1. < Skin Health

Cellulitis and Sepsis just released from the hospital

Posted by cindylb @cindylb, Dec 1, 2019

I am looking for anyone out there who may have experienced cellulitis and/or cellulitis that became sepsis. I was hospitalized on IV antibiotics for 6 days and am now home trying to recover. I have an extra challenge in that, I am allergic to all antibiotics. Every oral antibiotic that I use sends me to the ER with an allergic reaction and the long term antibiotic infusion I received upon release from the hospital is doing it's job but the infection persists. I am having a hard time finding much information on cellulitis online (beyond the basics) and am still under the care of the infectious disease doctors....but any insights or support would be very appreciated. This all started completely 'out of the blue' with a very tiny cut on my finger and turned very bad very quickly. I do have lymphodema in the arm/hand from a bi lateral mastectomy 4 years ago. I'm sure that is complicating issues but I really thought the lymphodema was very mild (?).

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Mamacita, Alumna Mentor | @mamacita | Dec 17, 2019
In reply to @astaingegerdm "@cindylb - I am another mentor here on Connect. I usually don’t check skin diseases, but..." + (show)
@astaingegerdm

@cindylb - I am another mentor here on Connect. I usually don’t check skin diseases, but I did now and read about your scary ordeal with cellulitis and sepsis. I understand that your lymphedema complicates matters. I had a right mastectomy years ago and my oncologist and internist were always warning me of injury to the right arm and risk of lymphedema. I’m still paranoid about it. Do you have any other health issues that would make you more prone to infections? It seems that the warmer months are often associated with cellulitis.
My granddaughter- 6 years old then -suddenly developed cellulitis from an insect bite and overnight developed fever, redness and malaise. I think she may have been immunosconpromized at the time because of being diagnosed with Lyme disease a week earlier.
I hope you get some answers from the allergy evaluation. I have seen a lot of cellulitis through the years of working in the healthcare field and I would be happy to offer an opinion on any concern you may have.

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@Ingegerd Enscoe, I am sorry to hear about what happened with your little Grandaughter. My 7 year old Grandson is highly allergic to mosquito bites. When he gets bitten, the spots raise up, all puffy and swollen, and they get infected if Mama isn't right there with the antibiotic ointment.

So far he's been ok. But this summer they move back to Alabama, where our mosquitos are more famous than our football. Hopefully they will find a good insect repellent that he can tolerate. Please let us know how your little one is getting along.

Love and light,
Mamacita Jane

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1 reply
trixie1313 | @trixie1313 | Dec 17, 2019
In reply to @mamacita "@trixie1313 , we live in North Alabama, fairly close to the Tennessee border. When Nashville gets..." + (show)
@mamacita

@trixie1313 , we live in North Alabama, fairly close to the Tennessee border. When Nashville gets snow, we know a little bit of the white stuff is coming out way . We are home to the first wave pool in the United States. We have a beautiful, brand new Science Museum, loads of local talent in music and the arts. The Space and Rocket Center (Space Camp) is just up the road.

And we have tornadoes.

Love and light,
Mamacita Jane

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@mamacita
Sounds absolutely wonderful except for those darned tornadoes! We're in Northern California, the home of wine country and earthquakes and now as well as disastrous fires. Both of my children lost their homes in the Tubbs fire two years ago so we had two families living with us at that time for a bit. It was after that I found my cancer and didn't want to tell the kids as they had been through so much. We're all hoping we've been through the worst of it. I'm hoping if my next PET scan is okay to start traveling the country...we may just get to Alabama one of these days!

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Ingegerd Enscoe, Alumni Mentor | @astaingegerdm | Dec 17, 2019
In reply to @mamacita "@Ingegerd Enscoe, I am sorry to hear about what happened with your little Grandaughter. My 7..." + (show)
@mamacita

@Ingegerd Enscoe, I am sorry to hear about what happened with your little Grandaughter. My 7 year old Grandson is highly allergic to mosquito bites. When he gets bitten, the spots raise up, all puffy and swollen, and they get infected if Mama isn't right there with the antibiotic ointment.

