Hopefully you have been properly assessed for diabetes (check your own BGL, it is easy enough nowadays) and MRSA. The public pools here are literally poop ridden. Last time I was at the pool an old lady pooped on the floor of the changing room.
eeeeew…now you have me thinking about the “Depends” crowd that take exercise class in our community pool.
Both times I have had cellulitis, I was exposed to insect bites. In 2015, I had stepped in an ant pile. More recently, I was birdwatching and was covered with gnats. The day had started out cool, so we didn’t apply repellent, and we went to a swampy area by carpool, leaving behind my repellent, and I was covered with bites. That won’t happen again. I DO NOT get pedicures. In 2015, my nurse told me I should NEVER get them because of my predisposition to cellulitis, and I told her, no danger there. I am prediabetic, and my husband is diabetic. He wears lymphedema sleeves every night, prescribed by his podiatrist, and has been attack free since. He takes doxycycline when he notices any changes in his legs, like redness, swelling. I also get severe herpes attacks around my mouth, nose, when I get these bad cellulitis outbreaks, and am put on Valtrex, which clears that up in a couple of weeks. My leg is doing better, and I see the infectious disease doc this week. As my right foot is affected, I can’t drive, so I’ve got cabin fever. Doing a lot of reading and Netflix. I stubbed my left toe very badly, and am in severe pain from that, and luckily, have the nurse dress that as well. Talked to a lady at school the other day who told me her husband was in ICU and gone septic and almost died from cellulitis once, and now sees a podiatrist. Thinking of going to a podiatrist if okayed by my infectious disease doc after release. Yes, cellulitis is very scary, as is diabetes, and we did, in fact, lose a college friend to sepsis in his early 40s, so it is not something to be ignored. Thanks for all the advice and words of encouragement. Definitely going to look into Defense Soap. My brothers and nephews wrestled, and we know of many kids who got bad Staph infections from wrestling, so this is a good recommendation. Thanks so much again and will keep y’all posted.
My non doctor husband is colorblind and couldn’t see how the infection was spreading on our daughter’s foot (also from a bug bite). He can’t tell if the kids are flushed from fevers too. Makes me wonder if they screen for that at med schools.
We have a relative who is a Med student who is color blind. His cousin’s suggested he should probably not want to be a surgeon, since it might be harder to distinguish the veins from arteries by color for him.
Cellutis sounds awful! Hope you can get your ID doc to refer you to a podiatrist who may have some good ideas about helpful no prevent future bouts.
Are you managing your health/diabetes etc? I don't know how old you are, but a lot of preventative health strategy is purely in your court.
I am 55. I’m prediabetic. Would love advice on that preventative health strategy.
Diabetes runs rampant in my husband’s family. Thin active people get it. Over weight get it. Can’t fight the DNA.
DNA does make it tougher by attention to diet and exercise can help delay the onset, I believe.
My son’s babysitter followed a strict diet but still got diabetes. Yep, hard to fight those genes. I wonder if cellulitis has a genetic factor, since my mom suffered with it.
True genes have a big role–but who knows how much sooner and worse her diabetes would have been if she hadn’t followed a strict diet and exercised? Giving ourselves a free pass due to genes isn’t doing the best we can with the cards we are dealt.
My sister in law has very slight diabetes that is easily controlled. Over weight. Eats Mexican food all the time.
My brother in law has terrible diabetes. Thin and active. Eats better than his sister.
Id say close to half of the cousins, aunts, and uncles have diabetes. Father did too.
Can’t fight the DNA.
“slight diabetes”
like slightly pregnant?
it is true … your DNA can not be escaped, your genetic lottery ticket was assigned to you at the moment of your conception.
“I am 55. I’m prediabetic. Would love advice on that preventative health strategy.”
get an a1c test every three months.
“A1C test result reflects your average blood sugar level for the past two to three months. Specifically, the A1C test measures what percentage of your hemoglobin — a protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen — is coated with sugar (glycated). The higher your A1C level, the poorer your blood sugar control and the higher your risk of diabetes complications.”
http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/a1c-test/home/ovc-20167930
in most states you do not need a doctors RX you just order and pay online (to a company overseen by a doctor) they email you a form instantly. most websites you can choose lab corp or quest. you go in and you normally get the results of the lab test emailed in less than 24 hours. I have done it, went to quest they took the form, and did my tests and I got the results at like 6am in the next morning also with quest 72 hours later (some states longer) you can log onto quest and see the lab results on their website and for $9.99 you can view all your lab results they have going back to I think 2010.
Best way to address T2 diabetes: lose some weight, exercise regularly, limit carbs.
@zobroward There are degrees of diabetes, depending on whether you are still producing insulin, and how much, and your degree of insulin resistance. So saying someone’s diabetes is “slight” may not be use of scientific terminology, but makes perfect sense.
Actually once you have diabetes you have it. Even if you had a “slight” case…get it under control for 50 years…you are still diabetic.
Yes, but you aren’t on insulin, are you?
Look at anything by Jason Fung. As for genes, unless you have the genetic tests at your fingertips or some obvious family specifics (e.g. the MODY types, only 2%) it is not a lost fight by any means.