Shave after returning from Hospitalization

I will read the articles as soon as I can, I'm sorry for all you had to go through, scary scary stuff man

Thank the Lord you are OK and shaving with us again

 

Thanks! It is still a major issue as Patrick stated, it may be more like a lifetime issue rather than one time so as he said I will have to take care. I still am recovering and it is still bothering me physically and keeps me from doing a lot right now. Antibiotic treatments are still ongoing and follow-ups with the doctors are planned for Monday 12/1/2014.

 

I wasn't aware of this disease and the fact it is persistent. Thanks for informing us, Gary. Glad you're on the mend and home!

 

If you have Diabetes, it's a never ending problem. I have scares on both legs from it. (Cellulitis) The littlest occurrence can set it off, from a Cold, to just bumping you shin or the area, where it occurred. The first time I got it on my left leg was from a Palm Frond, the next time was from a scratch.(on my right leg.

 

Gary, I'm sorry to hear it's still bothering you...:^(
You are going to have to stay on it....We don't like it when you're not feeling and doing GREAT...Is there any kind of routine preventative medicine or action that you can use or do to help prevent repeat occurences ?

And Patrick, sorry to hear about your fight with this debilitating disease...you have my prayers aswell....

 

My grandmom had this earlier this year. Glad you're well!

 

Gary, I am so glad that you are recovering, and thanks for sharing the information on cellulitis. One of my family members has sufferred with it also. It can quickly become very serious!

 

I really don't know of routine or preventative medicine since for many people the physicans cannot determine the source of the infection, as in my case.

Thanks for the well wishes. Hopefully I will learn more from the doctors on Monday.

 

Glad your getting better, thanks for the info.

 

Get well and stay that way Gary, we need you in one piece...

 

Just found this thread. I too had cellulitis and was hospitalized for it about 15 months ago.

I was mowing the lawn in September of last year and on my riding mower, and noticed that my calf had a red spot on it that was sore... Like after a bee sting. Since I recently developed an allergy to wasp and hornet stings, I figured maybe something like a bee had gotten me. After all, just 4 days before I had needed to give myself an epipen injection in my thigh after getting stung in my front yard by a yellowjacket.

So I didn't think much of it. The next day, Monday, I flew from Michigan to Minnesota for a work trip. The red spot on my calf seemed slightly larger and more tender. I bumped it getting out of my car at the airport and noticed it was pretty sore. I figured I must have bumped it harder than I thought at the time, because the pain persisted as I walked to my gate.

En route, I started to get a headache... What seemed to be a big one coming on. By the time we landed an hour later, it was pretty bad. I stopped on the way to my hotel and bought some Excedrin and took that with a Motrin to see if it would also help the nagging pain in my calf and maybe reduce swelling.

The next morning, the headache was still there, which seemed unusual. And my calf was looking more swollen and red. The skin seemed tight there. I had to meet a client, so I drove there and noticed I felt feverish. When I met the client, she asked if I was okay... She said I looked quite pale. After our meeting concluded, I looked online and found an urgent care clinic not far away that would take my insurance. I grabbed a bite to eat -- figuring the wait might be lengthy -- and then stopped at a CVS and got a phone charger and a bottle of water; my phone was nearly dead and I was really thirsty. I figured I wouldn't want to be stuck in a waiting room and not be able to call home. Glad I did, because unbeknownst to me, I was going to be there a while.

By the time I finally drove myself to urgent care, the headache had gotten significantly worse. And my leg felt hot to the touch, even through my slacks. It hurt to walk in, so I suspected something was systemically wrong. I'm certainly no doctor, but I felt the leg and my headache were somehow connected. They put me in a wheelchair and took me back almost immediately, ahead of several other people who were waiting. I asked why, and the nurse on duty said they agreed that I looked like crap and they were worried I might have something contagious, or that I might pass out.

They took a look at my leg and said they suspected cellulitis, which I had heard of, but knew nothing about. They admitted me, got me started on antibiotics via IV, and added pain meds through the IV as well. The headache continued unabated, and now my leg looked very, very red. They did a CT scan, ran blood tests, etc. They determined my white blood count was high, and added even more pain meds to the IV.

Long story short, I was finally released about 2am (after coming down from the pain meds, and after my fever broke) and sent home with a couple of prescriptions for antibiotics and pain medication. I was in the hospital for a total of about 11 hours. They were sure it was cellulitis, and I responded well to antibiotics, so I felt much better a couple of days later, after getting home. The doctor said that if I had let things linger without coming in for another day or two, I could have potentially been in the hospital for several days.

Looking back, I've tried to piece together where I could have contracted cellulitis. I've read that sometimes it just happens without an apparent cause that can be pinpointed and sometimes it can be a small cut or abrasion that allows the right sort of infection to set in. In my case, I had no cuts or abrasions whatsoever... But I *did* have to administer an epipen injection a few days prior, in the *same* leg where the cellulitis appeared. I hadn't sterilized the injection site with alcohol or even washed it with soap in my urgency to inject myself to treat the yellowjacket sting before it turned into a severe reaction. So I am guessing that was the source of my infection... Or it may have been one of those cases where it happened somewhat spontaneously.

Anyway, that's my story... And it taught me that it's better to get something checked out right away than to wait until it gets worse. Had I waited, it could have had a really bad outcome.

Funny sidenote: I was texting my wife while I was in the hospital and the IV was in. I typed to her: "They are putting me on dilaudid" (a pain med) but my iPhone did an Autocorrect on me, and changed it to "They are putting me on dialysis." Needless to say, she was a little freaked out by that, until I texted her that it was an Autocorrect error and that no, my kidneys had not failed. LMAO.

 

I am at home again following a set back. The Staph Infection has returned with a vengance after a week of oral antibiotics. I had to have what is called a Picc-Line placed a vein in my right arm so that I can provide myself IV antibiotics at home each evening for four weeks until this is cleared up. Hopefully with a couple of days worth of antibiotics I can return to work but the right arm cannot be strained and must be protected with a plastic wrapping while showering to keep the Picc-Line area dry.

http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/tc/central-venous-catheters-topic-overview

Hopefully longer term antibiotics will do the trick.

 

Eric
Sorry to hear this. Isn't it fun......The first time I got Cellulitis, they gave me all kinds of $500 dollar word Antibiotics (Names I can not even begin to pronounce), I was there for over a week. The pharmacist and the doctor both came in and said "being as I was allergic to PCN (Penicillin) that said they had used everything they had. The nay drug they did not use was Penicillin. They said they could either try Penicillin or cut my leg off. ( Being as I had been treated in the Navy Hospital they had my Medical Records and my Dad's medical records). (mixed together) They tried PCN (Penicillin) in a little under 24hrs, it started to heal. (My Father was allergic to PCN). Even though it says I'm Allergic to PCN. (I never had any reactions, My Father was very allergic, it almost killed him once)

Gary
Sorry to hear you had a reoccurrence so soon.
You are in my wife and I's prayers.

 

Thanks for the prayers they are appreciated!

 

Glad you are on the mend and in good spirits.

 

Glad you are home and on the mend Gary.

 

Glad you are doing better.

 

It is amazing that is was almost 6 months since this happened and so far it has not returned.

Thanks for the well wishes.

 

G_d is Good!