Saturday, February 7, 2009

Buccal Cellulitus...

This is the latest ailment to affect our household. It actually sounds worse than it actually is. It is a fancy name for a skin infection & it has called Lindsey "home" for the past few days. Luckily we caught it early because it could have turned into an abscess which we do not need! This all started with a small spot on her cheek that looked just like a bug bite. Being in FL we often get mosquitoes and for some strange reason they LOVE to bite her, probably because she is SO sweet! LOL! Well I gave her some Benadryl & she continued with her day as normal as could be. It was not until AFTER her nap that we knew there was a problem. You should have seen her face! Half of her cheek & chin was all swollen, warm to the touch, pink & hard! It looked TERRIBLE! She still had her cheery disposition but her face looked like it belonged on an ALIEN! When she smiled half of her face would not cooperate and basically it looked distorted. Poor Linz! I knew I had to take her in to see the Doc. I had to think fast since it was already 4pm. Michael arranged for Aunt Kara to come over & LUCKILY, Grandma & Aunt Pat were able to watch the others until she arrived. Off we were, 45 minutes away, to see Dr Stout. I make it in record time & did not even have to wait once we got there. YAY! Dr Stout took one look at her & said I believe this is Buccal Cellulitus. Like I know what that is! LOL! She then said it is basically a skin infection caused by bacteria getting into the skin & causing an infection. Now I need to tell you there was no scratch or cut this was just a raised pink bump. She said it could be VERY miniscule for the bacteria to get in, possibly in her mouth. Luckily we caught it in time because she did not have any fever yet. All she needs is 7 days of antibiotics and then should be as good as new. YAY! Before we could leave she had to outline the swollen area on her face so when we came back the next day the Dr could tell if the meds worked. Once the appt was over you would have thought she was a cranial/facial patient with all the marks on her face! LOL! I'm telling you the things these children expose me to! I can now say that I have heard of ...

Buccal Cellulitus...


1 comments:

April said...

Cathy...hope Linz is OK! If you end up needing a pediatric derm Doc, let me know. We have had our own skin issues here and have found a great one!

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