Symptoms:

Symptoms of cellulitis include:

• Fever
• Pain or tenderness in the affected area
• Skin redness or inflammation that gets bigger as the infection spreads
• Skin sore or rash that starts suddenly, and grows quickly in the first 24 hours
• Tight, glossy, "stretched" appearance of the skin
• Warm skin in the the area of redness

Signs of infection:

• Chills or shaking
• Fatigue
• General ill feeling
• Muscle aches and pains
• Warm skin
• Sweating

Other symptoms that can occur with this disease:

• Hair loss at the site of infection
• Joint stiffness caused by swelling of the tissue over the joint
• Nausea and vomiting

Signs and tests:

The health care provider will perform a physical exam. This may reveal:

• Redness, warmth, and swelling of the skin
• Possible drainage, if there is an infection
• Swollen glands (lymph nodes) near the affected area

Your health care provider may mark the edges of the redness with a pen, to see if the redness goes past the marked border over the next several days.

Tests that may be done:

• Blood culture
• Complete blood count (CBC)
• Culture of any fluid or material inside the affected area