We have also seen a couple of cases of erysipelas....although not any 
involving the breast.  I seems that this condition is incredibly 
painful!  The cases we have seen were treated with PCN and we had good 
results.  I wonder why the difference?  Possibly area of involvment??? 
(breast versus leg or face?)?.......interesting.

SB

Denise Fisher wrote:

> Hi Barbara
>
> I would begin to question the diagnosis of mastitis.
>
> In my area over the last couple of years there have been several cases 
> of erysipelas of the breast, which at first gets diagnosed as 
> mastitis, but doesn't involve the deeper mammary structures to any 
> degree, just the skin. I'm not taking anything away from this 
> condition - the women get very sick and it has proven to be very 
> difficult to treat.
> The area is usually very large, as you have described, has an 'orange 
> peel' type of pitting to the skin, and it is bright red!!
> One woman was in hospital on IV antibiotics for days and just 
> recovering from it on one breast when it started on the other - while 
> she was still on the IV antibiotics.
>
> Here's a link to some information about erysipelas: 
> http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic129.htm - this article mentions the 
> possibility of recurrence; one mother had it with her first baby, then 
> it reoccurred in exactly the same spot with her next baby. An 
> infectious diseases specialist could be a very handy addition to your 
> team if this is what your client has.
>
> There will be a presentation of these case studies at the ABA 
> International Conference in Hobart in September.
>
> Denise
>
> ***************************************
> Denise Fisher
> Health e-Learning
> http://www.health-e-learning.com
> [log in to unmask]
>
> ****************************************
>             ***********************************************
>
> To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
> To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
> To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
> All commands go to [log in to unmask]
>
> The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
> LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R)
> mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
> http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
>

             ***********************************************

To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]

The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(R)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html