Severe redness and swelling are typical in cellulitis. The skin is usually very warm to the touch. Severe redness and swelling are typical in cellulitis. The skin is usually very warm to the touch. Red streaking may indicate that the infection is spreading. The original superficial skin infection on the thumb is now complicated by deeper tissue infection (cellulitis). Note the red streak going up the arm due to bacterial infection. This image displays cellulitis on the buttock. The outline in pen was drawn when the patient presented to the emergency room. Within a day the skin infection had enlarged and blisters (bullae) had formed. Cellulitis is a serious infection requiring intravenous antibiotics. An outline defining the involved skin in patients with cellulitis is used to track improvement as antibiotics take effect. This image displays cellulitis, a bacterial soft tissue infection, requiring examination by a physician and treatment with antibiotics. This image displays redness typical in the early stages of cellulitis. This image displays cellulitis.
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Cellulitis  Information for adults

Picture of Cellulitis: Severe redness and swelling are typical in cellulitis. The skin is usually very warm to the touch. Divider line
Severe redness and swelling are typical in cellulitis. The skin is usually very warm to the touch.
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Treatments Your Provider May Prescribe
Your physician will usually be able to easily diagnose cellulitis by examining the affected area. Sometimes your doctor may want to get additional information by ordering blood tests and/or performing a bacterial culture in order to identify the specific bacterium that is causing the cellulitis.

A bacterial culture involves the following:
  1. Opening a blister or pus-filled bump with a needle, scalpel, or lancet.
  2. Rubbing a sterile cotton-tipped applicator across the skin to collect the sample.
  3. Sending the specimen to a laboratory.
Typically, the laboratory will have preliminary results within 48–72 hours if there are many bacteria present. However, the culture may take a full week or more to produce final results. In addition to identifying the type of bacteria that is causing the cellulitis, the laboratory usually performs antibiotic sensitivity testing in order to determine the antibiotics that will be most effective in treating the bacteria.

While waiting for the results from the bacterial culture, your doctor will probably want to start you on an antibiotic to fight the most common bacteria that cause cellulitis. Once the final culture results have returned, your physician may change the antibiotic you are taking, especially if the infection is not improving.

Mild cases of cellulitis in a healthy person can be treated with oral antibiotic pills. Common antibiotics that are used to treat cellulitis include the following:
  • Dicloxacillin
  • Cephalexin
  • Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole
  • Clindamycin
  • Doxycycline
Someone who appears to be very sick or who has other chronic illnesses that may complicate their recovery may need to be hospitalized to receive intravenous antibiotics. Common intravenous antibiotics that are used to treat cellulitis include the following:
  • Nafcillin
  • Oxacillin
  • Cefazolin
  • Vancomycin
  • Linezolid
If your doctor prescribes antibiotics, be sure to take the full course of treatment. In addition to prescribing antibiotics, your doctor will likely want to make sure that your underlying medical problems, if any, are being adequately managed.


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Last Modified: 19 Jan 2010
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