Erysipelas is an acute inflammation of all layers of the skin caused by beta-hemolytic streptococcus. As a rule, this pathogen enters the skin through microtraumas: acute and chronic ulcers, abrasions, fish bone injections, purulent wounds, and scratches.
Erysipelas can also affect other areas of the body besides the skin: the mucous membranes of the lips, nose, and oral cavity.
Allergy to streptococcus can cause frequent relapses in erysipelas.
Erysipelas is a contagious disease and is transmitted by contact. With gross violations of asepsis, nosocomial infection with erysipelas is possible.
At the beginning, erysipelas is characterized by common symptoms (fever, malaise, headache, nausea, vomiting). Later, the main symptom of the disorder is observed - red skin.
Erysipelas has 4 forms: erythematous (which is the main form of the disease), bullous (when vesicles with serous-purulent contents appear on the surface), phlegmonous (which is characterized by the development of subcutaneous tissue phlegmon), gangrenous (the most severe form of the disease, which passes into necrosis skin).
According to the clinical course, erysipelas is acute, fulminant and recurrent.
The lightning-fast form of erysipelas often ends in death. Timely treatment, including surgery (sometimes even amputation), gives the patient some chance of salvation.
Patients with this disease are hospitalized in the surgical department, and with the erythematous form, patients are transferred to the infectious diseases department.
Treatment of erysipelas at home is possible only with the erythematous form of the disease, but under the supervision of a doctor (examination of the problem area of the skin 2 times a day) and only if the erysipelas is limited in size.
Pathogenetic therapy of erysipelas consists of: mandatory antibiotic therapy, desensitizing therapy (antiallergic) and physiotherapy.
In the treatment of erysipelas, antibiotics from the penicillin group (benzylpenicillin, ampicillin, methicillin, oxacillin) are used.
For local treatment of erysipelas, ultraviolet irradiation (UVI), ultra-high-frequency therapy (UHF therapy) help well.
It is not recommended to use ointment bandages. Regarding wet-drying dressings with alcohol, with dioxidine, with other antiseptics, it is not clear if they help or not. Only an alcoholic solution of iodine can help prevent the spread of erysipelas to healthy areas of the skin (the method recommended by N.I. Pirogov).
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