Diagnosed Having Celulitus Of Foot. Used Cephalexin. Foot And Ankles Still Swollen. What To Do?

Posted on Tue, 22 Oct 2013

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Tue, 22 Oct 2013 Answered on

Mon, 11 Nov 2013 Last reviewed on

Question : I have been diagnosed as to having Celulitus of the right foot and issued CEPHALEXIN 4 500MG TABLETS PER DAY
AFTERTAKING 40 TABLETS MY FOOT AND ANKLE ARE STILL SWOLLEN AND VERY SORE wHAT CAN i DO.

Answered by Dr. Roopa Hiremath (55 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Cellulitis

Detailed Answer:
HI,
Welcome to Health care magic.

Cellulitis is infection of subcutaneous tissue of skin most commonly caused by bacteria called Staphylococcus and Streptococcus.

These bacteria gain entry into the skin and subcutaneous tissue usually when there is minor trauma and this infection is very common in lower extremities.

Diabetes predisposes to repeated cellulitis infections and response to therapy is also delayed in diabetics.

I am suspecting poor response to antibiotic therapy (Cephalexin) in your case.

Cephalexin is quite effective against the bacteria causing this kind of infection but in some cases the bacteria develop resistance against the antibiotic and response to therapy is delayed.

I would suggest a bacterial culture and sensitivity test to confirm the resistance patterns of the bacteria causing the infection and then getting appropriate antibiotic prescription based on the test results.

Over the counter pain killers would suffice for the soreness.

I would also like to suggest to keep your sugar levels under control as high sugar levels can cause delayed response to treatment.

I hope I have answered your query satisfactorily.

Wishing you a speedy recovery.

Thanks.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Yogesh D