Secondary Cutaneous Bacterial Infections

Secondary Cutaneous Bacterial Infections General Information

Any disease that affects the skin is considered annoying and unaesthetic. Many patients suffering from diseases such as Secondary Cutaneous Bacterial Infections forget that their life could be threatened by a simple skin disorder and focus more on how they look. In this first chapter we will present you several important aspects regarding this medical condition. It is very important for every patient to know as much as possible about any disease he or she is suffering from. All the information could help him/her understand better what happens inside or outside the body and how to manage it. If you need further information we strongly advise you to contact a health care provider or a specialist in the domain, called a dermatologist.

Secondary Cutaneous Bacterial Infections or any type of skin disorder accounts for a large number of office visits to a doctor. Usually, the process of healing is long, expensive and exhausting, affecting the individual’s quality of life. Secondary Cutaneous Bacterial Infections include a big variety of skin disorders that can be mild, even unnoticeable or very dangerous and depend mostly on the microorganism that caused them. Some examples of infections caused by Staphylococcus Aureus: impetigo, folliculitis, toxic shock syndrome, furunculosis, staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome or methicillin (meticillin) resistant Staph. Aureus. Other very common infections are caused by Streptococcus pyogenes and include: cellulites, scarlet fever, erysipelas or necrotizing fasciitis. Some infections of this kind are rarer and include, for example: erysipelothrix insidiosa, gonorrhoea, klebsiella rhinoscleromatis, haemophilus, meningococcal disease or haemophilus ducreyi.

Secondary Cutaneous Bacterial Infections Symptoms

A person suffering from Secondary Cutaneous Bacterial Infections must know that the signs and symptoms are various and numerous and depend on what organism caused the infection. The symptoms can be really mild, unnoticeable by a patient or can be very violent, affecting the entire body, causing pain, unpleasant sensations and psychological damage. Symptoms as tenderness, pain or redness are felt over a large area of skin and are usually accompanied by chills or fever. These are usually provoked both by the bacteria themselves and by the organism that tries to fight against the infection. Secondary Cutaneous Bacterial Infections can affect any part of the body, even on the inside. No matter where the infection appears, the skin becomes hot and swells. Sometimes, blisters filled with fluid (vesicles or bullae) may appear on the affected area. These blisters can range in size, from small (like peas) to large.

As any type of Secondary Cutaneous Bacterial Infections progresses, the nearby lymph nodes (usually in the neck, groin, armpit etc) become larger and tender to touch, developing a medical condition called lymphadenitis. If the organism causing the infection is more aggressive, the disorder can spread to the surrounding tissues and even to the blood, where it can cause more severe illnesses. The signs that appear usually in the skin may have various colors, from yellow, to brown, red, or violet. There are conditions that affect only children, adults or old people. Some of them have predilection for a specific race, sex or ethnic group.

Secondary Cutaneous Bacterial Infections Treatment

The treatments for Secondary Cutaneous Bacterial Infections are usually based on strong antibiotics, no matter what organism is responsible for the infection. As in the case of other many more medical conditions, a rapid treatment may assure a full recovery in a short period of time. This is why we strongly advise you to visit a doctor as soon as you start experiencing any of the signs and symptoms listed above. He/she will order a couple a tests to differentiate similar skin disorders and to rule out the wrong ones. The physical exam is usually the most important when a person deals with Secondary Cutaneous Bacterial Infections because many of the signs are on the surface of the skin and are very obvious. If he/ she considers necessary, the patient must to some tests that include analysis of the blood to obtain further information. Once the diagnosis is set, the doctors can proceed with applying the treatment option that is adequate for the patient problems.

There is a big variety of therapies that successfully cured any type of skin infection, such as Secondary Cutaneous Bacterial Infections and that also depend on the bacteria that caused the condition. Other factors that must be taken in consideration before applying a treatment are: the age and sex of the patient, the substances he/she is allergic at or any underlying causes. In some cases, antibacterial soaps, hot compresses, soaking with warm water, or medicated shampoos may relive the symptoms and may cure the disorder. For mild cases, creams, lotions, ointments or oils that contain antibiotics must be applied on the affected surface of the skin. These are usually used in children who are sensitive to more powerful medications. If the Secondary Cutaneous Bacterial Infections are serious, the dermatologist will prescribe immediately certain antibiotics to avoid the bacteria infecting deep layers of the skin. The most common used antibiotics include: Erythromycin, Penicillin, Ampicilin, Streptomycin, Azithromycin, Dirithromycin, Spectinomycin, Clarithromycin or Flucloxacillin.

The patients must follow carefully the instructions and never miss a dose or take more drugs than indicated. They may cause more severe complications that slow down the process of curing and bring new disorders that are harder to treat. Antibacterial agents must be used even after the treatment is stopped because the infection can occur suddenly. They interfere in the process of growing of bacteria on the skin. A softening agent (an emollient) that moisturizes the skin is Urea. Sodium Sulfacetamide in combination with topical Urea is used as a treatment for seborrheic dermatitis and dandruff. Sometimes, surgery is needed to cut the abscesses and to drain the pus that is inside. In time, the bacteria may develop resistance to these treatments and then, combination of therapies may be the perfect solution. If you develop new allergies after the first days of treatment call your doctor and ask him to do new tests. If it is needed, new therapy will be prescribed to resolve the new allergy and then to cure Secondary Cutaneous Bacterial Infections.