I developed Cellulitis after a routine tetanus shot during a physical on Thursday Dec 31st. My arm by Friday eve had started to hurt but I thought it was just the usual tetanus shot pain but by Sat morning my arm was more painful and swelling. Also the lymph nodes under my arm were swollen and painful. By Sat night I developed shortness of breath in the way my pneumonia started in 2011. No whezzing from my Asthma, just shortness of breath. Sunday was worse with the arm swelling, pain and shortness of breath. My arm was red at the shot site and appreared to be getting bigger. Now with some med history. I have pure DysAutonomia with POTS and Orthostatic Hypotension along with chronic fatigue. Though I tend to be more Hypertensive in the winter as my blood vessels close up (Also have Reynauds which doesn't help any) and more Hypotensive in the summer due to the heat. My BP was very high but has been running high since October. Higher than usually expected esp since it has been quite mild up until recent. I am already on 12.5 Metoprolol 1x/day for POTS but I also have Orthostatic Hypotension so incresing my beta blocker is alway tricky. Before Christmas my PCP and I decided that my BP has been running too high for too long and seem to becoming a pattern so we increased my Metoprolol to 12.5 2x/day to keep it even in my body as 25mg all at once may suddenly drop my pressure as my system is so sensitive to everything. I went away for Christmas, flying to Kentucky and back on Dec 30th with no ill effects of increasing the beta blocker, but it also didn't lower my pressure at all either. My BP has been running anywhere from 145/92 up to 183/112, along with song wonky BP's like 130/106, lower systooic with much higher diastolic. I arrived back from KY on Wednesday the 30th and Thursday, New Yrs Eve was my annual physical where I received the tetanus shot. So moving forward I started my xopenex inhaler, I have Asthma too, on Sunday, Jan 3rd, for the increased shortness of breath even though I didn't appear to be wheezing. I also too a meloxican for the increased swelling on my arm and under my arm which seemed to be spreading. I was alreading on Meloxicam for an injury and therapy to my right shoulder. I thought it might help the inflammation. It appeared to help but by Monday my breathing was very labored and my HR was 152. I started my Pulmicort, I had been given when I had pneumonia in 2011. I continued to have it filled as it worked well for my Asthmatic Bronchitis outbreaks which occur 2-3x/ yr. I went to work after taking my usual meds but I still continued with the shortness of breath and had increased chest pain. I had already scheduled an appt for the next day Tues with my PCO but the office told mecto go to the hospital if I needed. So after work I decided to go to the hospital. My BP was 182/97 w/ HR at 120 sitting. On the reassessment in the waiting room an hour later my BP was 166/100 w/HR at 128. I was bumped up on the priority. Lab work was drawn, an EKG, and a chest x-ray. To me it felt like the pneumonia I had before but I also had what seemed to be an infection in my arm from the shot. My husband had cellulitis once from the flu shot so that thought had crossed my mind. I was also having some very mild cold symptoms, sinus pressure with mucous drainage so at that point it was hard to tell what was from what. I had gotten the flu shot but I had also just flown and pneumonia is very prevalent right now in my area along with flu. Th er doc came in and looked at my and determined I was developing cellulitis in my arm and since I had some cold type symptoms I probably also had a viral infection goimg on. I had no temp still and I was 100% oxygen saturated despite my shortness of breath. The er doc said it cold be an asth, a exacerbation from the virus. So they gave me fluids to get my heart rate down and methylpred iv for my breathing. It seemed to help so they sent me home with a script for 200mg of Suprax 2x. Now I'm allergic to Peniciloins but they assured me it was a 4th generation and should have much trouble. I told them I have had Biaxin and Bactrirm before without problems. I am concerned about C-diff as I have had that before from Ceftin. But so far so good. I saw my PCP for followup the next day. She said Suprx wouldn't have been her 1st choice for the cellulitis but since I fill the script to just go with it and see how I do. My arm is better, though the lymph nodes remain, as well as the shortness of breath. I saw my PCP again yesterday. She did a spirometry and that was normal so it isn't my asthma. I did take one xopenex nebulizer treatment at home on Thursday as my breathing was worse. Seem to help maybe a little but it just, of course, aggrivated my heart. My PCP decided to test my oxy-sat level by having me walk around the office 3x with the monitor on my finger. My OSat went from 98 down to 90%. She sent my to the hospital last night for an emergency wet CT of my chest to rule out PE and pneumonia. Thankfully both were negative. I've been told by my cardiologists' office, who I had seen earlier on Friday to go up on my Metoprolol to 25am and 12.5pm. My PCP is going to order an Echo of my heart for next week.
So my question to you is this. Can cellulitis cause shortness of breath and other cold like or respiratory symptoms if it had started to spread? And also can the swelling from the cellulitis spread to or affectthe heart either with infammation or fluid around the heart. I'm still thinking all of this is caused by the cellulitis and I don't have a viral infection at all.