Cellulitis

It is an infection of the tissue under the skin. The infected area is usually swollen, tender and a different color than surrounding skin. This color is generally red or pink in light skin tones, and dark brown, grey, or purple in dark skin tones.

Cellulitis is caused by germs (bacteria), such as staph (staphylococcus) and strep (streptococcus). Bacteria usually enter the body through a break in the skin, such as a cut, burn, insect bite, open sore, or crack (for example, between toes). Sometimes bacteria are carried to the skin through the blood.

You can get cellulitis anywhere in the body, but it usually happens in the arms, lower legs and rear end (buttocks). Some cellulitis infections can also form an abscess, an infected area that is filled with pus.

If your child has an abscess and cellulitis, your child should receive prescribed medicine, called antibiotics, to treat the infection. If your child only has an abscess, it is usually treated by making a cut (incision) and draining the pus. Antibiotics may not be needed if your child has an abscess that has been drained and does not have cellulitis.

• Bring your child to their regular doctor in the next 1 to 2 days to have the infection checked.
• If your child’s infection is completely gone before the medicine is finished, your follow-up doctor might recommend your child stop the antibiotic medicine sooner than prescribed.
• Your child may return to school or day care, unless the infection is draining pus or fluid that can’t be fully covered with a bandage. In that case, your child needs to stay home from school or day care.
• Do not let your child swim if there is a break in the skin, or pus is draining.
• Put a warm cloth on the infected area a few times a day for 20 minutes at a time, to help the infection drain or heal. 
• If the infection is on the arm or leg, try to keep it raised when your child is resting.
• If your child had an abscess that was drained, follow the instructions you were given for packing or bandaging the wound.
• The area may take 1 to 2 weeks to fully heal but it should not get larger, more swollen or more tender once it has started getting better.

Most kinds of cellulitis do not easily spread from one person to another. However, some bacteria that cause cellulitis are carried on the skin or in the nose, so it is important to wash your hands regularly with soap and water and don’t share towels.

Call your child’s primary care provider or return to the Emergency Department if your child:

• Does not keep getting better, or the swelling, tenderness, or discolored skin area spreads
• Feels sicker and has muscle aches
• Gets a new area of infection in a different part of the body
• Feels very tired or confused
• Throws up (vomits)
• Has a fever over 100.4° F (38° C)