Ask us all you can!
Health A-Z,Treatments

Different Types Of Skin Infections And Their Effective Treatments

Different Types Of Skin Infections And Their Effective Treatments

Different types of skin infections and their effective treatments

Skin infections are caused by microorganisms and skin parasites. They cause itching, rashes, sores, and blisters. Different types of skin infections can affect different parts of the body. A large percentage of skin infections are bacterial, but there are numerous types of fungal and viral infections too.

Skin infection types
Skin infections can be categorized in many ways, by causes, age group it affects and so on. However, identifying the cause of the infection is most important to plan the proper treatment. Therefore, skin infections can be classified into bacterial, fungal, and viral infections.

Bacterial skin infections
The human skin is host to a lot of microorganisms, especially bacteria. Many of these are beneficial and perform useful functions. However, if some of these bacteria increase in number, or the skin is invaded by other harmful bacteria, it can cause infections. Common bacterial skin infections include Leprosy, Staph Infection, Carbuncles, Impetigo, and Cellulitis.

  • Fungal Skin Infections
    Fungal infections are also very common. These include Athlete’s foot, candidiasis or yeast infection, fungal nail infections, ringworms, and sporotrichosis.
  • Viral skin infections
    Viral infections are hard to cure because a virus is a very tiny microorganism that lives inside a host cell, that is inside human cells which act as the host to the virus. So, the virus is hard to identify and kill. Many serious diseases like AIDS are viral infections. Viral skin infections include measles, chickenpox, shingles, cold sores, and Warts.

External and Internal Skin Infections
Most skin infections appear on the outer layer of the skin and are therefore very obvious. These include acne, warts, fingernail infections, Athlete’s Foot, measles, chicken pox, impetigo, and cellulitis.

  • Acne
    Acne is a common skin infection triggered by hormonal changes. This affects the functioning of the sebaceous glands that produce the oil in the skin called sebum. Sebum in normal levels is beneficial, it keeps the skin soft, smooth, hydrated and supple. However, hormone imbalances can cause the overproduction of sebum. An increase in sebum can cause this body oil to block pores and cause dead cells to collect in them. This is an ideal condition for bacterial growth and infection. This causes an acne breakout in the forms of pustules, cysts, and papules.
  • Fungal nail infection
    This fungal infection usually affects toenails. It causes a scaly flaking on the nail and eventually causes the nail to crumble. This is treated with antifungal creams.
  • Warts
    While warts can appear anywhere on the body, they generally affect hands, feet, and joints. They are caused by the human papillomavirus and are contagious.
  • Ringworms
    This skin infection is caused by a fungus called dermatophyte.
  • Athlete’s Foot
    This feet problem is caused by a fungus that grows in moist and damp environments, like when your feet stay inside athletic shoes for a long time. It can affect anyone, not just athletes.
  • Candidiasis
    This is caused by an increase in the number of the candida albicans fungus generally present in the body. This results in itchy red patches of skin generally in the armpits, groins and under folds of skin.
  • Measles and Chickenpox
    These are viral diseases which commonly affect children. They usually occur once in a lifetime, as the body learns to recognize and effectively deal with the virus that causes these infections.
  • Shingles
    Unfortunately, chickenpox can leave a lingering effect in the form of shingles. This infection is caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox, but unlike chickenpox, shingles can affect you multiple times through your lifetime.

Internal skin infections

These infections affect the lower layers of the skin. They include:

  • Carbuncle
    Caused by the Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, they take the form of a cluster of boils beneath the outer layer of the skin and affect hair follicles. They can become infected and inflamed causing pain and itching. Cleaning the affected area using antibacterial washes and taking antibiotics are usually effective treatments.
  • Cellulitis
    This is a serious condition, it begins when bacteria enter the deeper layers of the skin through a cut in the top layer of the skin. It causes red, tender, painful bumps in the skin and can quickly spread. Severe cases of cellulitis can be life-threatening. This skin infection is treated with antibiotics.
  • Treatment for skin infections
    Antiseptic, antifungal creams, corticosteroid creams, and other medications are used against various skin infections. Oral antibiotics, antifungal and antiviral medications are also used. However, viruses are very resistant to such treatments. Vaccinations are more effective as they help eradicate the smallpox viral infection.
    Bacteria can be controlled using antibiotics, but new drug-resistant strains are beginning to appear. These include the Methicillin Resistant Staph Aureus (MRSA) bacteria that cause infections like Carbuncles. MRSA infections are treated with the patient being hospitalized to receive daily IV doses of Vancomycin. Recently, new long-acting antibiotic drugs have been developed, requiring just one shot every week to fight these infections.

