cellulitis--darn it!

[Jolt]

A couple of days ago I had some pain in my right big toe that I thought was just from the beginnings of an ingrown toenail, so I cut the nail and did the standard "digging" to fix it. However, that didn't help the pain and it was actually getting worse; then this morning I noticed the entire toe was red, warm and a little swollen, and it hurt even more. I decided it looked like cellulitis, so after church I went to the urgent care center and sure enough, that's what they said it was and sent me off with a prescription for Keflex as well as recommending warm compresses and elevating the area if I'm just sitting (such as studying for exams!!!). I decided to skip running today (they didn't say anything as far as telling me to stay off it, but it is a little uncomfortable) and am trying to decide whether it's a good idea to run tomorrow or not. What do you guys think?

[limewave]

I say take the extra day off. I've had cellulitis before too and its surprising how much energy your body needs to fight that off. Take a rest day. Get better.

[Wahine]

I agree. Until you feel better and the Keflex seems to be kicking in, take it easy. Your body needs all it's energy to fight the infection right now.

[rocknrollgirl]

A very wise person once told me..." when in doubt, leave it out", skip the run and let your body heal....

[Zen]

If that's cellulitis I'm surprised you have the energy to even think about running.

[Jolt]

If that's cellulitis I'm surprised you have the energy to even think about running.

Well, I'm not at my usual level of energy to be sure, but I'm not totally wiped out either. Actually, now that I think of it, maybe this was why I didn't feel quite up to par on my run yesterday--I had chalked it up to the headwinds I experienced on a few stretches, but it's entirely possible that it had to do with fighting this infection. On the bright side, I've gotten a lot of studying done this afternoon while sitting on the couch with my foot up!!

[mimitabby]

cellulitis?
I thought that was bumpy fat that ladies hate in their thighs?
It's painful and can mess up your toe?

Can someone explain?

[Jolt]

cellulitis?
I thought that was bumpy fat that ladies hate in their thighs?
It's painful and can mess up your toe?

Can someone explain?

You're thinking of cellulite, which although the words are similar is a totally different thing. Cellulitis is an infection of the skin, generally caused by staph or strep bacteria.

[mimitabby]

oh. Hm, not what i'd expect in an athlete. take care and get better!

[kat_h]

My husband had a bad cellulitis infection last year. His left leg from the knee down was swollen and purple, plus he had a fever and a super high heart rate by the time we went to the emergency room. He couldn't even walk and he lost 40 lbs in two days. He was in the hospital for a couple of days and on IV antibiotics for two weeks, then oral antibiotics for another two.

Good on you for getting this checked out so quickly. Keep that up by taking extra good care of it now. Hopefully you're back to 100% soon.

[Crankin]

Take care of yourself, Jolt. My son had cellulitis after he joined the Marines, from living out in "the field." I had never heard of it, either, but apparently it's more common than we think.

[OakLeaf]

Ouch, hope you feel better real soon.

In my decidedly non-expert opinion it seems to me that you would want to exercise just enough to increase the circulation and not enough to suppress your immune system (or risk endocarditis which is always a small but present danger) - and running in particular might cause some tissue trauma which you wouldn't want. Move, but take it easy.

[Jolt]

My husband had a bad cellulitis infection last year. His left leg from the knee down was swollen and purple, plus he had a fever and a super high heart rate by the time we went to the emergency room. He couldn't even walk and he lost 40 lbs in two days. He was in the hospital for a couple of days and on IV antibiotics for two weeks, then oral antibiotics for another two.

Good on you for getting this checked out so quickly. Keep that up by taking extra good care of it now. Hopefully you're back to 100% soon.

Yikes! That is exactly the kind of situation I wanted to avoid by getting it checked out promptly. Sounds like he was even starting to get septic--that's scary. I'm already seeing significant improvement--the area is still red, but less swollen and much less painful, so obviously the bug that caused it is susceptible to the Keflex.