Three different types of diseases of the skin and treatments
Fungal skin infections occur when a fungus attacks a finger nail, a toe nail or nail bed. If patient suffers from diabetes or has a weak immune system, fungal skin infections is a serious problem. The most common fungal infection of the foot is athlete’s foot (tinea pedis). It can be interdigital (web infection), moccasin or vesicular. A microscopic fungus lived on dead tissue of the hair, toe nails and outer skin layers causes athlete’s foot. Athlete’s foot is caused by trichophyton rubrum in many cases. Every person has his own signs and symptoms. But some common symptoms are peeling, cracking and scaling of the feet, redness, blisters, softening, breaking down of the skin, itching and burning. Topical antifungal medication is the most common way of treatment of athlete’s foot. A patient can use nonprescription medicines such as terbinafine (Lamisit AT), miconasole (Micatin), clotrimazole (Lotrimin AF), tolnaftate (Tinactin). They are creams, lotions, solutions, gels, sprays, ointment, powders, which apply to the skin. The infection must be treated in the period of 1-6 weeks. Oral antifungal medications can be added in severe cases. You may not to treat athlete’s foot if you have such health problem as diabetes. However, untreated athlete’s foot can cause more severe bacterial infections or you can spread it to the other people.
Bacterial skin infections occur when bacteria attack our skin. Сellulitis is a common skin infection caused by bacteria. Cellulitis is mainly caused by staphylococcus and streptococcus. Risk factors for cellulitis include cracks or peeling skin between the toes, injury or trauma with a break in the skin, ulcers from diabetes or a blockage in the blood supply, use of corticosteroid medications and others. The symptoms of cellulitis are fever, signs of infection (shaking, fatique, general ill feeling, muscle aches), pain in the area with the rash or sore, skin redness or inflammation, tight appearance of the skin, warmth over the area of redness. There is sometimes hair loss, nausea, vomiting. The patient can be taken to the hospital if he has been on antibiotics, if his immune system is in disorder, if he has an infection around his eyes. Treatment with oral antibiotics is the usual way. Close follow-up is needed. Treatment is concentrated on controlling the infection and preventing complications. It lasts 7-10 days. You can use Bactrim (Septra) for treatment. You should not use Bactrim if you are allergic to sulfamethoxazole or trimethoprim, if you are pregnant or breast-feeding, or if you have anemia. While treated you can have serious side effects such as: fever, sore throat and headache with a severe blistering, peeling, and red skin rash; pale skin, easy bruising or bleeding; cough, feeling short of breath; diarrhea; feeling restless or irritable, confusion, hallucinations, seizure; slow heart rate, weak pulse and others.
Cancer is one of lethal diseases of mankind. Some cancer types can be cured in early stages, some of them -not. The most wide-spread type of cancer is skin cancer. Melanoma is the first out of the skin cancers. When melanoma spreads (metastasizes), cancer cells are also found in the lymph nodes, and the cancer can also spread to other parts of the body. The main causes of skin cancer are Ultraviolet (UV) Radiation from the sun and artificial sources of UV radiation. The risk of developing skin cancer depends on where a person lives. The risks factors for melanoma are family history of melanoma, dysplastic nevi, weaken immune system, more than 50 ordinary moles, exposure of ultraviolet radiation, fair skin, severe sunburns. Melanomas are usually first noticed because of a change in the size, shape, color or feel of an existing mole. You must pay attention to asymmetry, border, color and diameter of each mole. If you have any symptom for 2 weeks, you need a treatment. The treatment can be effective if the tumor is thin and has not deeply invaded the skin. However, if a melanoma is not removed at its early stages, cancer cells may grow downward from the skin surface, invading healthy tissue. The disease is difficult to control when it is spreading. Removal (excision) is the standard treatment of melanoma. Removing not only the tumor but also some normal tissue around minimizes the chance that any cancer will be left in the area. If surgery is not effective in controlling it, doctors may use chemotherapy, biological therapy, radiation therapy, or a combination of them. The size and location of the tumor and the extent of the operation influence on the side effects of surgery. Pain and discomfort after surgery can be controlled with pain relieving medicine. Tiredness or weakness is usual after it. Chemotherapy is the use of one or more drugs to kill cancer cells. Chemotherapy affects cancer cells in the body systematically. Anticancer drugs can be useful. Chemotherapy is usually a cycling therapy. The specific drugs and the dose have a lot of side effects. Some patients have nausea and vomiting, hair loss, mouth sores, and fatigue. Biological therapy (immunotherapy) fights cancer or lessens side effects with a help of the body's immune system. Biological therapy uses biological response modifiers (BRMs). The body normally produces these substances in small amounts in response to infection and disease. Scientists can produce BRMs in large amounts for use in cancer treatment. Biological therapy (interferon-alfa and interleukin-2 (also called aldesleukin) can help prevent melanoma from recurring. Biological therapy also has the side effects. Some of them are flu-like symptoms (chills, fever, muscle aches, weakness, loss of appetite), nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. High-energy rays used by radiotherapy kill cancer cells. They focus only on cells in the treated area. Radiation therapy is most commonly used to help control melanoma that has spread to the brain, bones, and other parts of the body. Common side effects of radiation therapy include fatigue and hair loss in the treated area. But sometimes it is the only way to overcome the disease.
I’ve learned about different types of skin diseases, effective methods of treatment and some medications. Choosing the treatment doctors have to pay much attention to the side effects of it in every special case. The type of treatment must have minimal risks for a patient.
