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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffSeveral factors can place you at greater risk of developing cellulitis:
- Age. As you age, your circulatory system becomes less effective at delivering blood — with its infection-fighting white blood cells — to some areas of your body. As a result, skin abrasions may lead to infections where your circulation is poor.
- Weakened immune system. Illnesses that result in a weakening of your immune system leave you more susceptible to infections such as cellulitis. Examples of these illnesses include chronic lymphocytic leukemia and HIV infection. Taking immune-suppressing drugs, such as prednisone or cyclosporine, also can leave you more vulnerable to infections. Immune-suppressing drugs are used to treat a variety of illnesses and to help prevent rejection in people who receive organ transplants.
- Diabetes. Having diabetes not only increases your blood sugar level but also impairs your immune system and increases your risk of infection. Your skin is one of the many areas of your body that becomes more susceptible to infection. Diabetes may result in decreased circulation of blood to your lower extremities, potentially leading to chronic ulcers of your feet. These ulcers can serve as portals of entry for bacterial infections.
- Chickenpox and shingles. These common viral diseases typically cause broken blisters on the skin that can serve as potential entry points for bacterial invasion and infection.
- Chronic swelling of your arms or legs (lymphedema). Swollen tissue may crack, leaving your skin vulnerable to bacterial infection.
- Chronic fungal infection of your feet or toes. Recurrent fungal infection of your feet or toes can cause cracks in your skin, increasing your risk of bacterial infection.
- Intravenous drug use. People who inject illicit drugs have a higher risk of developing cellulitis.
