Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Treatments and drugs
By Mayo Clinic staffDoctors rely on antibiotic drugs and joint drainage when treating septic arthritis.
Antibiotic drugs
Your doctor works to identify the bacterium that's causing your infection and then selects the most effective antibiotic to target that specific bacterium. Antibiotics may be given through a vein in your arm (intravenously) at first. Later, in some cases, you may be able to switch to oral antibiotics. How long you undergo antibiotic treatment depends on your health, the type of bacterium you're infected with and the extent of the infection. Typically, treatment lasts about two to six weeks.
Antibiotics carry a risk of side effects, including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Allergic reactions also can occur. Talk to your doctor about the side effects to expect from your specific medication.
Joint drainage
Removing the infected synovial fluid from your joint serves three purposes: It removes bacteria from your joint, reduces pressure on your joint, and gives your doctor a sample to test for bacteria and other organisms. The most common method of removing joint fluid is through arthroscopic surgery. During this surgery, tiny cameras and special surgical tools are inserted through small incisions around your joint to access and drain the fluid around the joint.
In other cases, doctors may remove fluid from your joint with a needle (arthrocentesis). Arthrocentesis may be repeated, usually daily, until no bacteria are found in the extracted fluid. Hips, which are more difficult to access, may require open surgery to remove the synovial fluid. Open surgery requires larger incisions to pull back the skin and access your joint. Surgery may need to be repeated in certain cases.
Recovery
Once the infection is under control, your doctor may recommend gentle movement to keep your joint functional. Gentle exercises can keep your joint from becoming stiff and your muscles from becoming weak. Movement also encourages blood flow and circulation, which helps your body's healing process.
