Antibiotics prescribed for cellulitis

Tablets are often used when a person can take oral medicine and is otherwise stable. Treatment through a vein may be needed for severe illness, rapidly advancing infection, infection near a vulnerable site, or when tablets cannot be taken or have not worked.

Cellulitis is a bacterial infection in deeper layers of skin and nearby tissue. It commonly produces an expanding area of redness, warmth, swelling and tenderness; fever or chills can accompany more significant infection. The affected site and any wound, bite, water exposure or pus help guide antibiotic choice.

Allergies, pregnancy, kidney or liver function, immune health and previous resistant infections also influence the prescription. A swab is useful when there is an open wound or drainage, but uncomplicated cellulitis often has no surface sample that identifies the organism.

Take each dose at the stated time and finish the prescribed course unless the treating clinician changes it. Elevate an affected arm or leg when practical to reduce swelling, drink according to thirst and use suitable pain relief if needed. Do not squeeze, puncture or intensely massage the area.

Note the edge of visible redness so progression can be described accurately; a clinician may mark it during assessment. Skin inflammation can look unchanged or slightly more prominent early in treatment, but spreading redness, worsening pain or declining general health requires reassessment rather than extra leftover antibiotics.

Seek urgent care for rapidly spreading redness or swelling, severe pain, dusky or blistering skin, confusion, faintness, breathing difficulty, or feeling rapidly more unwell. Infection around an eye, severe facial swelling, or new difficulty moving the eye also warrants urgent assessment.

Contact the treating service if fever persists, red streaks appear, pus develops, tablets cannot be kept down, or the affected area is not beginning to settle as expected. A pocket of pus may need drainage because antibiotics alone may not clear a closed collection.

Ask which changes should signal improvement, when the skin should be checked again and what to do if a dose is missed. Mention medicine allergies and earlier resistant infections, and ask whether an underlying break in the skin, fungal foot infection, wound or swelling problem needs separate care to reduce recurrence.