How is osteomyelitis treated?
The goal of treatment for osteomyelitis is to get rid of the infection and control your symptoms. Treatment will depend on your age and how you got osteomyelitis. You may need one or more of the following: • Medicine: Your caregiver will give you medicine to fight the infection, such as antibiotics or anti-fungal medicine. You may also be given medicine to treat fever or decrease pain. • Surgery: You may need surgery depending on how bad your osteomyelitis is. Surgery can be done to remove the infected, damaged, and dead bone. Some tissues around the affected bone may need to be removed. This may help keep the infection from spreading to other bones and other parts of your body. Skin, bone, and muscle grafts may be placed after cleaning infection out of large areas. Sometimes, amputation to remove an arm, leg, or foot may be needed because of a life-threatening infection. With treatment, such as medicines and surgery, you have a greater chance of having a full recovery.