So far he's been ok. But this summer they move back to Alabama, where our mosquitos are more famous than our football. Hopefully they will find a good insect repellent that he can tolerate. Please let us know how your little one is getting along.

Love and light,
Mamacita Jane

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@mamacita - Jane- Thank you for your concern. My granddaughter, now 7, is fine- but I always worry a little. She had severe pneumonia when she was 2. And she lives in Sweden....However, my daughter and I talk often on the phone.
This summer we had huge mosquitoes in SC—almost size of a pet you put a leash on! My son- now 32- always had a problem with the allergy and then infection.
Be well!

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Mamacita, Alumna Mentor | @mamacita | Dec 21, 2019

@trixie1313, thank you for the advice. I willl definitely keep that in mind. Sounds like a very workable idea.

Happy holidays, if you celebrate. And lots of peace and joy, if you don't. And Happy New Year!

Love and light,
Mamacita Jane

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Mentor
Teresa, Volunteer Mentor | @hopeful33250 | Sep 10, 2021

To all who have an interest in Sepsis, this month is Sepsis Awareness Month. Here is a link to a video from the University of Michigan discussing Sepsis

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1 reply
Mentor
Chris, Volunteer Mentor | @auntieoakley | Sep 18, 2021
In reply to @hopeful33250 "To all who have an interest in Sepsis, this month is Sepsis Awareness Month. Here is..." + (show)
@hopeful33250

To all who have an interest in Sepsis, this month is Sepsis Awareness Month. Here is a link to a video from the University of Michigan discussing Sepsis

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Thanks for sharing that, I think everyone can benefit from the information here.

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1 reply
ghschirtzinger | @ghschirtzinger | Sep 19, 2021
In reply to @auntieoakley "Thanks for sharing that, I think everyone can benefit from the information here." + (show)
@auntieoakley

Thanks for sharing that, I think everyone can benefit from the information here.

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Look into the work of Dr. Paul Marik at the East Virginia Medical School. His protocol to deal with sepsis emphasized Vitamin C and other therapy elements rather than a rash of drugs. in a 2018 study, he was able to reduce the fatality rate of his group in deep sepsis to 20%, compared to the conventionally treated control group, which suffered a fatality rate of 80%. The conventional medical community doesn't want to know, so it is up to patients to act as their first line of self-defense and tell doctors to start thinking and learning new tricks, or get a new doctor.

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1 reply
Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Sep 20, 2021
In reply to @ghschirtzinger "Look into the work of Dr. Paul Marik at the East Virginia Medical School. His protocol..." + (show)
@ghschirtzinger

Look into the work of Dr. Paul Marik at the East Virginia Medical School. His protocol to deal with sepsis emphasized Vitamin C and other therapy elements rather than a rash of drugs. in a 2018 study, he was able to reduce the fatality rate of his group in deep sepsis to 20%, compared to the conventionally treated control group, which suffered a fatality rate of 80%. The conventional medical community doesn't want to know, so it is up to patients to act as their first line of self-defense and tell doctors to start thinking and learning new tricks, or get a new doctor.

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@ghschirtzinger, thank you for bringing forward research into treating sepsis. Here is the link to Dr. Marik's study

- Hydrocortisone, Vitamin C, and Thiamine for the Treatment of Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock: A Retrospective Before-After Study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27940189/

It's important to note that this was an early phase study and tested on only 47 people. The treatment protocol is not vitamin C alone. As Dr. Marik and team concluded more study is needed.
"Conclusions: Our results suggest that the early use of intravenous vitamin C, together with corticosteroids and thiamine, are effective in preventing progressive organ dysfunction, including acute kidney injury, and in reducing the mortality of patients with severe sepsis and septic shock. Additional studies are required to confirm these preliminary findings."

To date, further studies have been inconclusive or not completed, like this one in Feb 2021:
- Effect of Vitamin C, Thiamine, and Hydrocortisone on Ventilator- and Vasopressor-Free Days in Patients With Sepsis https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2776688

Science continues to look for the best way to treat sepsis.

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