- Main symptoms
- How to confirm if it is leprosy
- How can you get
- How the treatment is done
- How to treat leprosy in pregnancy
Leprosy, also popularly known as leprosy, or more scientifically as Hansen's disease, is an infection caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae (M.leaprae), which leads to the appearance of whitish patches on the skin and alteration of peripheral nerves, which decreases the person's sensitivity to pain, touch and heat, for example.
The most affected parts of the body are the eyes, hands and feet, but wounds can also affect the face, ears, buttocks, arms, legs and back, and transmission occurs through contact with the infected person's secretions.
Leprosy is curable when treatment is followed according to the doctor's guidance, respecting the dosage and treatment time, and is done with the use of antibiotics. Know the daily care and doses of leprosy drugs.
Main symptoms
The first and main symptoms of leprosy are the appearance of flat or raised patches, of a rounded type, lighter in color than the skin, which can spread throughout the body. These spots can affect the eyebrows and eyelashes and can sometimes become reddish. In every spot there is loss of sensitivity, that is, they do not hurt, this being the biggest differential for other skin diseases, as the person no longer feels the differences in temperature and pressure at the wound site, and may be seriously injured, without to perceive.
The spots on the skin and loss of sensation occur due to the inflammation of the nerves in that region, and there may be the appearance of other symptoms such as:
- Swelling of the region; Loss of strength in the muscles innervated by these affected nerves, especially in the eyes, arms and legs. Loss of ability to sweat; Dry skin; Loss of sensation and numbness; Injuries and sores on the soles of the feet; Injuries to the nose; Eye damage can cause blindness; paralysis of the arms or legs; impotence and sterility, as the infection can reduce both the amount of testosterone and the amount of sperm produced by the testicles.
The symptoms of leprosy can take years to appear depending on the person's immune response, and the incubation period varies from 6 months to 5 years.
How to confirm if it is leprosy
The diagnosis of leprosy is made by observing the spots on the skin and the symptoms presented by the person. Usually, some sensitivity tests are carried out in the region, in addition to checking if there is any type of deformity in the eyes, hands, feet and face, since it can happen due to the thickening of the skin in some types of leprosy, especially in the case of treatment. not been done correctly.
In addition, a small scraping can be done on the wounds and sent to the laboratory for analysis to identify the bacteria that causes leprosy.
How can you get
Leprosy is a highly contagious disease, which can be transmitted from person to person via the airway, with contact with saliva being the main form of transmission. Therefore, it is recommended that the leprosy patient avoid talking, kissing, coughing or sneezing too close to other people, until starting treatment.
The individual can become infected with the leprosy bacillus and only manifest symptoms many years later. Contact through the patient's touch does not represent a high risk of transmission and about 90% of the population has a natural defense against this disease, and therefore the way in which the disease manifests also depends on each person's genetics.
How the treatment is done
The treatment of leprosy is done with the use of antibiotics, which must be started as soon as the first symptoms appear and maintained for a few months. Thus, treatment should always be well oriented, so it is advisable to go to a health center or reference treatment center, usually once a month, or according to the doctor's instructions regarding the medication and dose.
Antibiotics can halt the evolution of leprosy and completely eliminate the disease, but for a cure to be achieved, treatment may have to be continued for long periods, ranging from 6 months to 2 years, because the complete elimination of the leprosy-causing bacillus it can be difficult to achieve.
In some cases, complications and deformities can occur that can lead to difficulty working, impairing social life and, therefore, affecting the person's psychological side.
Treatment ends when healing is achieved, which usually occurs when the individual takes at least 12 times the medication prescribed by the doctor. However, in the most severe cases, when there are complications due to the appearance of deformities, physiotherapy and / or surgery may be necessary.
Learn more about leprosy / leprosy treatment options.
How to treat leprosy in pregnancy
As pregnancy decreases the immunity of women, it is sometimes during pregnancy that the first signs of leprosy appear. Treatment of leprosy in pregnancy
it can be done with the same antibiotics because they do not harm the baby and can also be used while breastfeeding. The newborn may have a slightly darker skin in the first days of life, but the skin tone tends to lighten naturally.
