As some of the folks here may know I have had a recent bout with shingles and, since I scratched them not knowing what they were I also ended up with cellulitis of the face. It was on the left side localized in the cheek but also causing my eye to swell closed. CT scans revealed that neither had spread to the eye socket which was a relief. I spent 8 days in the hospital seven of which I was on vancomycin and invanz, the last 7 I have been on levaquin to finish the cellulitis off. I had a CT scan with contrast a few days ago and it indicated that there is no abcess and that the affected area had gotten smaller.
Hi Bob,
I'm sorry to hear you have been having so many health problems. I can't speak to the shingles. I did have cellulitis a couple years ago from about 8 hornet stings. It was in my hand. But I never had anything like you have described. I guess I was lucky in that it cleared up fairly fast with the antibiotics. The RA meds do mess up the immune system.
I hope you will put your faith in your doc when he says you should be ok. Hang in there. Sounds like you have had a rough go and it may take some time for things to return to normal.
Take care and feel better soon!
Bob - sorry you had such a bad run here, I had never heard of cellulitis before. I read up on it and I just have to say its interesting that its either a strep or staph infection - and for you, after having shingles, which is caused by a virus. Then I read about how a suppressed autoimmune system make you vulnerable to contracting shingles. I also read about a possible relationship with Hep C and shingles, which was more news to me. Take care and lets those antibiotics do their work, the part about your immune system being so suppressed by the MTX, etc. is very hard to accept. Keep us informed. Hey sorry to hear about your infection. I am also just getting over a bout with cellulitis and shingles on my lower leg. It was bad my leg turned all shades of red and purple within a 24 hour period. Scared my hubby bad I guess. It also caused me a day of being so lethargic I couldnt lift my head. He finially made me go to ER. It was evidently bad and was on oral antibiotics. If they would have called my pcp he probably would have admitted me but luckily I snuck out of that one. It took awhile to clear and it still is tender to the touch and still itches and it has been 3 weeks. They think mine was brought on by an infection I picked up in flood waters as we flooded during the tropical storm Fay and was in water for a week...dirty water. Tried to keep out of it but it was impossible think it got me because of my bad immune system. So just keep an eye on it. I also used antibiotic cream on it but the doc didnt tell me too it just made me feel better lol This past April I had cellulitis on my left ear. Had oral antibiotics along with infusions and it is still sore to the touch. I find vaseline to help soften the area as it is cartilage.