Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.
About Cellulitis
Cellulitis is an infection of the skin and deep underlying tissues. Group A strep (streptococcal) bacteria are the most common cause. The bacteria enter your body when you get an injury such as a bruise, burn, surgical cut, or wound.
Symptoms include:
- Fever and chills
- Swollen glands or lymph nodes
- A rash with painful, red, tender skin. The skin may blister and scab over.
Your health care provider may take a sample or culture from your skin or do a blood test to identify the bacteria causing infection. Treatment is with antibiotics. They may be oral in mild cases, or intravenous (by IV) for more severe cases.
It sits within Infections and Skin, Hair and Nails.
The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.
Research on Cellulitis
188 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.
What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.
Research currently under way
- Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole vs. Clindamycin for the Treatment of Children With Invasive MRSA InfectionsIndiana University
- Pharmacokinetics, Pharmacodynamics, and Safety Profile of Understudied Drugs Administered to Children Per Standard of Care (POPS)Duke University
- Naproxen Versus Placebo as Adjunct Treatment of CellulitisOttawa Hospital Research Institute
- Cellulitis Optimal Antibiotic TreatmentUniversity of Southampton
- Validation of the Use of the Arteriovenous Tension Difference in CO2 Under Hyperbaric ConditionsUniversity Hospital, Lille
- Transoral Ultrasound Versus no Transoral Ultrasound in Diagnostic Workup of Peritonsillar AbscessRigshospitalet, Denmark
Research already completed
- RF Microneedling With Multi-Depth Targeting Per Insertion for The Treatment of CelluliteInMode MD Ltd.
- Quasi-Randomized Evaluation of the UCLA Next Day Clinic (NDC)University of California, Los Angeles
- Oral Moxifloxacin Versus Cefazolin and Oral Probenecid in the Management of Skin and Soft Tissue Infections in the Emergency DepartmentUniversity of British Columbia
- Effect of Teledermatology on Length of Hospital Admission, Length of Stay, 30 Day Readmission Rate, and Antibiotic Use in Patients Presenting With Cellulitis vs Pseudocellulitis in an Academic ED SettingOhio State University
- The Personalised Antibiotic Duration for Cellulitis (PAD-C) StudyUniversity of Sussex
- Study Assessing Impact of Dermatology Consultation for Patients Admitted With CellulitisMassachusetts General Hospital
Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.
Where to read more
Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.
Start Here
- CellulitisMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
Related Issues
- Cellulitis Infection: Is It Contagious?Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Cellulitis: How to Prevent Recurrent EpisodesMayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research
- Group A Streptococcal InfectionsNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: CellulitisNational Institutes of Health
Medical subject headings
Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Cellulitis. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.
This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Cellulitis, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.