Detailed Information On Common Skin Diseases
Detailed Information On Common Skin Diseases
Eruption on the skin result from a variety of causes. The rashes of measles, scarlet fever, German measles, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, and similar infectious conditions are typical. Most common of all skin eruptions, however, is that associated with the period of adolescence and called simply acne vulgaris, or referred to as pimples and blackheads.
Acne Vulgaris
The eruption of acne is most frequent on the face, but spreads also to the neck, back, and trunk. Pinhead or pea-size red swellings occur, many of them with little white spots of pus at the center. Blackheads are often followed by pimples. The skin around a blackhead or pimple is inflamed and red.
Germs are often found in pimples, but most physicians believe that the ordinary germs are secondary and are not the cause of the acne. The pimples come on after adolescence, and there is a tendency to relate their appearance to glandular changes associated with puberty. Constipation, overeating of sugars, oiliness of the skin, and anemias are also believed to be secondarily related to acne.
Perhaps the best advice for a boy or girl with acne is to make sure that his diet and nutrition are of the best. Scrupulous cleanliness is important. The face may be washed with applications of hot water, then the blackheads gently squeezed out, and after that an application may be made of a cream containing sulfur and resorcin which dries and disinfects the lesions. In some instances the use of the sex gland principals seems to have been helpful. Large doses of vitamin A are now frequently prescribed. For control of the pus-forming germs antibiotic ointments are tried and, more recently, particularly ointments with tyrothricin.
Prickly Heat
Frequently the skin becomes irritated due to excessive perspiration after exposure to heat. Wearing excessive clothing in hot weather is a contributing cause. The inflammation occurs most often in the folds of the skin about the neck, and under the breasts, but occasionally also on the chest and back and between the thighs.
The reddened skin develops little tiny, transparent blisters filled with a clear fluid. The itching and burning may be severe. Prevention of contact of the surfaces of the skin will give the inflamed area a chance to heal.
As recovery from the irritation occurs the dead skin may peel away. The greatest danger arises, however, from too much treatment, which increases the inflammation and gives opportunity for pus germs to invade.
The utmost cleanliness is important in all irritations of the skin, because damaged tissue gives opening to dangerous germs. The inflamed area may be washed with warm water and a bland soap, then dried carefully by patting without rubbing and powdered with a suitable powder.
Impetigo
In impetigo, which is a rapidly-spreading pus infection of the skin, the staphylococcus or streptococcus are most often involved. Once the infection has begun it may spread rapidly by the use of towels, or by squeezing or scratching with the fingernails.
Impetigo begins as small blisters on the face, scalp, and hands. The blisters increase in size and spread, as new little blisters form at the borders. In infants, the blisters break and discharge a thin fluid, leaving a moist red spot. If secondary pus invaders come in, thick yellow matter forms. These areas may be covered by dirty brown crusts.
With proper treatment impetigo usually clears up rapidly. Nowadays the available remedies are so much more powerful than those previously known that most cases, when recognized, can be cleared in a few weeks. Now antibiotic ointments are available which act specifically against the pus germs. Moreover, the doctor can inject adequate doses of the antibiotics into the body and attack the infection from inside. Washing the skin around the infection with alcohol helps to keep the infection from spreading.
Impetigo is most contagious, and a child with the disease should be kept away from other children. Epidemics are particularly likely to occur in the nurseries of large hospitals.
Ringworm
Ringworm is the result of invasion of the skin by a fungus, and there are many different types. The scalp, skin between the toes, fingernails or toenails may be affected, as well as skin anywhere in the body.
On the scalp, ringworm produces scaly gray spots from a fraction of an inch up to two inches wide. The hair falls out, and brittle stumps of broken hair may fill the area. On the body ringworm appears as small, pink, slightly raised spots, which gradually enlarge into ring shaped areas. The centers of the spots are pale and white, while the edges are slightly raised and red. When ringworm attacks the feet the spaces between the toes are soft, scaling, tender, and occasionally blistered. Often there is a decaying odor to the
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