Leprosy: symptoms, treatment and varieties of the disease

Leprosy (leprosy)

The disease known as leprosy is widespread in the middle Ages, and today remains among the intractable, bringing a lot of trouble in South America and India. According to who the risk is to detect the symptoms of leprosy is relevant for 5% of the total population of the globe. How to protect yourself from the risk of infection, if you are planning travel to an exotic destination or going on a long trip to a country with an unfavourable epidemiological situation on this disease?

First and foremost, you should carefully weigh all the risks. After all for intrusion it is not enough just human contact, being a carrier of infection. But the long and regular communication with an infected person burdened immune factors (such as high susceptibility to the impact of a particular pathogen) can lead to the transmission of the disease.

Leprosy: insight into the history

The first mention of the scourge as leprosy can be found in the old Testament. However, in those days, the disease is referred to as medical chronic granulomatous disease, was considered incurable. And patients not receiving specific treatment, have become disabled, unable to lead a full life. Since then the legend of the disfigured people with disfigured scars facial tissues, twisted joints, and horrible-looking sores haunted by the disease that today, with timely diagnosis is considered to be curable.

Was not found effective ways of therapy in the Middle ages. In this historical period the treatment of leprosy has been reduced to banal isolation of patients from society. For this purpose erected a leper colony in Europe in the period XII-XVI centuries were created thousands of such hospitals, which resulted in the localization of the spread of the disease. But all the precautions did not help completely overcome dangerous infection.

Luckily, globally, the percentage of cases of infection with leprosy today is negligible. Today there are about 200 000 reliably attested facts of infection. Most of them are localized in the tropical latitudes. But in Russia at the moment, the four leper colony where people with this disease can receive appropriate treatment and necessary medical care.

How is the infection

Leprosy is transmitted, contrary to popular belief, not through an isolated physical contact with a carrier of the disease. Moreover, the majority of people have immunity to the infectious agent the Bacillus Mycobacterium leprae. But regular breathing environment, which contains dangerous bacteria that can promote infection of a healthy person. Especially dangerous such contacts for people with a weakened immune system. In this case it is better to refrain from visiting countries and regions with a high level of infectious risk, and to avoid any shocks associated with changing climatic conditions.

However, all this is true only for contacts with patients who are not receiving specific therapy discharge from their nose and mouth, small particles of mucus are indeed powerful sources of infection. And you can become infected not only from person to person. Leprosy is also common among chimpanzees and armadillos they are the main causes of epidemics of the disease in Africa. But the infections that are in remission, it is safe to communicate and not expose others at high risk of infection.

Contribute to the development of the disease and factors such as:

• the low level of hygiene of the body,
• the lack of access to clean water,
• lack of food,
• the inability of the regular changing of underwear and bed linen.

Children first year of life rarely get sick. In the majority of investigated and confirmed cases the causative agent of leprosy, is obtained by the baby in utero, from an infected mother. But the child is middle-aged and older may be at risk due to adverse living conditions and other risk factors. For example, in a family where there is a carrier of leprosy, not receiving specific medical care, the probability of infection of children is extremely high.

How to recognizesymptoms?

Treatment of leprosy usually is performed on stage, a long asymptomatic course of the disease. In the end, the point-of-care disease may be in the severe stage, and in the absence of treatment in the acute phase of person can get disability and loss of capacity.

Leprosy manifests itself in the early stages symptoms that are common to all infectious diseases. Drowsiness, shivering of limbs, weakness accompany patients throughout the period of exacerbation. And with the development of the disease added to them such unpleasant phenomena as:

• changes in sweat and sebaceous glands,
• nosebleed,
• dryness of the nasal mucosa,
• the enlarged lymph nodes in the groin,
• loss of hair on the face,
• skin lesions (in the form of brightly pigmented spots, papules, ulcers and nodes).

It is important to note that spots appearing with the development of leprosy, tend to change their color. At first they are pink or red pigmentation, which eventually replaces its color to brownish-yellow. The most commonly affected skin in the elbow and knee bends, face, torso and buttocks. In places stains marked increase in sensitivity to pain, heat and other influences.

In severe forms of the disease inevitably leads to joint damage, bone and deformation of the limbs. And accompanying disorders in the lymphatic system can cause the formation of stagnant lymph and edema.

Varieties and forms of the disease

Depending on how exactly leprosy occurs in a particular patient, differencesbut the following forms of the disease:

• Benign. Least dangerous in terms of infection. The disease is quite rare and is not usually accompanied by severe lesions of internal organs. A distinctive feature of this form of leprosy is a long-term course of the disease, as well as the formation of characteristic knots and bumps on the skin in the form of rings or half-rings. If diagnosed at an early stage the disease is cured completely and leave almost no trace. In the running form can go into a stage of steady remission when receiving appropriate treatment.
• Malignant. The most difficult and dangerous, which is expressed in the formation of extensive skin lesions and ulcers, leading to the formation of scars on the face and body. Leprosy in this case, runs hard, and can lead to loss of vision, disturbances in the internal organs, lymph and urinary systems and other effects, transforming a healthy person into a disabled person, and could lead to his death due to exacerbation of concomitant diseases.
• Not differentiated. In this case, the patient may experience symptoms of each form of the disease. The defeat of the internal organs are mainly on the nervous system, leading to loss of sensitivity and paralysis of the face and extremities. At the same time, the development of the disease it can take is expressed by malignant character, then go in benign stage, which can complicate the treatment process and lead to adverse infections.
It should be noted that regardless of the type and severity of the disease, the reasons she will always remain the same. Unfavorable epidemiological situation is aggravated by a lack of basic hygiene, always aggravates the spread of leprosy. While visiting areas where the disease is detected most frequently, can pose a serious danger to tourists not having natural immune protection against the pathogen.

The treatment is helping?

Timely impact on the causes of the disease allows to achieve a complete cure of patients in different age groups. However, to establish the fact of infection is usually given only after its transition into an active phase in the incubation period of the disease is asymptomatic.

Leprosy is treated with antibiotics from a sulfonic group, supplemented by anti-allergic drugs as well as vitamins B, C and rutin. Depending on the severity of the disease also can be applied drugs other groups to achieve pronounced anti-infectious effects, and accelerate recovery. And to improve regeneration and healing of purulent skin lesions use almograve oil used in the capsule form for oral administration.

It is important to note that without appropriate treatment the development of leprosy cannot be stopped, and from the acute stage it will spill over into chronic, accompanied by many unpleasant symptoms. But, even at this stage it is possible to achieve the transition of the acute form of the disease in stable remission. Importantly, the leprosy was diagnosed in one form or another, and the patientreceived not only medical assistance but also vitamin and mineral support, appropriate care and nutrition.

In the case of treatment of leprosy physicians are not accustomed to count on fast results. In most cases for complete cure or significant improvement of the patient's condition takes months or even years. So, the sooner you get started therapy, the better for the patient and those with whom he has contact on a regular basis.