Skin diseases are characterized by their multiplicity - there are more than 300 of them, and all of them have their own symptoms, diagnosis and treatment. Knowing everything about them is the prerogative of specialists, and for an ordinary person it is enough to have general concepts about the pathologies most commonly found in everyday life in order to be able to distinguish between them.
Skin function
The skin is the largest organ in size, which generally has an area of two square meters. Its function is, above all, barrier and protective. Being permeable, the skin takes part in the regulation of water balance, body temperature, is responsible for breathing, the release of not only sweat, but also toxins.
The epidermis is quite autonomous and even to some extent independent, for example, in its proliferation and differentiation of keratinocytes.
Skin anatomy
The skin according to the simplified scheme has 3 layers:
- Its outer layer (epidermis) has direct contact with the environment. Its topmost cover is horny, represents keratinized cells and is the thickest.
- Derma, or the skin itself - it contains elastic fibers, hair and nail roots, as well as sweat and sebaceous glands.
- The lowest, third, layer is called subcutaneous fat (hypodermis).
The full cycle of skin renewal is 2 months. Despite such a fairly solid structure, it is prone to many diseases. The reasons for the development of skin pathologies are various. All factors affecting her health are combined in 2 large groups: internal (endogenous) and external (exogenous).
External causes
External causes include:
- Physical: thermal, which can lead to burns, frostbite; mechanical damage - this is friction, scratches, cracks, cuts; radiation - the effect of wave energy in the form of ultraviolet radiation, radiation, x-rays, can cause severe skin consequences up to the necrosis of the epidermis.
- Chemical damage provokes professional substances (acids, alkalis, etc.) or household cleaning products that irritate and even burn the skin.
- Infectious agents - bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa.
- Biological causes are the action of parasites, animal bites, etc. The introduction of harmful insects always causes skin diseases in humans.
- Environmental - in the modern world, against the background of an unfavorable ecology, classical and atypical dermatoses occur, often associated with allergies.
Internal causes
Internal causes include:
- Failures of the endocrine glands - the pituitary, genital, and diabetes. Each of them causes its own pathology: seborrhea and acne, Addison's disease, trophic ulcers.
- Constant stress creates the conditions for the development of neurodermatosis, eczema.
- Hormonal fluctuations. During gestation, there may be dermatosis of pregnant women, during menopause - keratosis of the palms and soles, etc.
- Gastrointestinal tract diseases and hepatobiliary system manifest themselves by pigmentation of the skin of the face and neck.
- Hypovitaminosis. A lack of vitamin C causes hemorrhages in the skin (hemorrhage). Vitamin A deficiency increases its dryness, resulting in keratosis or frinoderm. A reduced vitamin B2 content can lead to seborrheic dermatitis. A lack of vitamin PP provokes the occurrence of pellagra or dermatitis.
- Hematologic (hematopoiesis) diseases are problems with lymphocytes that cause systemic lesions and severe skin ailments: lupus erythematosus, scleroderma.
- If a person has varicose veins, then trophic ulcers, eczema appear on his legs.
- HIV infection. With it, skin pathologies are especially many: lichens, mycoses, seborrhea, Kaposi's sarcoma, dermatoses and others. Moreover, they all have a very difficult form.
- Genetics. Psoriasis and atopic dermatitis, congenital skin diseases that originated in the fetus can be inherited.
- Individual sensitivity and intolerance to the effects of various substances in contact with them. We are talking about allergic reactions - Quincke's edema or severe toxicidemia.
It is often impossible to establish the exact cause of the disease, because more often they can be combined. So, staphyloderma, syphilis, HIV develop from staphylococcus, spirochetes and retrovirus, respectively, but usually there are microtraumas on the skin and, in addition, immunity is reduced.
General information
A major role in the occurrence of dermopathology is played by a decrease in immunity and the type of pathogen. The main signs: skin microtraumas, rash, redness, peeling, pain, burning and itching, ulcers, sleep disturbances due to the severity of manifestations.
Skin diseases usually have 3 stages of their development:
- Acute - appears immediately after contact with an irritant or pathogen. With it, characteristic symptoms make themselves felt.
- Subacute - the manifestations are not yet chronic, but also unsharp, as in the acute stage.
- Chronic - often the form proceeds secretly, for a very long time, the symptoms are not pronounced, lethargic, with periodic exacerbations.
