Coinciding with the celebration of World Leprosy Day. What you want to know about the disease

In conjunction with the celebration of International Leprosy Day and the World Health Organization's interest in raising public awareness of this disease, we will discover in detail all the information you would like to know about this disease, its symptoms. , its treatment, its propagation and prevention methods.

The celebration of International Leprosy Day is on January 31 of each year or the last day of January.

The ceremony was chosen to mark the anniversary of the death of Mahatma Gandhi, one of the most interested in the disease.

Leprosy

What is leprosy?

The site better health"Leprosy is a chronic bacterial infection of the skin and superficial nerves of the skin, caused by mycobacterium leprosy, and may include the nose, eyes, throat and testicles.

Leprosy is also known as Hansen's disease or HDIt has spread to parts of Asia, Africa, Central and South America, some Pacific countries and the United States, and with the advent of multiple drugs in 1980, has become curable.

Symptoms of leprosy

The main symptom of leprosy is the appearance of cutaneous and skin lesions, and also affects the nervous system of the body.

Leprosy does not affect the central nervous system, but can affect the peripheral nervous system (PNS) (Sensory nerves and involuntary motor and nerves) by:

– Sensory Nerbs – When the sensory nerves are damaged, the patient can not feel the pain, leaving the limbs of the hands and feet subject to burns and injuries that can lead to loss of fingers, hands and feet.

– Eye damage – When the eye is touched, it can lead to blindness, especially if the person does not know how to prevent injuries from dust or other irritants.

– Damage to the motor nerves When the motor nerves are damaged, various forms of paralysis can occur, such as "falling of the foot", "wrist or wrist", "malignant disease of the hand" or eye disease (the eye can not be closed).

– Irregular nerves – Irregular nerves regulate body functions, such as blood pressure, heart rate, sweating, intestines, emptying of the bladder and digestion.

Leprosy

How is leprosy moving?

It is not known how leprosy is transmitted, but it is thought that it is transmitted from one person to another by respiratory droplets (droplets expelled from the nose and mouth, for example when An infected person coughs or sneezes). In cases of leprosy in children younger than one year, it is thought that the infection is transmitted by the mother through the placenta.

Leprosy is not a very contagious disease: generally, people at risk are in close and frequent contact with lepers or live in countries where the disease is more prevalent.

It is thought that the incubation period ranges from nine months to more than 20 years.

Leprosy

Treatment of leprosy

Before the introduction of multidrug therapy in the early 1980s, the symptoms of leprosy could only be slowed down, but not cured, but the bacteria could not be killed, but thanks to antibiotics and other drugs, the disease could be healed.

Once a person with leprosy starts an appropriate treatment, she is no longer affected.

Prevention of leprosy

You should avoid in the long run any direct contact with a person with leprosy who is not receiving treatment because it could infect you.