How is cellulitis treated?

Cellulitis is a bacterial infection in deeper layers of skin and the tissue beneath it. The affected area can feel hot, tender, swollen, and red; the redness may spread outward. The infection can follow a cut, bite, ulcer, eczema flare, or another break in the skin.

A clinician checks the location, extent, temperature, pain, and general symptoms before choosing treatment. The medicine and route depend on how extensive the infection is and whether you can take tablets.

Take Antibiotics For Skin Infection exactly as prescribed and complete the course unless the prescriber changes it. Rest the affected area and, when practical, raise an arm or leg to ease swelling. Keep any wound clean and covered, avoid rubbing the skin, and mark the edge of redness only if a clinician recommends monitoring its spread. Improvement may take time, but worsening redness or pain needs review.

Get urgent medical help for rapidly Spreading Redness, severe pain, facial swelling, high fever, confusion, faintness, blisters, or difficulty breathing. Prompt assessment is also needed when cellulitis affects the eye area, hand, or genitals, or when symptoms worsen after treatment begins.

Ask what may have allowed bacteria into the skin, when improvement should be checked, how to care for the entry wound, and what symptoms mean the infection needs urgent reassessment.