Cellulitis is a nasty skin condition that you don’t want. It’s not contagious, but will make you look conspicuous to yourself and others. It’s characterized by swollen, hot and painfully tender patches of skin. This painful redness spreads to other parts of your skin. This usually does not go away by itself. You need to see a doctor if you get any signs of tenderness, swelling or pain in an area that has had a cut, scratch or other injury. One of the things that can help with cellulitis is aloe vera.
What Are The Causes?
You get the milder form of cellulitis from a break in your skin that’s become infected. It is thought the bacteria responsible are streptococcus and staphylococcus. A more serious form is called erysipelas (chronic cellulitis), where a fever precedes the usual painful skin condition. It is thought the chronic version is due to an infection in the lymphatic system.
The painful patches occur most commonly on the legs or the lower half of the body, but they can crop up anywhere. Children or the elderly tend to get the patches on the face. No matter where you get cellulitis on the body, get to the doctor as soon as you can. This can’t be emphasized enough, because cellulitis has led to potentially fatal complications.
People with poor circulation or diabetes need to be especially vigilant about cellulitis, as their warning system of pain has been compromised. You need to thoroughly clean any wound you get and use a topical ointment to prevent cellulitis. Aloe vera ointments and gels are available in most pharmacies and grocery stores, since aloe vera contains antibacterial properties.
Soothing Away The Pain
For cellulitis, aloe vera products have been proven to help soothe the painful areas. Aloe vera by itself has pain killing properties. It is very drying, so it is usually made in the form of an ointment, cream or gel that helps moisturize the skin as well as protect it from infection and help reduce the pain.
For cellulitis, aloe vera products will not be enough to take away this painful condition. Since you have a serious bacterial infection, you need to get to the doctor to get a course of antibiotics to help you to get better. If your cellulitis is advanced, then you need to be hospitalized to have the antibiotic delivered intravenously.
Not one antibiotic helps everyone with cellulitis; aloe vera is the same. Some people are allergic to certain kinds of antibiotics (like penicillin) and some people are allergic to aloe vera. If you know you have an allergy to garlic, onions or even tulips, then the chances are good that you are also allergic to aloe vera. If you have cellulitis, aloe vera should NOT be used until you talk to your doctor first. There may be other topical pain killers that your doctor will recommend for your circumstances.
If you have cellulitis and grow aloe vera plants, you can use the pulp of a cut off piece of fresh aloe vera to soothe your pain. This is, of course, if your doctor approves the use of aloe vera as a painkiller for your sores. It is also thought that drinking aloe vera juice can help your body fight the infection and build new body cells, but nothing has been proven clinically to back up that claim.
Other Types
There are other types of cellulitis that aloe vera just will not be able to help. These include orbital cellulitis, which means cellulitis in your eye socket or your eyelid. Considering the pain level, you might be able to get very prescriptions for very powerful painkillers.
