All you need to know about leprosy.. its symptoms and treatment methods

Leprosy is a chronic disease caused by a bacterial infection that affects the nerves of the extremities, skin, nose and respiratory system, where bacteria attack nerves that can swell under the skin, and this can cause the affected areas to lose the ability to sense touch and pain, which may lead to injuries such as wounds and burns.

What are the symptoms of leprosy?

1: The appearance of a large, discolored lesion on the chest of a person with leprosy.

2: Discolored patches appear on the skin, which are usually flat and look dull.

3: tumors on the skin.

4: Thick, hard or dry skin.

5: Painless blisters appear on the soles of the feet.

6: Painless swelling or lumps on the face.

7: Loss of eyebrows or eyelashes.

8: Numbness in the affected areas of the skin.

9: Muscle weakness or paralysis (especially in the hands and feet).

10: Enlarged nerves, especially those around the elbow and knee.

11: Eye problems that may lead to blindness.

12: subcutaneous nerve hypertrophy.

13: stuffy nose.

14: nosebleeds.

How is leprosy diagnosed?

The disease can be identified by the appearance of spots on the skin that may appear lighter or darker than the normal color of the skin. Sometimes the affected skin areas may be red. Loss of sensation in these skin spots is common. You may not feel a light touch or prick with a needle.

To confirm the diagnosis, your doctor will take a sample of your skin or nerves (through a skin or nerve biopsy) to look for bacteria under a microscope and may also do tests to rule out other skin conditions.

Disease treatment methods

Leprosy may be treated with a combination of antibiotics, and 2 or 3 antibiotics are used at the same time. This is called multidrug therapy. This strategy helps prevent bacterial resistance to antibiotics that would otherwise occur due to the length of treatment.

What are the complications of the disease?

If left untreated, nerve damage can lead to paralysis of the hands and feet, and in very advanced cases, a person may suffer multiple injuries due to lack of sensation. Corneal ulcers or blindness can also occur if the facial nerves are affected, due to loss of sensation in the cornea, and other signs may include Advanced leprosy has loss of eyebrows and deformation of the nose due to damage to the nasal septum.