All The Things That You Should Know About Cellulitis And Its Treatment

Cellulitis is a bacterial infection, which affects the deeper layers of your skin and soft fat. The affected part seems red and swollen. When you touch the affected area, you feel it is warm and painful. A study states that the United States has approximately 14.5 cellulitis cases each year.

Usually, it affects the skin in your lower legs. However, cellulitis can occur on any part of your body, like the arms and the face. It occurs when your skin has a break or crack, allowing the bacteria to enter inside your body. If not treated well, it can be a threat to your life by entering your bloodstream.

Risk factors

You have a higher risk of having cellulitis if you have health issues like:

Age (during or after middle age)
Diabetes
Crack or tear in your skin
Obesity
Circulatory problems, like poor drainage of your veins, a lack of proper blood flow to arms and legs, etc.
Liver problems like cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis
Weakened immune system
And skin issues such as psoriasis and eczema
Types

Based on the location of the infection, cellulitis is of several different types. Some of them are as follows:

Breast cellulitis
Facial cellulitis, which occurs close to the nose, and around cheeks
Periorbital cellulitis, which affects the area around the eyes
Perianal cellulitis, which builds around the anal orifice
Symptoms

Potential signs and symptoms of cellulitis are as follows:

Blisters
Fever
Pain
Red spots
Redness on the affected skin area with a tendency of expansion
Skin dimpling
Swelling
Tenderness
Warmth
Some of you may feel cold sweats, shivering, and nausea.

Complications

Usually, people have no complications. However, if you make any delay in your cellulitis treatment, you can notice severe complications like:

Constant swelling – On a delay in cellulitis treatment, you may have a steady swelling in your affected body part.
Blood infection – It occurs when a cellulitis bacteria enters your bloodstream and can be a threat to your life.
Infection in other body parts – In sporadic cases, cellulitis bacteria spread to other body parts like bones, muscles, and heart valves to infect.
Cellulitis Treatment

In most cases, the use of antibiotics in early treatment is effective and successful. Most of you can get well with the first treatment at home while some of you may need to go to a hospital. Your doctor can suggest you one or more than one of the treatments mentioned below:

Diagnosis – At first, your doctor will do the physical examination of your affected body part. Through this, your doctor will know the warmth and redness of the affected area. Based on the stage, your doctor may want to monitor your body parts suffering from cellulitis. In some cases, the doctor can ask you to have a blood test and the scanning of the infected part.
Medication – In an early to a mild phase of cellulitis, your doctor can advise you to take a dose of antibiotics for 7 to 14 days. You can experience an increase in your problem. However, you can start an improvement in your cellulitis symptoms within two days. Different types of antibiotics (such as Penicillins, Amoxicillin, Amoxicillin & clavulanate, Ampicillin & sulbactam, and Cefazolin) can help you get rid of your problem. Your doctor will prescribe the best antibiotics by having a look at the severity of your cellulitis.
Surgery – Most of the people get well by taking the prescribed dosage of antibiotics. Your doctor will ask you for a short surgery if you have an abscess even after taking the complete dose of the prescribed antibiotics. The doctor will apply a medicine to numb your affected body part and make a small cut to drain the pus out. After the surgery, the doctor will tie a bandage to make the wound heal. You may have a scar for a short period after the healing process.
Prevention – There is a chance of having cellulitis again if you suffer from it once. Your doctor may recommend taking preventive antibiotics and some precautions. Here are some of the precautions that you should consider:
Proper care of cuts or wounds as they occur
Keep your skin moisturised to stay away from cracks or breaks on your skin
Regularly examine your feet
Have a piece of protective equipment while playing or exercising outside
Keep a close watch on your weight and try to keep it healthy one
Limit your intake of alcoholic drinks and avoid smoking
Home remedies – You need to consult a doctor immediately when you notice that the redness or swelling on your skin is expanding fast. Until you see a doctor, you can do the following things to feel relaxed:
Drink enough water
Keep the infected area raised to decrease the pain and swelling
Keep the infected area moving to avoid stiffness
Take pain relief medicine
Avoid wearing socks or stockings until the complete recovery
Apply cypress or thyme oil. People believe that these have antibacterial properties. However, there is no scientific evidence backing the belief.

