Cellulitis or not and if not what is it.Any ideas please?

[Boysey45]

Breif background,My Mum is housebound and is on the waiting list for a major operation, shes mid 80s. In August she got cellulitis on the lower legs and had 10 days of antibiotics and it cleared up.
A week or so ago she kept complaining that her legs,at the bottom were swelling and burning in the night, the swelling starts at around 10.30 and when she gets up in the morning it goes down again.
The Dr was called and she came out and prescribed 7 days worth of antibiotics. this has stopped some of the burning, but her legs still swell at bedtime. Surely if you have cellulitis then it doesn't come and go? I thought if you've got it, then you've got it?
If they swell up again tonight then I'm going to have to call the Dr again. Does anyone have any idea what it could be? and will a blood test diagnose if its cellulitis or not? Thanks. Also shes doing all the right things drinking plenty and raising her legs.

Boysey45 my mother in law suffers exactly like your mum. She has been diagnosed with cellulitis which I believe is a MRSA type infection. They explained that it usually clears with a course of antibiotics but lies dormant till next time. Then you repeat the old antibiotic route hoping it will work, she has even been hospitalised when oral antibiotics didn't work and she had to have IV. If she also suffers with other conditions like heart or kidney the legs can swell because of water retention. And yes the blood test will diagnose cellulitis.

Thanks for that Oldmum55, my Mum has got a heart arrthymia and high blood pressure as well. I'll speak to the Dr tomorrow because it has to be cleared up totally because they wont do the big operation if she has an ongoing infection. X