Cellulitis

[Nanaclaire]

Hi all I would like to mention something that I never seem to see discussed & that is Cellulitis which I had never heard of till I got it . It is a bacterial infection that can appear from the tinniest nick on your skin & attacks your blood stream, I got a attack of it in May this year which lasted 3 weeks on my left leg/foot my leg was bright red & blistering it cleared quickly with antibiotics.
It reappeared in June worse than ever ended in A&E red sore & weeping blisters more antibiotics & IV for a week, in total I have had antibiotics for 48 days. today 5 Sept I still have a red calf & can be painful
I have put this up as I’m diabetic nobody seems to mention this infection which is a very nasty infection apparently it can be life fretting to all & more so diabetics it’s can lead to Sepsis too

Regards Claire Fleming

 

[Robbity]

Claire, you have my sympathy - it sounds like it's been a real nightmare for you!

I've had a couple of minor issues with cellulitis - just as a red area on my leg and not really painful, and it's cleared up quickly with antibiotics. If I remember correctly the first and worst time was one December, and well before my T2 diagnosis though.

What I DID have a couple of summers ago that sounds similar and was excruciatingly painful and lasted for months was weeping oedema. I've had oedema , usually as a summer time swollen legs "inconvenience" for many years without any real problems, and which suddenly developed into this terrible blistery weeping version. I discovered afterwards that swollen legs etc, are listed as a known potential serious side effect of amlodipine which I was prescribed as a temporary measure when my normal blood pressure meds weren't available, and I believe in retrospect that this seriously aggravated my previously well controlled and trouble free oedema. It was the only time I've had a problem - and during this summer heat wave I've just had my usual fat puffy legs.