This image displays a red, swollen, tender leg typical of cellulitis, a bacterial skin and soft tissue infection. 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. Severe redness and swelling are typical in cellulitis. The skin is usually very warm to the touch. An outline defining the involved skin in patients with cellulitis is used to track improvement as antibiotics take effect. Cellulitis often causes warmth, redness, pain or tenderness, and skin swelling. The common features in cellulitis, a skin and soft tissue infection, are redness, warmth, and swelling of the infected skin. Orbital cellulitis quickly develops with redness, pain, and marked swelling around the eye.
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Cellulitis  A parent's guide to condition and treatment information

Picture of Cellulitis: This image displays a red, swollen, tender leg typical of cellulitis, a bacterial skin and soft tissue infection. Divider line
This image displays a red, swollen, tender leg typical of cellulitis, a bacterial skin and soft tissue infection.
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Who's At Risk
Cellulitis can occur in people of all ages, all races, and of both sexes.

In children, cellulitis usually develops 1–2 days following a wound to the skin. Other factors that can increase the risk of developing cellulitis include:
  • Diabetes
  • Lymphedema
  • Long-term (chronic) lower leg swelling (edema)
  • Athlete's foot (tinea pedis)
  • Bites from insects, animals, or other humans
  • Obesity
  • Poor circulation in the legs (peripheral vascular disease)
  • Weakened immune systems due to illness or medication
  • Injected (intravenous) drug abuse or alcoholism

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Last Modified: 19 Jan 2010
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