Once your doctor analyzes your symptoms and clinical history, he or she will perform a physical examination with which it will not be difficult to establish the diagnosis, although to make sure and rule out other conditions, he or she may request blood tests or take a skin or fluid sample to determine the type of bacteria present.
The treatment plan indicated for cellulitis is the prescription of oral or intramuscular antibiotics depending on the degree of progress, although they are usually long treatments (up to 15 days) that must be monitored to see if the infection subsides or antibiotics must be combined for greater effectiveness.
If symptoms don’t improve and the infection doesn’t subside, you’ll need to be hospitalized for intravenous antibiotics and optimal care that doesn’t allow new complications to develop.
How to prevent new outbreaks:
Sometimes the doctor recommends the intake of antibiotics to prevent its return. However, there are a series of simple daily actions that help prevent it when you have a skin lesion:
- Watch for signs of infection (pain, inflammation, redness).
- Clean the wound with soap and water daily.
- Dress the injury and change the bandage daily.
- Put a gel or cream that protects the skin.
Patients with vascular diseases and diabetes must be very careful not to cause skin lesions, because they are at high risk for developing this condition.
In ABC Medical Center’s Internal Medicine Department, we offer health care services with the highest quality and safety, from the prevention, diagnosis, timely treatment, and monitoring of infectious, respiratory, endocrinological, dermatological, rheumatic, nephrological, gastrointestinal, and hematological pathologies of both chronic-degenerative diseases and acute conditions, through a comprehensive and multidisciplinary model.
