema specialist every single day to get a massage treatment in order to get the leg down to a manageable size where we could actually get a compression stocking on. I don't actually know how they can massage it effectively with the skin being as fragile as it is or is wet as it is but I assume they know what they're doing. I don't have insurance and so I'm waiting for an approval from the city bus company where they will pick me up at my house and take me there everyday. This has been one of the worst things I've ever dealt with in my whole life. Mentally it has caused a lot of depression and guilt bc of my loved one who has to dress my leg at home between visits and the limitations it has put on my life. So please get compression stockings now if you can and get this under control before you end up like me.
ladyjack51 chrisdevelop
Posted
Dotcon ladyjack51
Posted
ladyjack51 Dotcon
Posted
Please forgive me I haven't been on here for a little while and I just now saw your reply in my email so I came to the website and read it. Thank you so much for your kind words... you're probably the first person who sounds like you really do have the same thing I have and know exactly how it is. I'm still battling it right now however I am fixing to get into lymphedema treatment.... I've got some things worked out that were stopping me and so I think the road will be cleared for me to start that up so they can massage the leg and get it down. It does bring me hope to know that the compression does help you and stopped your leaking because right now while my leg is not infected it does still weep and leak the fluid because it has nowhere else to go. So I have to stay bandaged just for that reason alone and that's becoming really hard and can be expensive. I'm trying to continue getting it from the hospital even though they have discharged me from wound care but again these different departments are not familiar with lymphedema and they don't really know how to go about getting me these bandages etc... that I need, so I'm trying to push them along. Thank you so much I appreciate it. Pray for me... I can never get enough prayer and I'll do the same for you. Keep me posted sounds like you're on the road to recovery!!!
Ladyjack51