The structure of human skin is special, it is influenced by various factors, both external and internal. They are responsible for skin diseases. Many of the diseases are the result of factors such as parasites, viruses and microscopic fungi. Most often, the infection gets on the skin and in the deep soft tissues due to damage - it does not have to be a big wound, only microdamage is enough for bacteria and microbes to enter the cells and start the process of changing the body, infecting it.
Infections of the skin and soft tissues are everywhere, and people of different age groups are susceptible to them, such diseases can occur not only in adults, but also in children. Only a competent specialist can distinguish between noncommunicable and infectious diseases. That is why you should not try to recover on your own, because most often it does not bring any result. Before starting medical treatment or therapy, it is necessary to find out the cause of the disease. Moreover, any skin disease implies an urgent visit to the doctor at the first changes in the skin in order to reduce the negative effects of the disease. Read more about the treatment of skin infections (photo attached).
Skin Disease Classification
In order to classify any skin disease, it is necessary to establish its localization, namely, the place where the disease process proceeds.
Already on this basis, skin diseases can be divided into skin infections, infections of the subcutaneous tissue and deeper tissues. It is important to determine whether a systemic infection or local. The latter is characterized by the absence of intoxication and its symptoms, as well as the invariability of the state of the body. If signs of a toxic state of the body are present, then we are talking about a systemic disease. As a rule, this characteristic affects the further treatment of the patient.
Any infection can have a different location on the patient’s body, but the symptomatology remains the same. For this reason, experts classify skin infections according to the specificity of their pathogens. These include fungi, viruses and parasites.
Bacterial infection: general characteristic
The most significant and most common bacteria that can cause skin diseases include:
- Borrelia
- Plague bacteria.
- Wand anthrax.
- Streptococcus (erysipelas refers to it).
- Staphylococcus
- Rickettsia.
Each disease has its own clinical symptoms. However, in any case, the general condition of the patient changes, but symptoms more often appear on the skin and less often on the internal tissues.
Streptococcus and staphylococcus
Streptococcal and staphylococcal infections are more likely to affect infants if improper care is provided. Also at risk are children who are often sick and even have weakened immunity, and adults can be included in the latter group.
As a rule, the symptoms of these infections are variable, that is, the disease can affect any part of the skin or deep tissues. Most often, during diagnosis, the following conditions are revealed:
- The sebaceous gland and the hair follicle are affected, while a boil occurs, it can be either one or many.
- Phlegmon occurs - a condition in which tissues begin to melt.
- The appearance of an abscess is a cavity with purulent contents.
Dangerous are not only diseases that carry an infection in themselves, but there is also a risk that the pathogen spreads, getting into the bloodstream and into the internal organs, starting inflammation in them. This is most critical for newborns, which can be fatal.
During treatment, pathogens are destroyed, and biochemical processes disturbed during the disease are restored.
As a medical treatment, antibiotics of a wide spectrum of action, salt and colloid therapy, also infusion are used. Ointments, which also include antibiotics, do not help. They will not be able to rid the patient of staphylococcus or streptococcus completely. Therefore, they should not be used separately. If the infection spread quite widely and reaches the bones, then most often the best solution to this problem is surgical intervention: during the operation, it is necessary to open the abscess and drain it.
Erysipelas
This inflammation belongs to streptococcal, as it is caused by one of its varieties. Children are rarely affected by this disease, the elderly and middle-aged people suffering from diseases of the cardiovascular system or having an unstable hormonal background are at risk. Typically, symptoms of erysipelas are:
- Sudden onset of clinical symptoms.
- An increase in temperature and deterioration of the body.
- The formation of edematous, "hot", "red" spots on the skin, with a clear contour.
- The appearance of blisters with serous fluid or blood.
This skin infection is usually associated with a different microflora of microorganisms, which can affect the deep tissue of the skin.
To cure the patient, various antibiotics are prescribed, and a wide range of infusion therapy is performed. However, even this cannot guarantee complete healing of the body. Most often, the disease manifests itself again and again dozens of times. There is still no prevention from this ailment.
anthrax
Bacillus anthracis spores are characterized by environmental resistance. They are the cause of infection of the skin of the patient. These disputes, as a rule, remain active for decades.
A person can become infected from infected farm animals directly through the skin. The infection may also be found in milk, meat or livestock wool. This disease is more likely to affect adults than children, due to more frequent contact with an infected animal. Most often it is the skin that suffers from anthrax, but there are cases when infection of the blood, intestines or lungs was manifested.
As a rule, anthrax is characterized by the following symptoms on the skin:
- Rash and its further change from a spot to an ulcer.
- Over time, the spots become black, they do not cause pain.
- Due to the vesicles that form in the ulcer, it can grow.
