Port problem (cellulitis)

antcat
antcat Member Posts: 270
in Ovarian Cancer #1
Has anyone ever has cellulitis in the area around their port? I went for chemo yesterday and the nurse noticed there was some redness above the port where my incision was originally made and the area felt warm. I was able to get chemo thru my vein. After much going back and forth between nurses, I finally saw the dr. The nurse felt I had a cellulitis, the doctor didn't think it was really red, but it was a little warm. My original temp when taking vitals was 100. I asked the tech if she could please take it again, she said no, they don't do that unless you have a fever. When I saw the doc, he said did they retake your temp, and I told him what they said to me. So, he took it and said it was normal. He did give me a prescription for an antibiotic but said to take it only it it got red, and I have a fever. Not sure what to do, because it is still red with a little warmth, but no fever. I'll be seeing my primary doc Monday, so I'm hoping it will be all right till then.

Just wondering if anyone ever had a cellulitis around their port area. It's so discouraging we not only have to deal with this cancer but all the problems that do along with it.

Thanks.

Comments

  • upsofloating
    upsofloating Member Posts: 466 Member
    #2
    I would definitely keep an
    I would definitely keep an eye on symptoms. Port feeds directly into blood supply - this is why not just anyone can access a port and the nurses wear a mask and gown when they do mine, even just for a flush. I had swelling above my collarbone above my port and saw my PCP - who sent me directly to ER for full work up lest it be related to my port. I had waited a couple of days to see him and he warned me possible port issues could be serious and require immediate attention. I think he was worried I might have clot forming. But do monitor your symptoms.
    Annie
  • Tethys41
    Tethys41 Member Posts: 1,382 Member
    #3
    Cellulitus
    I had repeated cellulitus around my port, but I don't know whether my experience will be of much help to you. I was experiencing the redness and inflammation after receiving vitamin IV's though my port. I didn't have any problems initially, but after many months of receiving them, the cellulitus started. We could not figure out what was causing it, and eventually, I had the port replaced. The situation continued with the new port until the nurse started buffering the IV fluid so that it was a neutral pH. Haven't had a problem since, and that was over a year ago. It doesn't make sense to me that there should be a reaction to the IV contents in the area of the port itself, as the fluids are contained in the port and don't contact the tissue surrounding the port. But clearly my situation was related to a reaction to the contents of the IV.
  • Hissy_Fitz
    Hissy_Fitz Member Posts: 1,834
    #4
    Tethys41 said:

    Cellulitus
    I had repeated cellulitus around my port, but I don't know whether my experience will be of much help to you. I was experiencing the redness and inflammation after receiving vitamin IV's though my port. I didn't have any problems initially, but after many months of receiving them, the cellulitus started. We could not figure out what was causing it, and eventually, I had the port replaced. The situation continued with the new port until the nurse started buffering the IV fluid so that it was a neutral pH. Haven't had a problem since, and that was over a year ago. It doesn't make sense to me that there should be a reaction to the IV contents in the area of the port itself, as the fluids are contained in the port and don't contact the tissue surrounding the port. But clearly my situation was related to a reaction to the contents of the IV.

    USF is right....the port is
    USF is right....the port is a superhighway for infection, directly to your bloodstream. Keep a close watch on this.

    My first port eroded thru the skin. It never turned red. I just got up one day and saw a little black dot, that I thought was a scab. A closer look revealed that it was actually one of the little "bumps" on the Power Port that the nurses feel for, to get a proper placement when they access it. Within a few days, I had a dime-size hole in my chest and could see the port very clearly. I was out of town (my initial call to my doctor wasn't taken seriously) and went to the nearest ER. They put a sterile dressing over it, with antibiotic cream, and then a clear plastic thing that sealed everything off. They suggested I cut my trip short and fly home ASAP.

    Don't be reluctant to go back to the doctor if you think it looks even a little red. Ask other people to monitor it with you. Sometimes we need input from a second or third pair of eyes. And get the antibiotics filled, just in case.

    Carlene
  • Tethys41
    Tethys41 Member Posts: 1,382 Member
    #5
    Hissy_Fitz said:

    USF is right....the port is
    USF is right....the port is a superhighway for infection, directly to your bloodstream. Keep a close watch on this.

    My first port eroded thru the skin. It never turned red. I just got up one day and saw a little black dot, that I thought was a scab. A closer look revealed that it was actually one of the little "bumps" on the Power Port that the nurses feel for, to get a proper placement when they access it. Within a few days, I had a dime-size hole in my chest and could see the port very clearly. I was out of town (my initial call to my doctor wasn't taken seriously) and went to the nearest ER. They put a sterile dressing over it, with antibiotic cream, and then a clear plastic thing that sealed everything off. They suggested I cut my trip short and fly home ASAP.

