{"id":4887,"date":"2013-08-26T06:59:23","date_gmt":"2013-08-26T11:59:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.healthstatus.com\/health_blog\/?p=4887"},"modified":"2017-01-12T14:37:05","modified_gmt":"2017-01-12T19:37:05","slug":"line-defense-skin-cellulitis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.healthstatus.com\/health_blog\/acne\/line-defense-skin-cellulitis\/","title":{"rendered":"First Line of Defense = Skin:  Cellulitis"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Your skin is an essential part of your body often taken for granted.  \u00a0 Skin is the external tissue that covers your body and your largest organ.  \u00a0 The thickest skin is found on your feet and the thinnest skin is on your eyelids.  \u00a0 Your skin has three layers: the epidermis (the outermost layer, the dermis, and the subcutis (your inner most layer).  \u00a0 Your skin sheds over 30,000 dead cells every minute.  \u00a0 Your skin is waterproof, helps control your body&#8221;s temperature and protects your organs from injury, viruses and bacteria.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Cellulitis is a non-contagious bacterial skin infection that penetrates down into subcutaneous or connective tissue of your body.  \u00a0 The bacterial infection can be streptococcus (strep) or staphylococcus (staph).<\/p>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthstatus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Strep_3.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-3392\" src=\"\/\/www.healthstatus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/Strep_3.jpg\" alt=\"Strep_3\" width=\"128\" height=\"85\" \/><\/a>Symptoms of Cellulitis:<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Skin area that is warm, red, swollen and tender.<\/p>\n<p>Most common area of occurrence is the lower leg but this infection can appear anywhere.<\/p>\n<p>Red streaking on surface of skin<\/p>\n<p>Fever<\/p>\n<p>Chills<\/p>\n<p>Swollen Glands<b>  \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Risk Factors:<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Older adults<\/p>\n<p>Diabetic<\/p>\n<p>Weakened immune system<\/p>\n<p>A skin injury: cut, burn, animal or insect bite.<\/p>\n<p>Skin related fungal infections: ulcers, eczema, and psoriasis or athlete&#8221;s foot.<\/p>\n<p>Skin related diseases: chicken pox or shingles.<\/p>\n<p>Poor circulation &#8211; Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD)<\/p>\n<p>Liposuction<\/p>\n<p><b>Causes <\/b><\/p>\n<p>Any opening in the skin from a cut, insect bite, spider bite or dry cracked flaky skin that allows harmful bacteria an entry point.<\/p>\n<p><b>Treatment<\/b><\/p>\n<p><a class=\"wpil_keyword_link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.healthstatus.com\/medications\/over-the-counter-antibiotics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Antibiotics\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">Antibiotics<\/a>: oral, intravenous, or topical cream<\/p>\n<p>Hot compresses<\/p>\n<p>Draining the area if it is full of puss<\/p>\n<div id=\"amzn-assoc-ad-cd9410e2-50e6-47c0-b98a-6a6e99244064\"><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/z-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/widgets\/onejs?MarketPlace=US&adInstanceId=cd9410e2-50e6-47c0-b98a-6a6e99244064\"><\/script><\/p>\n\n<p>You need to see a doctor immediately if you have symptoms.  \u00a0 Quickly getting the infection under control greatly increases the chances of a quick cure.  \u00a0 Your general practitioner should be your first call.  \u00a0 In some cases you may be referred to a dermatologist.<\/p>\n<p><b>Complications<\/b><\/p>\n<p>If not treated right away cellulitis can lead to sepsis, meningitis, or blood clots.<\/p>\n<p><b>Prevention<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Take good care of your skin:  \u00a0 wash regularly, eat a balanced healthy diet, drink plenty of water, and practice sun safety.<\/p>\n<p>Wash any cuts, scrapes or wounds with soap and water.<\/p>\n<p>Apply an antibiotic ointment or spray to cuts or wounds.<\/p>\n<p>Watch for signs of infection redness, pain or drainage.<\/p>\n<p>Moisturize and hydrate to keep skin from cracking a peeling.<\/p>\n<p>If you have Diabetes or suffer with poor circulation check legs and feet frequently for signs of infection.<\/p>\n<p>Promptly treat all skin infections such as athlete&#8221;s foot.<\/p>\n<p>Carefully trim finger nails and toe nails to avoid injury.  \u00a0 Your hands and feet come into contact with lots of harmful bacteria.<\/p>\n<p>Wear shoes and gloves to help prevent injury and exposure to bacteria particularly when gardening.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Your skin is an essential part of your body often taken for granted. \u00a0 Skin is the external tissue that covers your body and your largest organ. \u00a0 The thickest skin is found on your feet and the thinnest skin is on your eyelids. \u00a0 Your skin has three layers: the epidermis (the outermost layer, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3392,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[36,440],"tags":[],"table_tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Cellulitis symptoms , Causes , Treatment &amp; 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