This infection of the skin of the legs and hands is successfully diagnosed with the help of specific studies. During diagnosis, it is important to distinguish a disease such as anthrax from trophic ulcers and pressure sores. Anthrax is not amenable to surgical treatment. Also, ointments, lotions or any warming do not help. The main therapy is considered antibiotics for skin infections in children (photos can be seen in the article) and adults based on penicillin.
Plague (leather or skin-bubonic)
Any form of plague is a rather dangerous infection; it can easily be transmitted from a sick person to a healthy one; as a rule, the disease is severe. If you ignore the symptoms and do not seek medical help, you can die. Yersinia pestis is the causative agent of plague. Sources are often various rodents, for example, port rats. Adults fall into the risk group, while children rarely suffer from it.
Skin plague, as a rule, leads to necrosis of the skin and lymph nodes, plus the human body is depleted. The affected areas of the skin are painful, subject to redness and swelling, it is impossible to control the affected limb.
If there is no specialized treatment, and various antimicrobials, such as streptomycin, belong to it, then a person will die. The patient, whatever form of plague he may have, is dangerous to society, as someone else can become infected with germs.
Viral infections: general characteristic
Among the vast spectrum of viruses regarding their distribution and significance, such as herpes virus, papillomavirus, rubella and measles (childhood droplets infections) are distinguished. It is also noted that measles, rubella and other childhood drip infections are secondary to skin diseases. The main infection is exposed to internal organs and deep tissues. These infections on the skin of the face can occur not only in children, but also in adults.
Herpes infection
Most often, a viral infection of the skin is associated with the herpes virus. At the moment, there are 8. As a rule, each type has its own symptoms. However, there are similar points, such as damage to the skin and sometimes soft tissues. Herpes infection is characterized by the following manifestations: if soft tissues were also infected, which rarely happens, then the number of blisters can increase; the affected area, as a rule, becomes wider, which brings unpleasant sensations.
It is difficult to completely get rid of such signs of an acute herpes infection as blisters and redness completely - this is practically impossible to do. Drugs that fight viruses, such as Acyclovir, are quick and effective, but they cannot stop the spread of the disease completely. As a rule, a herpes infection accompanies a person throughout his life, while people become infected as early as childhood.
Papillomavirus infection
Adults are more susceptible to it, while children encounter it infrequently. Today, this virus has dozens of species. The clinical symptoms are different. It can be skin manifestations, such as a papilloma or a wart, it can even reach a malignant formation in the reproductive organs. It is localization that determines the future treatment of the virus, it can be both medical treatment and surgical intervention.
Skin fungus: general characteristic
Fungi are widespread, they can be found in any country. Not necessarily a fungal infection, a person leading an asocial lifestyle can be affected, often children are at risk because of contact with various objects surrounding them. As a rule, even minor damage is enough to catch a fungus.
Signs of a fungal infection of the skin of the hands and feet:
- Discolored skin.
- Change in skin thickness, peeling.
- The absence of pain, with severe skin itching.
The fungus cannot disappear without medical treatment; preparations are needed to combat it, both local action and systemic. Also important is hygiene.
So we can say that skin infections, as well as soft tissue infections are observed in an adult and a child. They should not be treated on their own, as this can only aggravate the situation and lead to a disastrous result that no doctor can correct. That is why treatment can only occur under the supervision of specialists in a medical institution who are fully familiar with the disease and all its symptoms, know the possible complications with the use of various drugs, such as antibiotics and antiviral, antibacterial agents.
General therapy
Substances prescribed for external use in dermatological diseases can be divided into hormonal and non-hormonal. The main component of ointments and creams based on hormones are glucocorticosteroids, which tend to instantly eliminate inflammation and slow down the immune response. This ensures containment of the symptoms of many dermatological diseases, but the continuous use of hormonal medications - even if applied topically - is risky.
Firstly, they suppress the local immunity of the skin, which makes it sensitive to attachment of a secondary infection, which simply penetrates through damaged skin.
Secondly, they lead to thinning and loss of protective qualities of the epidermis.
And thirdly, prolonged use of glucocorticosteroids generates skin adaptation, and their abolition can cause a new aggravation of the disease.
Examples of medicines for treating skin infections (photo problems are presented in the article) of this category are Uniderm, Kenakort, Sinalar, Akriderm, Kortef and others. Non-hormonal local agents can also be used, such as Tsinokap (based on zinc pyrithione), naphthalan, ichthyol, dermatol, kartalin ointment, tar-based ointment and others.
Of the funds that are not inferior in effectiveness to hormones, preparations with zinc (zinc pyrithione) occupy a special place. Unlike ordinary zinc oxide, which has only a drying effect, active zinc (zinc pyrithione) includes a whole range of significant qualities:
- removes inflammation;
- reduces irritation;
- protects the skin from infection;
- restores damaged skin structure and barrier function.