Is this cellulitis?

Hello ,

I'm not sure how to post a picture, but what does the area look like? Does it feel really warm? Red? Itchy?

What I was told is that if your legs are red and puffy, it's cellulitis. Esp. if they are warm, and esp. if your white blood cell count is high. Legs that are just "puffy" ... could be other stuff. But there isn't one easy criteria, and they are misdiagnosed a fair bit.

-Cellulitis is an infection in your skin, possibly underlying tissues as well depending on how deep the infection goes. It starts out as a rash but has defining characteristics ...* WARM: A red rash that is warm to the touch and hotter than the skin that's surrounding it. *PAIN: usually it is does hurt and can be accompanied with tenderness in that area, but it doesn't always present with pain. *TEXTURE: the rash can be flat,but is usually swollen, raised, and sometimes thick and puckered up like the dimpling of the outside of an orange peel. *SIZE: redness and swelling starts out one size but will continue to spread covering a larger area as the infection spreads. *AREA: with cellulitis the rash is usually contained to one side of the body. A single large rash may cover a large area. *SORES: the rash may contain blisters/red spots. *SIZE: rash can be any side but can grow and spread rapidly. a good trick to measure if it's growing is to take a sharpie marker and mark around the outer edges of the rash. then keep an eye on it to see if it is getting larger outside your mark and also the speed at which it is progressing. *OTHER: your lymph nodes in the area of where the rash is may be large and swollen.

-If it is an infection, in addition to the rash, you may have other whole body symptoms of infection including: *FEVER *CHILLS *FATIGUE: your body is working overtime to kill off the infection which in turn can wear you out. *BODY ACHES: general malaise, achiness, and feeling unwell.

-In addition, *With infections you will probably have an elevated white blood cell count, along with other abnormal lab work. You will have to go to the Dr. To have them do lab work/blood work and while there they will take a look at your rash and should be able to identify what the rash is.. and what course of treatment will help (if infection: oral antibiotics, antibiotic cream for the area, if allergic reaction antihistamine etc.

-Cellulitis can be aggressive and spread fast, and it's important to seek treatment if you have those symptoms listed above. The sooner treated, the better and you will have less complications and it's better to err on the side of caution. The Dr. may monitor it to see if it spreads.

-Also a reason it is best to check with a Dr if it continues to spread/more symptoms arise is because it can be so rapidly growing and you may need a culture to see the kind of bacteria. when the Dr does a culture of the rash it takes a few days to get back but tells them that best antibiotic to use since difference strains of bacteria are susceptible to certain antibiotics.

-If determined that it is cellulitis, is very important to finish all the antibiotics, even though it may get better in just a few days. With all infections even though you're feeling better, a few can stick around a while and not taking it all can strengthen the bacteria and allow it to become more resistant.

-If at any time you spike a incredibly high temp, and you become very ill, seek emergency treatment as soon as possible and listen to your body. You know your body, what's normal for you better than anyone.

-Also, even if it turns out not to be cellulitis, other things can cause those symptoms as well! Deep vein thrombosis, (a blood clot in the leg) can causeyou to have a red swollen area that can be warm to the touch and have pain. It is very important to see a dr if symptoms continue and get worse. With a blood clot, it can dislodge and travel up to you lungs causing a pulmonary embolism which is life threatening. It could also just be a rash and you can get some cortisone cream to put on it and see if the rash responds, just keep an eye on it! I hope this helps!