What is Cellulitis and erysipelas?

Cellulitis and erysipelas

What are cellulitis and erysipelas?

Cellulitis and erysipelas occur when germs called bacteria infect your skin. This makes a patch of skin red and inflamed.

Your skin normally stops germs (called

bacteria
Bacteria are tiny organisms. There are lots of different types. Some are harmful and can cause disease. But some bacteria live in your body without causing any harm.

bacteria) from getting into your body and doing you harm. But they can get in and cause an infection if:

Source:
Swartz MN.
Cellulitis.
New England Journal of Medicine. 2004; 350: 904-912.

Your skin has a cut or scrape
You've had a cut during surgery
You have an open sore (ulcer).

Occasionally, cellulitis can start when there's no obvious wound on the skin.

Source:
Swartz MN.
Cellulitis.
New England Journal of Medicine. 2004; 350: 904-912.

Cellulitis and erysipelas are similar. The main difference is that cellulitis affects a deep layer of your skin and the layer of fat just underneath it. Erysipelas affects your skin nearer the surface. But doctors can't always tell the two apart.

Source:
Clinical Resource Efficiency Support Team (CREST).
Guidelines on the management of cellulitis in adults.
June 2005. Available at http://www.crestni.org.uk (accessed on 7 January 2008).

² And they're both treated in the same way.

Cellulitis normally occurs on your legs or your arms. It can make your skin red and sore. You might hear your condition called erysipelas rather than cellulitis if the

inflammation
If your skin or some other part of your body becomes red, swollen, hot or sore, we say it is inflamed. It means that your body is trying to protect you from germs, from something in your body tissues that can hurt you (like a thorn or sliver), or from things that cause allergies (allergens). Inflammation is part of the way the body heals an infection or injury.

inflamed patch of skin is on your face.

Who's at risk of cellulitis and erysipelas?

Because the germs that cause cellulitis can get into your body through a cut or wound in your skin, you're more at risk if you have a wound that doesn't heal easily. You may be more at risk if you have:

Source:
Dupuy A, Benchikhi H, Roujeau H, et al.
Risk factors for erysipelas of the leg (cellulitis): case-control study.
BMJ. 1999; 318: 1591-1594.

Open sores (

ulcer
An ulcer is an open sore. Ulcers can happen in many parts of your body, such as in your stomach, and the skin of your legs, mouth or genitals.

ulcers)
Bed sores (pressure sores). You can get these if you've been bedridden for a long time (if you've had a

stroke
You have a stroke when the blood supply to a part of your brain is cut off. This damages your brain and can cause symptoms like weakness or numbness on one side of your body. You may also find it hard to speak if you've had a stroke.

stroke, for example)
Athlete's foot. This is an infection in the skin on your feet (usually between your toes), which is caused by a fungus.

You are also more at risk if:

You have recently had surgery
You have

lymphedema
Swelling of the arm that can occur after breast surgery or radiation. When the lymph nodes are removed or damaged, they cannot drain the lymph fluid and swelling occurs as the fluid builds up.

lymphedema (a swelling in your arm or leg). You get lymphedema if your body's

lymphatic system
The lymphatic system is the body's way of clearing and cleaning unwanted materials from the blood and tissues. It includes an interconnected network of lymph nodes that filter these materials to see if there is an infection that will require response by the immune system.

lymphatic system can't drain fluid in the way it should.

Source:
Dupuy A, Benchikhi H, Roujeau H, et al.
Risk factors for erysipelas of the leg (cellulitis): case-control study.
BMJ. 1999; 318: 1591-1594.

³ Some people are born with it, or it can occur after surgery or

radiation therapy
This treatment uses high-energy X-rays to kill cancer cells. It's most often used for tumors that are hard to treat with surgery alone. You won't feel any pain during this treatment, but you may get some side effects afterward.

radiation therapy.

Source:
Badger C, Preston N, Seers K, et al.
Antibiotics/anti-inflammatories for reducing acute inflammatory episodes in lymphoedema of the limbs (Cochrane review).
In: The Cochrane Library. Wiley, Chichester, UK.

⁴
An insect or animal bites you
You get water (from the sea or a river, for example) in a cut.

Source:
Swartz MN.
Cellulitis.
New England Journal of Medicine. 2004; 350: 904-912.

¹ But this is rare.

Sources for the information on this page:

Swartz MN.Cellulitis.New England Journal of Medicine. 2004; 350: 904-912.

Clinical Resource Efficiency Support Team (CREST).Guidelines on the management of cellulitis in adults.June 2005. Available at http://www.crestni.org.uk (accessed on 7 January 2008).

Dupuy A, Benchikhi H, Roujeau H, et al.Risk factors for erysipelas of the leg (cellulitis): case-control study.BMJ. 1999; 318: 1591-1594.

Badger C, Preston N, Seers K, et al.Antibiotics/anti-inflammatories for reducing acute inflammatory episodes in lymphoedema of the limbs (Cochrane review).In: The Cochrane Library. Wiley, Chichester, UK.

This information was last updated on Nov 07, 2008

This information is for educational use only, and is not a substitute for prompt professional medical advice. Readers should always consult a physician or other professional for advice and treatment.
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