Jennie,

I don't want to be an alarmist about your condition, but had an experience with this when my Mother was alive. She had cancer & in taking out the lymphnodes in her groin, it caused lymphedema in her legs (where the lymph fluid collects there & the nodes that clean out the fluid weren't there to do the job). Her legs got red with infection....cellulitus.....she was put on oral antibiotics & after about 4 days I noticed that the red & heat had moved into the calf. From my discussion on the internet with others that dealt with lymphedema, I knew that if the oral antibiotics didn't work, IV AB's would be necessary. I called the specialist that I had taken her to & she suggested that there may be a blood clot & that she should be placed into the hospital immediately. The surgeon was pissed off at the suggestion & we wanted him to admit her into the hospital because the specialist was going to be out of town....he swore that it couldn't possibly be bloodclots & how dare that woman Dr say that.......well, he finally admitted my Mother & had them do the tests for blood clots....& Yes, there were several.....& required quite a bit of treatment to get them dissolved. To this day, I am still wondering if she had a small stroke from one of the blood clots on the way to the brain or if the cancer was spreading to the brain at that point because it was at that time that I noticed her cognitive abilities going down hill.

It isn't something to fool around with & needs immediate care whether it is the infection spreading, like tryin said, the start of gangreen, or possible blood clots...It is better to be safe than sorry. There are tests that can rule out the bad possibilities & no need to take chances in your condition.

Please take care, & hope that it really isn't something serious,
Debbie
Debbie