Cellulitis

[SusanJ]

Hello friends,

Have any of you had any experience with cellulitis? My dad is in the hospital with cellulitis in his left foot. He has been receiving IV antibiotics for eight days and running fevers as high as 102 degrees every day. I am really getting worried. His foot looks awful, really red,swollen and painful. He can’t walk without a walker, and barely then. I am concerned because he can’t seem to shake this. His platelets yesterday morning were 17 and he got 2 units of blood yesterday afternoon. Does anyone have any info that might help? Thanks!

[gemloyear]

Susan, I will try to send you a site that explains cellulitis very well.My husband has had it in the past and it lasted for a long time. Immune compromised persons are prone to numerous skin infections.
I hope this helps.Ellie

MedlinePlusMedicalEncyclopedia:Cellulitis

[SusanJ]

Thanks, Elle, daddy is having a really tough time. He will be getting his first platelet transfusion today. He has little purple spots all over his legs and he is itching like crazy. I feel like I am losing my mind. Any info that you have is greatly appreciated.

Susan

[gemloyear]

Susan, My husband has had so much trouble with his legs that its hard to remember what everything was treated with. He did have several antibiotics, some did help. He was prescribed triamcinolone cream for itch at one time. It did take quite awhile to clear up. He has also had antibiotic cream. If you had a chance to read on the web site you will see that there are many causes of cellulitis, so the treatment could vary. Did the dr. check for strep or staph infection? Causes can be something as small as a scratch or a bug bite which becomes infected with a bacteria.It can be a nightmare, I know. The swelling in Glen’s legs became so bad that it damaged the veins resulting in DVT.,another side affect! Things just seem to snowball with this disease! Right now things are pretty good with his legs. Don’t give up, things can get better.You mentioned vidaza, seeing that he has the 5q chromosome have they considered Revlimid?
Take care, Ellie

[Kathy7964]

Hi–My Dad has been in the hospital since 8/13 with a skin infection (they look like ulcers) of which they did a biopsy of and still don’t know what it is. He had a fever of 103.5 for a week. We really thought he wasn’t going to pull through but his fever is down and staying down, the sores on his legs are getting better and his last BMB showed 3% blasts (were 15% in July). He started Dacogen on 8/1 so it was his first treatment. They are trying to build up his strength before considering another round of Dacogen. He has had 4 or 5 platelet transfusions along with RBC. I am new to all this. I pray for your Dad as well as all the others who suffer from this disease.
Kathy

[SusanJ]

Thanks for the kind words Kathy. My dad’s doctor said that it is too risky to do a skin biopsy on my dad. He has been on IV antibiotics for 10 days and is still running fevers up to 102. My dad also has RAEB and his lasy bone marrow biopsy showed 6% blasts. He was supposed to have had a BMB last Friday but this infection knocked that out. I will pray for you and your dad. God bless you. God bless us all.

Susan

[SusanJ]

Hello friends,

No good news yet. My dad is still in the hospital. Still running fevers as high as 102 degrees, and his cellulitis has not responded to any of the antibiotics. The doctor decided to go ahead and do a biopsy of the skin and also did a bone marrow biopsy at the same time. He changed daddy’s antibiotics for the 3rd time yesterday. Worst of all, daddy is so depressed because he isn’t getting any better and he cries a lot. That just breaks my heart. He is so scared. He has had 2 red blood cell transfusions and 2 platelet transfusions since he has been in the hospital. I am beginning to think he may never leave there. I am so afraid. I have cried so much that my eyelids stay swollen all the time. Please pray for us. I’m not ready to lose my daddy.

[uno grasshopper]

Hi Susan:

I’m so sorry to hear about your dad. I don’t know much about cellulitis, but I did develop it a few months after my AA diagnosis. It was in my left arm, very swollen, hard, hot to the touch, and very very painful. Just moving my body would hurt my arm. I remember crying a lot during that hospital stay, too. So your post about your dad really brought back some memories. I was wondering, tho, have they been wrapping your dad’s legs with a heating pad at all? The reason I ask is because when I had my cellulitis, they wrapped a heating pad around my arm saying that the heat helped to bring the antibiotics and more blood flow to the location of the cellulitis. But I’m not sure how different your dad’s case is and if there is a reason why they might not want that done with your dad. Hot compresses tend to bring the blood in, while the cold compresses help to move the blood out.

Does he have any lesions on his leg that might have been the start of his cellulitis? The reason I ask is because the arm that I got cellulitis in was the one with my PICC which had gotten infected. After wrapping the arm and taking the IV antibiotics, my arm later developed a pocket of puss that had to be drained. I think I did seem to start getting better after that. But boy was it painful, ouch!

All the best,

Marla

[Kathy7964]

Hi Susan,

My Dad is still in the hospital now and it’s going to be three weeks now. The got his sores/ulcers which look like Sweets Syndrome to me but we were never given a name, under control with large doses of steriods. He gained almost 30 pounds of water, he had to get insulin for the first time, and either platlets or rbc transfusions daily. I’ve lost count. They are giving him Neupogen to boost his wbc’s which are at 0.5. He cries to a alot. He is starting to get discouraged. Hope there is some improvement on your Dad. Hang in there. Keep me posted.

Take care,
Kathy

[Russ]

Susan, Kathy: My prayers for you and your Dads.
May you be comforted and sustained during these trials.

[SusanJ]

Dear Marla, Kathy and Russ,

God bless you for being so kind to me. My daddy’s fever went up to 103 last night and the doctor said that htere was still no improvement. He is going to adjust his antibiotics today. He said that there was no way that daddy could home home until the fever breaks and then IF he comes home, he will have to have home health come in and administer antibiotics. The report from the skin biopsy hasn’t come in yet. Everytime I talk to daddy he just sobs. I’m beginning to have my doubts that he will ever come home. His left arm is beginning to swell now. How will I ever get through this?

[Engel]

Dear Susan,
You will get through this, God will be at your side. My husband was dx Jan.06 RARS like your Dad by the end of May AML, he had ara-C chemo and went into remission. I assumed all would be o.k. wrong, he is back to MDS and on Vidaza which kills his wbc and plt. and today he had to have a transfusion of platlets and blood, I know how hard this is. My husband is 69 and has been very active all his life, now he is tired all the time and I have to drive him everywhere, he used to do all the driving before. He also has a hard time accepting the fact that he will never get well,he is considered to old for SCT and that is the only cure. My faith in God and knowing that we are all on this earth for a short time keeps me going. My prayers are with you.
Gloria

[sarah]

My heart aches for each of you and your loved one with this disease. I have been where you are, I know how very hard this is. Only the grace of God got my husband and I through those tough days and sustains me to this day. May God bless each of you.
Sarah

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