Cellulitis is a bacterial infection of the deepest layer of your skin. Bacteria can enter your body through a break in the skin - from a cut, scratch, or bite. Usually if your skin gets infected, it's just the top layer and it goes away on its own with proper care. But with cellulitis, the deep skin tissues in the infected area become red, hot, irritated and painful. Cellulitis is most common on the face and lower legs.
You may have cellulitis if you notice
- Area of skin redness or swelling that gets larger
- Tight, glossy look to skin
- Pain or tenderness
- Skin rash that happens suddenly and grows quickly
- Signs of infection including fever, chills and muscle aches
Cellulitis can be serious, and possibly even deadly, so prompt treatment is important. The goal of treatment is to control infection and prevent related problems. Treatment usually includes antibiotics.
- Cellulitis(Logical Images) - http://www.visualdxhealth.com/adult/cellulitis.htm
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Cellulitis and Erysipelas
(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/cellulitisErysipelas/
- Cellulitis(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/cellulitis/DS00450/DSECTION=all&METHOD=print
- Necrotizing Skin Infections(Merck & Co., Inc.) - http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec18/ch211/ch211j.html
- Orbital Cellulitis(Children's Hospital Boston) - http://www.childrenshospital.org/az/Site1387/mainpageS1387P0.html
- Cellulitis Infection: Is It Contagious?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/cellulitis/AN00745/METHOD=print
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Group A Streptococcal Infections(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/streptococcal/
- Recurrent Cellulitis: What Causes It?(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/cellulitis/AN01418/METHOD=print
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Cellulitis(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Cellulitis%22
- Article: Posttraumatic cellulitis and ulcerative conjunctivitis caused by Yersinia enterocolitica O:8. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18806676&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Acute neck cellulitis and mediastinitis complicating a continuous interscalene block. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18806062&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Protracted fever with cellulitis-like reaction in pneumococcal polysaccharide-vaccinated children. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18776824&tool=MedlinePlus
- Cellulitis -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=cellulitis[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Find a Dermatologist(American Academy of Dermatology) - http://www.aad.org/findaderm/
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National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/
- Cellulitis(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/infection/cellulitis.html
- Cellulitis(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/infections/skin_rashes/cellulitis.html
- Staphylococcal Infections - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/staphylococcalinfections.html
- Streptococcal Infections - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/streptococcalinfections.html
- Infections - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/infections.html
- Skin, Hair and Nails - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/skinhairandnails.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Cellulitis is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - http://www.niaid.nih.gov/