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Skin infections can begin as a small red or painful area and worsen quickly. Sanova evaluates and treats appropriate cellulitis, infected wounds and other soft-tissue infections.
Mild local irritation is different from a spreading infection. These are reasons for prompt evaluation — especially for people with diabetes or circulation problems.
The red area is getting bigger, not smaller.
The area feels warm or hot to the touch.
Pain or swelling that's getting worse over time.
Fluid or pus coming from the area.
Red lines spreading out from the affected area.
Fever accompanying the skin symptoms.
CDC describes cellulitis as an infection involving deeper skin tissues that commonly presents with redness, pain and warmth. Diagnosis is generally clinical.
Treatment is individualized. Depending on the examination and severity, treatment may involve:
CDC notes that mild cellulitis is commonly treated with oral antibiotics while systemic infections may warrant intravenous therapy.
Procedures and treatments handled in the clinic, without a referral:
A skin infection is one of the clearest cases for urgent care: it needs to be seen today, it needs the right antibiotic today, and it rarely needs a hospital. Sanova Urgent Care on North Oracle Road treats cellulitis, abscesses, infected cuts and bites, shingles and rashes on a walk-in basis for patients from Catalina, Oro Valley, SaddleBrooke, Rancho Vistoso and Sun City Oro Valley — with IM and IV antibiotics, abscess drainage and wound cultures done on site.
Spreading redness, warmth, swelling and tenderness — most often on the lower leg, arm or face — usually from bacteria entering through a crack, scrape, bite or athlete's foot. We mark the border with a pen, start an antibiotic that covers strep and staph the same visit, and give an IM or IV dose first when the infection is moving fast or involves the face or hand. A recheck in 48 hours confirms it's shrinking.
A tender, swollen lump that's filling with pus needs to be drained — antibiotics alone rarely fix it. We numb the area, perform incision and drainage, pack the cavity if needed and send a culture for MRSA when the picture calls for it. Relief is usually immediate.
Desert life produces plenty of these: cactus punctures, cholla spines, dog and cat bites, spider and scorpion stings that get scratched open, mesquite-thorn wounds. We clean and explore the wound, remove foreign material, update tetanus, and treat with antibiotics matched to the type of wound. See stitches and wound care for cuts that need closure.
Redness, drainage or a new sore on the foot of someone with diabetes or poor circulation is treated as urgent. We examine circulation and sensation, look for a hidden ulcer, culture any drainage, start antibiotics the same day and coordinate with your primary care doctor or podiatrist. Many of our SaddleBrooke and Sun City patients come in for exactly this.
Shingles (a painful, one-sided band of blisters) is treated with antivirals, most effective within 72 hours. Impetigo's honey-colored crusts, folliculitis from hot tubs or shaving, ringworm and other fungal infections are all diagnosed on sight and treated the same day.
Hives, contact dermatitis, poison ivy, heat rash, drug rashes and the viral rashes of childhood are evaluated here, with antihistamines, steroids or antibiotics as needed. If you're not sure whether it's an infection or a reaction, a same-day look is the fastest way to find out.
Vital signs, then a provider examines the area, checks for fluctuance (a pocket of pus), red streaking, swollen lymph nodes and fever, and asks about diabetes, circulation, recent injuries and prior MRSA. If there's an abscess, it's drained on the spot. You'll leave with a prescription sent to your pharmacy, written wound care instructions, a marked border to watch, and a plan to walk back in for a recheck in 48 hours or sooner if the redness spreads.
A skin infection visit is billed as an urgent care visit at your plan's urgent care copay; abscess drainage is a minor procedure and is itemized. We accept Medicare, Tricare, UnitedHealthcare, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, Cigna, Humana, AHCCCS and most major plans, and post self-pay prices. Related: all walk-in services · pediatric urgent care · Catalina · Oro Valley · SaddleBrooke · meet the providers.
Everything you need to know before your visit. Can’t find your answer? Call us at (520) 232-2525.
Yes. Cellulitis and other skin and soft-tissue infections — infected cuts and scrapes, abscesses and boils, infected insect bites, folliculitis, impetigo, infected ingrown nails and diabetic foot infections — are evaluated and treated on a walk-in basis. We mark the border of the redness, start antibiotics the same visit and schedule a recheck.
Yes. Most skin infections are treated with oral antibiotics you pick up the same day. When an infection is spreading quickly, involves the face or hand, or hasn’t responded to oral antibiotics, our providers can give an intramuscular (IM) or IV antibiotic dose in the clinic and continue oral therapy from there.
Yes. Infected surgical wounds, cuts, scrapes, burns and pressure areas are cleaned, cultured when needed, dressed and treated with antibiotics. If an abscess has formed we can drain it on site. See our stitches and wound care page for lacerations and wound closure.
Irritation stays put and improves over a day or two. Cellulitis spreads: the red area grows, feels warm or hot, gets more painful and swollen, and may come with fever or red streaks. We mark the edge of the redness with a pen at your visit so you and we can see whether it’s shrinking on treatment.
Yes. Incision and drainage (I&D) of an abscess is one of the most common procedures we do. The area is numbed, the abscess is opened and drained, packed if needed, and you go home with wound care instructions and, when appropriate, antibiotics. Most abscesses feel dramatically better as soon as they’re drained.
Yes, today. Foot infections in people with diabetes can progress quickly and quietly. We examine the foot, check circulation and sensation, look for a hidden wound or ulcer, and start treatment the same visit — and we coordinate closely with your primary care doctor or podiatrist.
When an abscess is drained or a wound is draining, we can send a culture to identify the bacteria, including MRSA, and match the antibiotic to it. If an infection isn’t improving after 48 hours on treatment, walk back in — a recheck is part of the plan, not an extra visit you have to justify.
Yes. Shingles is treated with antivirals (most effective when started within 72 hours of the rash), impetigo with topical or oral antibiotics, ringworm and other fungal infections with antifungals, and we evaluate rashes from poison ivy, contact dermatitis, hives and viral illness. If you’re not sure what it is, that’s exactly what a same-day visit is for.
Possibly — deep or dirty wounds and animal bites can call for one if your booster is more than 5 years old. We review your tetanus status during the visit and, if a booster is due, point you to a nearby pharmacy the same day; the infection itself is treated here.
A cellulitis or abscess visit is billed as an urgent care visit — your plan’s urgent care copay. We accept Medicare, Tricare, UnitedHealthcare, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Aetna, Cigna, Humana and most major plans, and post self-pay prices, including for procedures like abscess drainage, so you know the cost before you’re seen.
Most patients notice less pain and warmth within 24 to 48 hours and shrinking redness by day two or three. Finish the full course even when it looks better. If the redness is still spreading past the marked line after 48 hours, or you develop fever, come back in for a recheck and a change in treatment.
Further reading: About Cellulitis (CDC).
