Leprosy – What it is, Causes, Symptoms and Treatments

In addition, there are references to leprosy in very old books, written in India and China, centuries before Christ. It was probably Alexander the Great’s army that spread leprosy across the European continent when he returned from his campaigns in Asia.

In the Bible, cases of infectious leprosy are described, which mainly attacked the skin, eyes and nerves. The deformities it caused were a reason for its carriers to be excluded from social life. Considered a punishment of the gods, the sick were collected in leprosariums, where they stayed until they died. Or, without help or treatment, they roamed the streets with their faces and bodies covered in rags, begging for alms with a can tied to the end of a stick to hide their hands deformed by leprosy .

What is Leprosy:  Leprosy or Leprosy, is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium leprae, or Hansen’s bacillus, named after its discoverer. Leprosy is likely to be transmittedthrough upper airway secretions and saliva droplets. Although it is primarily a cutaneous disease, it can affect peripheral nerves, eyes, and eventually some other organs. The incubation period can last from six months to six years.

Leprosy can present mainly four clinical forms: indeterminate, borderline or borderline, tuberculoid and lepromatous. In therapeutic terms, only two types are considered: paucibacillary (few bacilli) and multibacillary (many bacilli).

Types of Leprosy:  Leprosy can be presented mainly in the following ways:

• Tuberculoid: In this case, the patient is not severely affected. He has a partial immune response to the bacillus and the symptoms are not so aggressive.
• Indeterminate: Very few lesions are present, or even a single one, rarely progresses to more severe cases.
• Lepromatous: It is more serious than the previous ones, the patient has several lesions on the skin  and it is easier to detect the bacteria.

Don’t Forget: In all cases of Leprosy  , treatment must be sought. Any changes in health  or when you notice something strange on the skin , seek medical attention. Early prevention and treatments are essential.

Leprosy in Pregnancy:  As pregnancy lowers the immunity of women , sometimes it is during pregnancy that the first signs of leprosy appear . Leprosy in pregnancy can be treatedwith the same antibiotics because they do not harm the baby and can also be used during breastfeeding. The newborn may have a little darker skin in the first few days of life, but the skin tone tends to lighten naturally.

Causes of Leprosy:  Leprosy is  a slow but potentially devastating disease caused by the microbe Mycobacterium leprae. The pseudonym Hansen’s disease  (HD) is a hallmark of recognition of the work done by Dutch microbiologist Gerhard Hansen on its etiology.

The Organism:  Mycobacterium leprae is an acid-fast organism that is, its cell wall contains large amounts of mycolic acid and waxes, among other complex lipids. This gives a waxy consistency to the cell wall and enables it to resist staining ensuing discoloration with carbol fuchsin, which otherwise gives the cytoplasm a red color.

This characteristic retention of the red color following application of acidified alcohol gives rise to the term acid-fast. M. leprae is a fastidious organism, making its culture very difficult to grow in vitro. In fact it took decades to find a suitable remedy in which to culture the organism, which has led to considerable delays in establishing the etiological role of M leprae. In the US, it is found mainly in the nine-banded armadillo.

Leprosy  is highly contagious but produces few clinical cases due to the natural immunity of most humans to the bacterium. Approximately 95 percent of humans are thought to be genetically immune to leprosy . However, this figure may vary with respect to discrete population groups and with a long generational history of exposure to the disease  or microbe. For example, the prevalence in Micronesia is much higher than among most other population groups. This may be due to lack of previous exposure, as well as differences in native susceptibility.

Clinical Infection:  Host, environmental, and pathogen factors interact in a complex and poorly understood manner in  Hansen’s disease . In most cases the genetic variability and virulence of the pathogen is not noticeably different between different clinical forms of the disease .

In other words, the variation in leprosy  outbreaks is due to differences in the genetic makeup of the susceptible host, mediated by differential activation of metabolic pathways by the microbe, along with Schwann cell reprogramming and individual-specific differences in the contribution of innate and adaptive immunity. Each case can therefore be thought of as unique.

Close contact with an infected person over a long duration is required for transmission to occur to a susceptible individual. Flugge drops in nasal secretions are responsible for transmission through inhalation. Other than secretion, nasal skin ulcers , blood , breast milk, insect bites, or vertical transmission, may all act less commonly as transmission routes. Carrier states are also thought to exist and to be involved in the transmission of leprosy .

Symptoms of Leprosy:  The first and main symptom of Leprosy  is the appearance of rounded spots, lighter than the skin , which can spread over the body . This stain can affect the eyebrows and eyelashes and can sometimes become reddish. In every stain there is an increase or loss of sensitivity and this is the biggest difference from other skin diseases  , as the individual no longer feels the differences in temperature and pressure at the wound site, and can be seriously injured by it. These spots on the skin  occur due to inflammation of the nerves in that region. So check now  The Top 12 Symptoms of Leprosy:

• Pain and thickening of the nerves at the affected sites.
• Loss of strength in the muscles innervated by these affected nerves, particularly in the eyes , arms and legs .
• The first sign of inflammation in the nerve is intense pain  and swelling in the region.

Other Symptoms of Leprosy  can be:

• Weakness in the muscles;
• Loss of ability to sweat;
• Dry skin;
• Loss of sensation and numbness;
• Lesions and wounds on the soles of the feet;
• Nose injuries;
• Eye injury  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 testes.

Leprosy  symptoms manifest between the 1st and 7th year after infection, or many years later, depending on the person’s immune response.

Leprosy treatments:

How to Care for Injured Hands:  When the hand is affected, it should be soaked in a basin of warm water  for 10 to 15 minutes and then dried with a soft towel. Apply moisturizer, petroleum jelly or mineral oil to moisturize and check for other sores or sores daily

Stretching and strengthening exercises may be indicated to improve hand and arm movement. When there is a loss of sensation in the hands, it can be useful to keep them bandaged or wear gloves to protect the skin  from possible burns, for example when cooking.

How to Care for Injured Feet:  A person with leprosy who does not have sensation in their feet needs to observe them daily to see if there is any new injury or compromise. It is also recommended:

• Wear closed shoes to protect the feet from possible tripping that can be very serious, and that can even lead to the amputation of toes or parts of the foot;
• Wear 2 pairs of socks to protect your foot well.

In addition, you should wash your feet daily with soap and water  and apply a moisturizing cream to your skin . Nail clipping and callus removal should be performed by a podiatrist.

How to Take Care of the Nose:  Complications that can happen in the nose involve dry skin , runny nose with or without blood , crusts and ulcers. Thus, it is recommended to drip saline solution in the nostrils to keep them clean and unobstructed.

How to Take Care of the Eyes: Eye  complications can be dry eyes , lack of strength in the eyelid, making it difficult to close the eyes . Thus, eye drops or artificial tears are recommended. It may also help to wear sunglasses during the day and a blindfold to  sleep.

Recommendations Against Leprosy:  Do not give up on leprosy treatment , which is long but effective if not stopped. The first dose of the drug is almost a guarantee that leprosy will no longer be transmitted. Convince family members and people close to the patient to seek a Basic Health Unit for evaluation when a case of leprosy is diagnosed in the family. Don’t run away from people with leprosy , a stigmatizing disease, but it has a cure, as long as it is properly treated.