Classification of pathologies
Skin diseases are classified extensively due to the large number of pathologies. For example, even according to the ICD-10, there are already several bubble diseases: psoriasis, parapsoriasis, lichen, pemphigus, lichen planus, and others. Knowing them and listing everything here is not particularly necessary - this is the work of specialists. A grouping of only the most common skin diseases in a simplified form will be given. The names of the ailments often depend on the pathogen or the most pronounced characteristic symptom.
Common types of skin pathologies
The most common skin diseases are:
- Fungal infections that affect the skin, nails and scalp. Transmitted through contact with the patient, household items (shoes, dishes).
- Purulent inflammation - more often caused by strepto- or staphylococci. Reduced immunity can help with hypothermia, stress (photos and descriptions of skin diseases with similar lesions help to see the clinical picture and their etiology). These ailments include pyoderma, streptoderma, staphyloderma, abscesses, phlegmon, boils and carbuncles. Cocci can also cause pustular diseases of a lower rank, forming a large number of foci, pustules.
- Infection with lice, ticks, bites of fleas and bugs. In the photo, skin diseases of this type look like eczema. This is scabies, demodicosis, they are painfully tolerated and require urgent measures, causing complications.
- Lichen is a fungal disease. Their types are quite different: multi-colored, pink, flat, ringworm, shingles. They differ both clinically and in treatment.
- Disorders of the skin glands usually occur in seborrhea, acne, folliculitis. More often associated with hormonal changes and occur more in puberty.
- Viral skin diseases are resistant to treatment, always have a chronic nature, are difficult to detect. May lead to malignancy. Among them, the most common are papillomas, warts, herpes, and molluscum contagiosum.
- Allergic skin diseases, photos of which usually illustrate their diversity, are exacerbated only by contact with an allergen. Treatable.
- Oncological skin diseases. The exact cause is not established in all pathologies. A typical representative of this group is melanoma, skin cancer, basilioma.
It should be said that skin diseases most often have no signs of general damage to the body. Their local manifestations are treated quite successfully.
Visual manifestations
Before giving a description of skin diseases with a photo, it is necessary to briefly note the visual manifestations of such pathologies.
- Crusts - formed on the site of ulcers, blisters, they are dense to the touch, talk about recovery. The color is most often brown.
- Flakes - exfoliating particles of skin.
- Spots (macula) - more often red, brownish or discolored. Do not rise above the skin. Symptom of toxidermia, dermatitis, syphilis, vitiligo. Pigmented spots include freckles, moles, and tans.
- Papules - a site that rises above the level of the skin.
- Plaques are papules fused together.
- Vesicle - vesicles with bloody or serous contents, their size can reach 0.5 cm. This is a characteristic element in allergic dermatitis, eczema, herpes, burns, chickenpox, shingles.
- An abscess or pustule is a bubble with purulent contents. It is characteristic for furunculosis, impetigo, acne, folliculitis, pyoderma.
- Blister - resembles a bubble, raised above the skin, has a rough surface. Appears with allergic reactions (urticaria), insect bites, nettle burn. Disappears without treatment after a short period of time.
- Erythema - a spot elevated above the skin, bright red. Its edge is pronounced. Erythema is characteristic of food allergies and medication.
- A nodule is a dense formation without a cavity; it differs from the general skin background in color. It can be from 1 mm to 3 cm. It is characteristic of warts, psoriasis, papillomas.
The most common diseases
It would be good for each person to get fact-finding information about the diseases associated with the epidermis and to have an idea of how they will look (as a rule, they are always indicated under the photo with skin diseases and names, as well as some characteristic is given). Below is a brief description of the most common diseases:
- Acne is the result of inflammation of the sebaceous glands. May occur on the face, shoulders, chest and back, in 85% of cases in adolescents. This is the most common skin lesion.
- Atopic dermatitis - its main symptom is itching. More characteristic also for children, with a dry, prone to irritation epidermis. Frequent lesions are ulnar folds and the back of the knees. It can be inherited.
- Acne (acne) is also very common. Pass easily, without scars and scars, if not squeezed out. When infected, they form comedones and purulent ulcers. The reason for the appearance is a blockage of the sebaceous glands against the background of a dishormonal state, poor nutrition, poor-quality cosmetics.
- Eczema is the consequence of an allergy, the symptoms of which occur even in childhood. With this disease, the skin becomes inflamed, there are vesicles, peeling, erosion on it.