Home remedies for skin infections

  • Grind a few Margosa or neem leaves and mix this with water to create a paste. Apply this to the infected area, neem is a tried and tested antiseptic
  • Tea Tree oil can also be used as a topical application to treat skin infections
  • Apple cider vinegar and yogurt are good topical applications to use against fungal infections of the skin
  • Crushed aloe vera leaf can be applied to skin infections to soothe and heal them. Aloe vera is a good antibiotic
  • Turmeric is a most powerful antiseptic and antibiotic. It can be used to treat many infectious conditions
  • Decoctions of echinacea, thyme, and calendula can also help treat skin infections
  • Tomatoes contain an anti-inflammatory compound called lycopene that can soothe and heal wounds
  • Crush some garlic cloves and apply this paste to the infected area to soothe and heal them
  • Coconut oil has antibacterial and antifungal properties. Apply coconut oil or coconut oil mixed with a small amount of cinnamon oil to control skin infections.

Related Reading

Tips for Buying the Best Dog Food

Tips for Buying the Best Dog Food

Most of the dogs do not have a food fuss and may eat almost anything that you feed them. Dogs are not choosy at all when it comes to food and nutrition. Hence, it is important to make sure that the food that you are purchasing for your dog is healthy. The landscape of dog food has been developing by leaps and bounds in recent times. There is a wide variety of options to choose from in the online and offline market. Given the wide range of options that are available today, buying the best dog food might seem to be a confusing task indeed. All the commercial pet food that is available in the market today is regulated by the FDA. Therefore, most of the products do contain nutritious, healthy, and safe ingredients. But it does help to know certain basic factors you should look for while buying food for your dog. Prioritize on the nutritional guarantee The best dog food, which meets the dog’s needs adequately has a statement written on the label of the product, from the Association of American Feed Control Officials. Buy from some of the best dog food brands, such as Fromm Family Foods, Earthborn Holistic, Nature’s Variety Instinct, and The Honest Kitchen.
Different Types of Kitchen Cabinets Available for Your Home

Different Types of Kitchen Cabinets Available for Your Home

The most important aspect when designing your kitchen is deciding on the type of cabinets. In addition to functionality, kitchen cabinets score on aesthetics as well. Once the layout is planned, you can go ahead with choosing the cabinets. If you’re remodeling your home or just the kitchen, what you need to consider are the types of cabinets that furnish your kitchen. Here are a few types of kitchen cabinets that you can choose from. Base cabinets These kitchen cabinets are mounted on the floor and they are placed after checking out the floor plan. A major part of your job in the kitchen is on these base cabinets, which hold and support the countertops. These base cabinets are combined to carve out kitchen islands. A number of base cabinets are fused/set against one another and installed on site. The base cabinets, in addition to supporting the countertops, serve as drawers to hold your cutlery and appliances. Wall cabinets Mounted on the walls, these cabinets can store everything, right from your cookware to cookbooks. In terms of design, they offer utmost flexibility. Wall cabinet kitchen is available in varying heights, multiple widths, and custom depth options. This customization helps you to fit in your stuff of varying shapes and sizes into the wall cabinets.
How to Pick the Right Dog Food for a Sensitive Stomach

How to Pick the Right Dog Food for a Sensitive Stomach

In today’s world, where you are presented with over a dozen choices for every item you would purchase for your own kitchen, it is not surprising that you have an equal number of options for your dog’s food. However, choosing the perfect brand and formula for your dog out of a range of options in the market is not an easy job. Your pet depends on you and trusts you to make the right choice for them. Therefore, it is imperative that you do your research about the products available in the market, understand what your dog needs, know what might be your pet’s problems, and then make a sound decision. What is a sensitive stomach? Dogs are known to have voracious and large appetites. Keeping that in mind, it is normal to assume that they have strong stomachs. They can eat close to anything be it sweets, bakes, chewy gum, hard leather or even woolen socks for that matter! It always so happens that the strongest of them are prone to allergies and can develop a disorder which is medically translated as a sensitive stomach. This might be due to a sudden change in the food habits or even due an infection picked up from somewhere.
All You Need to Know about Cat Food

All You Need to Know about Cat Food

For cat owners, cat food is a hot topic. You need to think about it in different aspects. The best thing is to know which ingredients are good for cat food and which are harmful. If you are aware of this, you can get an idea about the quality of the cat food just by going through the label. It is always sensible to stick to one brand of cat food. However, you may also want to try and prepare cat food yourself. There are also various options for wet cat food as well. Cat’s love for fish is universal, so you can do without going for expensive cat food. Nevertheless, whether you buy it or prepare cat food at home, you need to ensure that the food contains enough nutrition and calories. You would need to have some idea about the ingredients that must be present in cat food and make a worthy selection for your cat. Basic ingredients present in good cat foods Cats need a variety of nutrients to stay healthy and active; they need various vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins, and oils. The following is a brief explanation of the basic ingredients that should be present in cat foods.