[Micro Popular Science] The skin is red, swollen, hot and painful, which may be erysipelas!
1. What is erysipelas?
Erysipelas is a disease caused by hemolytic streptococcal infection. When a small wound appears on the skin, the bacteria can sneak into the body through the wound, causing acute inflammation of the skin and the superficial lymphoid tissue of the skin.
2. Under what circumstances is it easy to get erysipelas?
The causes of erysipelas include skin wounds, chapped skin, exfoliation, varicose veins, scratching, diabetes, chronic liver and kidney disease, and malnutrition. The face and lower legs are more common. Therefore, people with tinea pedis, onychomycosis, leg ulcers, rhinitis, oral mucosal infections, and chronic eczema are more susceptible to erysipelas.
3. What are the symptoms of erysipelas?
In most cases, erysipelas on the face will start from the nose or cheeks, edema and red spots, the surface is tense and shiny, local skin temperature is significantly increased, can be accompanied by pain, and sometimes even involves the scalp. The erysipelas of the lower leg can be accompanied by swelling of the skin, and even blisters and bullosa (see figure). In severe cases, it may also be complicated by sepsis, deep necrotizing fasciitis and so on. People with obesity and poorly controlled diabetes may be more affected.
4. How to treat erysipelas?
① Removal of incentives: obese patients control their weight, and diabetic patients actively control blood sugar. Treat tinea pedis, tinea nails, otitis media and other diseases, keep local clean and dry, avoid repeated scratching stimulation.
② Local treatment: In the acute phase, you can choose magnesium sulfate solution or ethacridine solution or furacillin solution and other wet compress, you can also go to a regular hospital for high-energy red light irradiation treatment.
③ Systemic treatment: Once diagnosed, erysipelas patients should receive early, efficient antibiotic treatment, penicillin drugs as the first choice. The general course of treatment is 2 weeks.
5. Is erysipelas easy to recur?
Erysipelas can recurs after healing, and the main reasons for recurrence are incomplete treatment, ineffective removal of infected lesions, skin breaks, and bacterial re-entry into the skin through the skin breaks. Some people with low resistance can also have recurrent erysipelas.
Contributed by: Liu Wei Attending physician, the First Hospital of Jilin University
Reviewer: Li Shanshan, Chief physician, The First Hospital of Jilin University
(The opinions expressed are solely those of the author. Some pictures in this article are from the Internet, if there is infringement, contact delete)