Advantages of Visiting a Dentist Office in Springfield

Most people refrain from visiting a dentist due to dental anxiety, financial issues, or simply because they have healthy teeth and gums. However, a regular visit to a dentist’s office in Springfield, VA, is essential to rule out dental ailments, which often go unnoticed. Ignoring minor toothaches or chipped a tooth when it causes no serious pain or discomfort is common among people who fear to go to the dentist. But ignoring minor issues can further exacerbate the situation and increase your dental expenses.

It is always easy and less expensive to treat a minor cavity with a tooth filling rather than delay treatment and necessitate expensive root canal and crowns. Some of the other reasons, which magnify the importance of visiting a dentist regularly, are as follows.

Prevent permanent tooth loss

Although brushing and flossing help to maintain healthy teeth and gums, it is often insufficient as it seldom removes plaque and tartar, which can affect your teeth and gums adversely in due course. One of the best ways to prevent loss of a tooth is through preventive dental care. Routine dental examinations, fluoride treatments, and professional cleaning help to prevent loss of the tooth. Visiting a dentist every six months helps to identify dental issues early, which is important for quick recovery.

Prevents and treats bad breath

Bad breath or halitosis is a common problem, which affects millions of people. Improper brushing, excessive usage of tobacco, and dry mouth are some of the reasons for bad breath. However, it can also be a sign of an underlying disease such as liver or kidney ailment, oral cancer, and diabetes. It is important to visit a dentist if you suffer from consistent bad breath, as it could be an indication of a more serious problem.

Prevent periodontal disease

Sometimes, diseases affecting the gums have no obvious symptoms apart from minor bleeding of the gums, which explains why most people are unaware of it. Early stages of periodontal disease such as gingivitis, which affects the gums, are mild and curable when detected early. However, ignoring periodontal diseases can lead to a serious ailment, such as periodontitis, which affects the bone and tissues surrounding the teeth. It usually occurs due to the buildup of plaque, which causes inflammation, and bleeding of the gums. When left untreated, periodontal diseases such as periodontitis leads to permanent loss of the tooth. Regular visits to the dentist will help prevent gum diseases from exacerbating.

Maintaining good oral health care is essential for your overall wellbeing. It helps to reduce the risk of developing serious health issues such as cardiovascular diseases, oral cancer, respiratory and reproductive diseases. Routine visits to a dentist office in Springfield, VA, can help to safeguard the oral health of your family. Your dentist can help you fight common dental problems and maintain good dental hygiene practices.

A Bright Future for the Thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder is undoubtedly one of the best teams in the NBA right now and in the adjacent future. They have two elite players in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook who are still about to reach their athletic prime. They are surrounded by solid role players that allows them to be at their best and there are young talented players that will provide continuous support to their main core. All the tools to be successful are there and the team’s front office has been excellent in taking advantage of every bit of it. While the curtain is closing on some of the NBA teams, it is only just beginning for the Thunder.

Superstar Duo

Both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook who are playing amazing basketball these past couple seasons. They have carried the team to its current status as one of the best teams in the league. They once reached the cusp of a championship and are hungry for the ultimately achievement in the NBA.

Their youth gives them the ability to improve some more and their hunger gives them the motivation to do so. Given the fact that they are almost impossible to cover right now, the image of them improving is a scary thought for fans of other teams.

Solid Roster

Consistency is usually a problem with young teams. However, by surrounding the team with some heady veterans and consistent role-players, the Thunder has been able to become one of the most consistent club in the league.

Talented Youth

Another important factor that will ensure future success for the team in the future is its abundance of young talent. The front office has done a marvelous job of finding players with potentials and allowing them to develop. While other rebuilding teams have a hard time giving their young players playing time, the Thunder has been able to become one of the best teams while allotting plenty of valuable minutes for their youngsters to develop.

This method of talent development not only creates building pieces but also increase the trade assets of the team.