Hello,

I was wondering if anyone may be able to help. My father in law has a foot problem. They originally diagnosed it as Severe Cellulitis. Being that he is a diabetic it is of the utmost importance to figure out what is wrong. The doctor seems to have no clue and has him on some pretty expensive medicine.
His symptoms are very similair to those of Cellulitis. Red, swelling, blisters, warm to touch, feeling of burning.....
Any thoughts?

Dear Joe,
You are right, cellulitis is a term used to describe an area that is red, hot and swollen. The treatment is typically antibiotics. Sometimes doctors start off by giving patients oral antibiotics, however, if that fails and no improvement results, then patients are admitted to the hospital for IV antibiotics. The doctor has to decide upon which would be the appropriate antibiotics to start and whether or not hospital admission is required. Unfortunately, medications are often quite expensive, that is a reality that we all encounter. If in doubt, it never hurts to get a second opinion.

Good-luck and thank-you for contacting foot.com,
sbarlizo, dpm
foot.com expert