- Ringworm. It is very contagious, transmitted by contact. It appears red in spots in the central part, has a brown color at the edges. With the progression of the process, the spots coarsen and become covered with hard crusts. May appear on the scalp. In the place of spots, at the same time, bald patches appear.
- Herpes - can appear everywhere, up to the genitals. Most often found simple - in the form of vesicles and rashes on the lips. The foci are later crusted. It occurs with stress, tanning, injuries.
- Melanoma - manifests itself in the form of black-brown or other asymmetric spots up to 6 cm in diameter. The treatment is only surgical (malignant and rapidly growing).
- Scabies. The skin disease most often manifested on the hands is caused by the scabies mite. It can be in the axillary region, on the chest, genitals. It is treated successfully. It causes excruciating itching; in the skin, the tick forms scabies.
- Pyoderma - first manifests itself as purulent rashes, they hurt and itch. Temperature may rise. It is prone to a protracted course, the nature of the infectious. Such a skin disease in children is also not uncommon. The course is characterized by the depth of infection. Treatment depends on the severity of the disease.
- Psoriasis is a chronic skin disease in adults, the etiology of which is still not clear. Non-infectious nature. Manifested by red spots, peeling with silver-white scales. It is not always treated successfully, it often gives exacerbations.
- Erysipelas is a bacterial infection. The focus looks like a dense red with clear borders. Appears often on the legs, face. Gives general symptoms in the form of fever, feeling sick.
- Urticaria - a rash in the form of an accumulation of blisters, with severe itching, of an allergic nature. It resembles a nettle burn. Up to 40% of the population encounter it at least once in a lifetime. It can turn into a chronic form and lasts up to 6-7 weeks.
- Multi-colored lichen - caused by a fungus, refers to keratomycosis. It manifests itself with a decrease in immunity. For a long time before this remains inactive. Multiple pink spots appear on any part of the body, gradually darken to brown and then disappear. Itching and peeling can often be noted (photos of skin diseases in adults prompt you to think about the timely treatment of ailments).
- Trichophytosis is a fungus that affects the deeper layers of the skin and causes inflammation. The disease is contagious, can be superficial, suppurative, and infiltrative. Pink or red spots appear first, which are then crusted. When suppuration can be complications.
- Microsporia - resembles trichophytosis, but the spots are smaller in size. Often appears on the scalp. More often children are infected from sick animals.
- Senile keratosis is a problem of the elderly. It develops from hyperinsolation. Seals appear on the skin - knots and plaques, often brown. It is considered a benign formation, but there is a tendency to degenerate.
- Hemangioma is a benign tumor that occurs in one third of young children. It can appear not only on the face, but also on any part of the body, on the head. The reason is the pathological development of blood vessels. It looks like a dark red formation, without common symptoms.
- Papillomas - look like growths, do not differ in color from the general skin. Remind warts. Benign formations that occur with a decrease in immunity against the background of stress, gastrointestinal diseases, chronic infections.
- Molluscum contagiosum is a common infection in children. Passed through the contacts. Look like bubbles filled with light contents, can occur anywhere, most often on the legs and torso.
- Diaper rash - a lack of hygiene in young children in 70% of cases, the parents of which are to blame. They have a bright red color, accompanied by itching and pain.
Treatment of skin pathologies
Treatment of skin diseases always takes a long time and is carried out in several stages. First, it is necessary to eliminate the causative factor, stop inflammation or atrophy, achieve complete regeneration of the affected skin, and then strengthen the immune system.
To eliminate the infectious cause, antibacterial therapy is often used:
- with bacteria, these are antibiotics (tablets and antibacterial ointment for skin diseases);
- with fungi - antimycotics;
- with viruses - antiviral drugs, antiparasitic.
Allergy always requires the appointment of AHP (antihistamines). With keratoses and acne keratolytics are indicated.
To reduce the inflammatory manifestations, local treatment is prescribed - creams, ointments, special cleansers, chatters, gels, and others. To improve blood flow and metabolism, regeneration processes, herbs, physiotherapy and homeopathy are used simultaneously with anti-inflammatory drugs.
Effective blood ultraviolet, UHF, cryotherapy, wraps and masks are effective. For any skin lesions, enterosorbents help to remove toxins from the body (Polyphepan, Lactofiltrum, Polysorb, Enterosgel, etc.). They are taken in whole courses lasting 2-3 weeks.