my cellulitsy arm is very very painful

[stitch]

i've been told not to take a painkiller as they need to make sure the ab's are going to work. if not, then i will need iv ab in th emorning. meanwhile it hurts like hell.
can i cry?

nobody loves me

yes, of course you can cry. Poor love...

thank you [grateful emoticon]

How long have you had it?

Have you got cellulitis stitch? My uncle had it, he ended up in hospital the night before his wife's funeral , then had to go straight back to hossie afterwards (sorry not relevent really) - I do remember though he was in a lot of pain.

Hope you get it sorted - I had never heard of it before my uncle got it.

it started monday evening guess, though i only reaally noticed it tuesday morning. it got worse. didnt respond to the second dose of flucoxicillin. went to a&e coz in a lot ofpain. they have given me peniccillin to take as well, but it hasnt gone down, and is still spreading. but i am allowed t o take painkillers for it, so that is good thing. if it doesnt get better by this evening, then might be back there again.
it seems more common. every one i speak tp seems to know someone, or heard of someone who had it.

Personally if its still spreading after a couple of doses of penicillin I'd be on the phone to them asking if I need to come back in.

Oral antibiotics take 24-48 hours to have any real effect. Two doses wouldn't get a clinical (ie less red/hot/extensive/sore) response unless they went IV.

Keep your arm elevated!

the third dose of penicillin coupled with flucloxicillin is at twelve. that will be the fifth dose of flucloxicilin. i thought i would wait and see if it responded to that before going to a&e again.

maybe i should ring up the gp?

oki

Fair enough bruxeur - you sound more like you know what you are talking about than uninformed me! Out of interest - what would be the right time to go in?

You're still a bit early to expect a response from the oral Abx - what dose of each are you taking? GPs have a regrettable tendency to prescribe homeopathic/paediatric doses to strapping adults, then have to refer in when (surprise, surprise) they haven't worked.

NB - if you feel hot/shaky/dizzy/faint/unwell generally, or if you notice lacy red patterns heading up your arm...

...get your arse to the ED.

As above, Kitten - if you're not unwell and the redness isn't racing up a limb/expanding noticeably over a day or night, you can leave it for 24-48 hours.

The ivy-like lines of redness heading up the arm are an indication to go straight to A+E though, needs addressing ASAP.

thank yo bruxeur, that is exactly the sort of thng i need to hear.
no, none of those symptoms.
500mg fluxocillin and 500mgs penicillin p. also currently taking femoxidine (?)hydrochloride 180mg for hayfever.

Decent dose there, if things aren't developing rapidly you can give it a little longer. Would see your GP for a review tomorrow morning if things haven't got any worse.

Caveat - any unwell symptoms, fever etc - ED.

No better, or worse after 48hours - GP/ED.

To be honest, these often don't settle with oral Abx alone, and most people end up on IVs for a while at least.

That's 48 hours after starting ABx, not from now.

thank you. thats exactly what i need to know,
so if no better by fourpm tomorrow, i definitly need to go back
my arm looks like a globe. with all these expanding circular drawings on it

De nada, chica.

Cool - thanks - have learned something today.

Was curious as got bitten in a few places on arm by a (neighbours) cat a few months ago. Areas round a couple of bites got quite red and warm - didn't go to gps as hoped body would fight it off which it did.

Sorry for the slight hijack Stitch. I hope your arm feels much better soon!

me too.
dont want to wait 48 hours. want it sorted now! in fact, quite fancy a stay in hospital for a couple days holiday.

What exactly is cellulitis?

its a skin infection cellulitis

lol stitch! I don't think they are entirely restful places to stay! Perhaps you should angle for a weekend in a spa instead

beggars cant be choosers!

thanks stitch. Sounds nasty - hope the ABs kick in soon.