vbwig

My brother has been recently diagnosed with type 1 diabetes (3 months ago).

He is having frequent cellulitis/cellulitus attacks to his left leg beneath the knee to the ankle. These attacks occur roughly every 3 weeks lasting for a week.

His treatment from the hospitals so far has been anitbiotics which temporarily fixes the problem, but it has come back 6 times and nothing has been suggested which fixes the problem rather than delay it.

Can anyone recommend anything for us to look at - creams, foodtypes, anitbiotic courses, causes etc. please?

Many thanks everyone!

Terrie

Hello There and Welcome to the Forum. I wish it was under
better circumstance. I feel for your Brother. It doesn't sound
like a mild case if the anti-biotics haven't worked. I wonder if
he has Varicella as well.

I guess you've read up on Cellulitis already but here's another
link with the causes and at the bottom, treatments and medications.
I'll look around but I doubt there are any special creams, etc. since
anti-biotics are indicated.

We pray that your Brother recovers from this nasty condition. All the
Best to him.

eMedicine - Cellulitis : Article by Danny Lee Curtis, MD

Terrie

If you have cellulitis, follow your doctor's instructions for taking medication and for skin care. Other steps to help your recovery and keep cellulitis from coming back include the following:

-Take all of your medication as prescribed.
-Take care of your skin. Any measure that prevents injury
to your skin will help to prevent cellulitis.
-Elevate your affected leg or arm to reduce swelling.
-Apply warm compresses to the affected area.
-Use pain relievers as needed.
-Use support stockings to prevent fluid buildup.
-Take steps to treat or prevent fungal infections, such as
athlete's foot. If athlete's foot is hard to treat or recurs, ask
your doctor about oral antifungal medications.
-Take care of your feet, especially if you have diabetes or other
conditions that may increase the risk of infection.
-Avoid touching possible sources of infection, such as ill family
members and their belongings; raw fish, meat, or poultry; or soil,
particularly when you have an area of broken skin.
-Avoid skin damage. Use protective clothing if you participate in
strenuous work or contact sports. Keep the skin clean. Avoid
swimming if you have a skin lesion.
-No special diet unless the patient suffers from Diabetes. With
diabetes, strive to attain good blood sugar control.
-Get plenty of rest.

When you have completed your course of medication, follow up
with your doctor to verify that the infection is gone.

vbwig

Hi everyone, apologies for not replying sooner but I've just moved. I just want to thank each and every one of you who have read and offered help. All of your posts have beeen of great help and I've been really suprised at the amount of help and advice and time given thoughout the few forums I posted too - thank you everyone!

As mentioned above, in my brother's case it seemed to be an unfortunate/unlucky bout of foot fungus, bad nurse injections and cuts to his leg in a short amount of time causing this to come back a lot but in reading all your suggestions and help, he knows what's caused this and is much more upbeat/accepting of it now - thank you again!
- Alex

Terrie

Hi Alex: Your Welcome from this Forum. We're always
Happy to help if we can.

I know how frustrating it is to have a condition but not
understand the ins and outs of it or the causes. Gee,
Diabetes for example. When I was younger I didn't
understand it due to lack of information about the Disease
and how different things affected my body. Once I became
knowledgeable about it and how things affected me personally,
Diabetes has become quite simple for me. Most diseases and
conditions can be controlled with help, a little know-how and
sometimes meds. There is usually an answer somewhere.

Your Brother certainly was "unlucky" for all of those things to
happen to him to cause the Cellulitis. I'm Glad to hear that
he has accepted this and feels better about it. As you know
a positive attitude is important to help the body heal.

We hope that he does Well. Thanks for looking out for him.
I also hope that your move was successful.