Oh Shit ! I think I have cellulitis in both feet

[Chip (OP)]

Silly me started injecting into my feet and i knew i missed on at least two occasions.

It hurts like hell and is red and puffy - i don't want to rush off to the hospital tonight so i will go in the morning.

I have no usable surface veins so this is going to be ugly.

Is anybody an expert on cellulitis ?

[LoneRanger7]

Hi Chipper,

No expert,  per se , but I've definitely had it several times!  Two words: HOT COMPRESS.

It hurts like hell but for me is the best solution,  worked better even than antibiotics.

Wet a towel and microwave it.  Get it as hot as you can possibly stand and PRESS.

Yeeouch!! I don't envy you!

LR7

[Chip (OP)]

really ? i can't see how that stops the infections, though ?

i have some Clindamycin^Wiki spare so i am taking them and hoping that the swelling and redness goes away.

this is the last thing i need right now.

thanks for the suggestion but it sounds TOO painful !

[dizzle]

chipper.


I know you seem to be agaisnt the idea, but I'm telling you, you don't have it right this time. Antibiotics are helpful, but warm compresses are the way to go (both are ideal though!!) You don't see how it would be helpful? well, let me explain it to you:


When you inject and miss in the interstitial space between veins and bones and etc. the body sees that foreign substance as a threat, and immediately attacks it, hence the swelling, warmth and redness, At this point, the body has not walled it off and contained it, so it's not considered an abscess, but just cellulitis (note it may not actually be cellulitis yet, could just be localized edema and redness, they have a word for it before it's cellulitis but I can't remember it ATM). What you need to do is get the material absorbed, and into your blood where the body can fight anything that may or may not be there (like nasties like strep or staph). When you don't have good blood flow to the area, and there are those forgein bodies in there, one of three things will happen:


- your body will be able to beat it, body killing the nasties and absorbing the rest, this is the best case scenario, helped along by antibiotics and warm compresses.

- Your body will wall them off and it'll be a fight to the death, and it'll feel like there is a war going on in that appendage, ask anyone that has had an abscess go full term, it's nasty.

- you go lucky and either the body killed the badness or there was none in there and you'll end up wioth what is known as a sterile abscess, which basically is a hard lump iunder the skin that essentially turns into scar tissue. which can be broken up and got rid of much later by vigorous massaging and pushing essentially breaking up the cartilage and diffusing it into the body.





but the most common, by and large is the 1st and second. you can determine which of those happens to you. If you go to the hospital they CANNOT drain it until it's formed a head (ie the body has walled it off) and therefore they will admit you and put you on vancomyacin (full spectrum antibiotic) IV and watch it for a few days. They'll probably draw a circle around it or take measurements of the red inflammed area, and then check it the foillowing day or two, if the IV vanco is helping they'll discharge you with a clindamycin script and possibly bactrim if they think MRSA is involved. I don't think they'll be able to culture it yet as it's not an actual abscess, if it forms a head though, the can culture it and give you specific antibiotics for whatever pops in the testing for the culture. Until then all they can do is give full spectrum and monitor. Warm compresses and light massaging works wonders here, I know it hurts, but if yo ucan get the body to absorb that shit, you'll win the battle and not end up with holes in your feet.

Let me finish with the most importnat piece of advice I can give you: DO FUCKING NOT ICE IT
 

[Chip (OP)]

thanks dizzle.

i have been to the hospital with cellulitis in my hand and have also developed it in hospital for another ailment.

but as of right now, i'm thinking that it's best to get to the hospital ASAP but you don't agree ?

i'm freaking out because it's not looking pretty but the redness hasn't spread that much but both feet are puffy and HOT around the injection sites.

i have taken 2 Clindamycin so should i wait another day or what ?

sorry if i am repeating myself but it's doing my head in because i know that they will poke me for ages trying to find a vein, not to mention the rest of the whole hospital trip.

Picture attached:

[candy]

Andrew... We already were in contact. Take care of that!

[dizzle]

that's def on it's way to become a full on abscess, in the left foot for sure.



you need IV vanco, like, NOW. you're past the warm compresses/oral clindamycin stage, that was several days ago (1-2 at least) by the looks of it. You're body is losing that fight, more than likely it's too late to get this shit absorbed into your body, and NOT get an abscess, even with a vanco drip. Sorry man, but it looks like you let this one go too long. You will likely get a full abscess in the left foot, the right may not get one if you get on IV vanco asap.



sorry to be the bearer of bad news bud. You need to get on IV antibiotics, no way around it. If you had adressed this a day or two ago, you may have been able to stop it but it's unlikely you can handle it at home now.

[Dopeless Hopefiend]

@chipper, please listen to Candy & Dizzle. They know what they are talking about. You need to be on some kind of heavy antibiotics like Vanco. I'm speaking from experience when I tell you that this really isn't anything to fuck around with. I had cellulitis in my thigh and tried to ignore it a number of years ago and it turned into a 2 year battle with MRSA, multiple hospitalizations and I came very close to losing my leg. It was only by some miracle that the infection was not into the bone. It almost killed me. I don't have any veins either, so I totally get your fear of going to the hospital and needing an IV. They don't usually even bother trying to dig around looking for a peripheral line on me, but have always been able to place a picc line in my arm, or an ij central line in my neck. Those would likely be good options for you as well.  Please don't let this go any longer. Just go get the care you need!

[Opi-ette]

Chipper, I see you are offline now so I hope that means you went to the hospital.

I've had cellulitis multiple times (one bout just recently) and learned the hard way
not to wait. The one time I did wait too long, the cellulitis ended up eating away at
the muscle tissue on my arm and now I have a big dent in it and can never regain that
muscle.

Yours looks serious and I hope and pray you are at the hospital. I know it sucks going, but
it sucks more the longer you wait.

Everyone here including myself are very worried about you so please keep us posted when
you can.

[Chip (OP)]

Yes, I am in hospital waiting for a doctor to see me.

It hurts and I couldn't wait any longer.

I appreciate your support ... here endth my injecting lifestyle.

[Opi-ette]

I'm glad to hear it, and thanks for the update.

Sending you good healing vibes ~~~~~~~

[Fleas Bass]

Good call going to the hospital, let us know how you are.

The others are spot on about warm compresses. Two days ago I noticed what seemed to be an abscess forming; puffy, warm, red, painful forearm.

I used warm comps throughout the day and it cleared up by the next morning.

Im sure we all know this last bit but the earlier you use warm comps on missed shot the better. It aids the histamine reaction and healing process.

[Chip (OP)]

Just had 2 grams of flucloxacillin^Wikiand they got a cannula in first time. Getting another dose in 4 hours then I can go home on the oral prep.

It's cool because it stopped spreading.

Thanks for all the support guys.

[Dopeless Hopefiend]

Glad to hear it! I'm really glad you went & got checked out by the doctor. It's great that you won't have to be admitted & can switch over to oral antibiotics. Sucks having to stay in the hospital.
When I got the infection in my leg I spent close to 4 months in the hospital over about a 2 year period & six months on home infusion/nursing care. I still don't know how I convinced them to send me home with a picc line. They really should not have done that. Of course, at the time it was great for me. Poor nurses couldn't understand why my line kept getting clogged. God, the damage we do to our bodies sometimes huh? I really hope that you get to feeling better soon.

[Chip (OP)]

4 months is an eternity -- how did you get the infection in the first place, if you don't mind me asking ?