    Don't be reluctant to go back to the doctor if you think it looks even a little red. Ask other people to monitor it with you. Sometimes we need input from a second or third pair of eyes. And get the antibiotics filled, just in case.

    Carlene

    Power Port
    My first port was one of those with the little nubbies. When I went to have it removed, they said that the company who produces them had changed the design because a small percentage of the population had the same problem as you did, Carlene. Mine had not eroded through, but the skin was awfully thin over that area. I now have a power port that does not have the nubbies. I always have to explain this at my local hospital. I had the new on put in at UC-Irvine, but my small, local hospital isn't up on the latest technology and they still believe that all power ports have the nubbies.
  • antcat
    antcat Member Posts: 270
    #6
    Hissy_Fitz said:

    USF is right....the port is
    USF is right....the port is a superhighway for infection, directly to your bloodstream. Keep a close watch on this.

    My first port eroded thru the skin. It never turned red. I just got up one day and saw a little black dot, that I thought was a scab. A closer look revealed that it was actually one of the little "bumps" on the Power Port that the nurses feel for, to get a proper placement when they access it. Within a few days, I had a dime-size hole in my chest and could see the port very clearly. I was out of town (my initial call to my doctor wasn't taken seriously) and went to the nearest ER. They put a sterile dressing over it, with antibiotic cream, and then a clear plastic thing that sealed everything off. They suggested I cut my trip short and fly home ASAP.

    Don't be reluctant to go back to the doctor if you think it looks even a little red. Ask other people to monitor it with you. Sometimes we need input from a second or third pair of eyes. And get the antibiotics filled, just in case.

    Carlene

    Port problems - thanks Carlene
    Thanks Carlene, you always provide so much helpful information. I am going to see my primary care doctor tomorrow and have him take a look at it because I've started on the antibiotics (2nd day now) and it's funny, in the morning it isn't that red, but as the day goes on it gets more pinker. The pharmacist told me that people who have a compromised immune system will have a harder time to clear up the infection. What I don't understand is why I even got the chemo when the port was red. I, myself, think I should have been told to let it go this week and just start on the antibiotic, but doctor's really don't like people to become involved in their care and there's just nothing a person can do about it.
  • antcat
    antcat Member Posts: 270
    #7
    upsofloating said:

    I would definitely keep an
    I would definitely keep an eye on symptoms. Port feeds directly into blood supply - this is why not just anyone can access a port and the nurses wear a mask and gown when they do mine, even just for a flush. I had swelling above my collarbone above my port and saw my PCP - who sent me directly to ER for full work up lest it be related to my port. I had waited a couple of days to see him and he warned me possible port issues could be serious and require immediate attention. I think he was worried I might have clot forming. But do monitor your symptoms.
    Annie

    Thanks everyone for replying
    Thank you so much for all of your replies. It really helps to be on this board because when you think you might be the only person experiencing something, you find out you're not alone. I'm going to keep on top of this and even though some doctors don't like people becoming too involved in their care, I'm still going to get involved. I never did in the beginning and always took what the doctor said as the tried and true but have learned that people have to be their own advocates. It's unfortunate because some doctors, don't like this.

    Thanks again.
  • carolenk
    carolenk Member Posts: 907 Member
    #8
    antcat said:

    Port problems - thanks Carlene
    Thanks Carlene, you always provide so much helpful information. I am going to see my primary care doctor tomorrow and have him take a look at it because I've started on the antibiotics (2nd day now) and it's funny, in the morning it isn't that red, but as the day goes on it gets more pinker. The pharmacist told me that people who have a compromised immune system will have a harder time to clear up the infection. What I don't understand is why I even got the chemo when the port was red. I, myself, think I should have been told to let it go this week and just start on the antibiotic, but doctor's really don't like people to become involved in their care and there's just nothing a person can do about it.

    Cellulitis
    I would be on the antibiotics in a heartbeat if I had the same signs of cellulitis as you have because I know my "normal" temperature is below normal.

    Being on antibiotics, you are now at an increased risk for an opportunistic fungal infection if you don't take some probiotics (friendly bacteria) in between doses of the antibiotic. Taking the probiotics will keep you from getting a vaginal yeast infection. The probiotics should be taken 2 hours after the antibiotics when possible.

    If the reaction is more of a chemically-induced one, then the antibiotics will not clear up the redness. In that case, I hope you can get someone to help you as Tethys indicated.

    Carolen

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