Look after yourself, guard against disease

ACCORDING to Leprosy Mission International the disease cannot be contracted by touch.

But it can apparently be caught from droplets of moisture passing through the air from an infected person and can take up to 10 years to manifest itself from when contracted. The first symptom is when patches of skin look paler than normal, and sometimes nodules appear on skin.

It can be difficult to diagnose and sometimes people are not diagnosed or treated quickly enough. Leprosy damages nerves in the cooler parts of the body, especially near the skin of the hands, feet and face.

If treated during the early stages there will be no loss of sensation or paralysis, but if the nerves are damaged, then feeling and movement will not return.

Although there is no vaccine, leprosy is curable with multidrug therapy (MDT). Within two weeks of starting MDT there is no risk of the disease spreading to others and the drugs need to be taken for either six or 12 month periods to be effective.

Treatment goes up to 24 months in South Africa and the drugs are free. If leprosy is not treated it attacks the larger nerves that supply feeling to hands, feet, eyes and parts of the face.

This means that if patients are injured, like being cut or burnt, they do not feel pain and may not be aware of the injuries, which become infected, septic and eventually cause flesh around the injury to die. They may also have paralysis so that eyes cannot properly close, and fingers and toes become bent which makes them even more vulnerable to injury.

A clawed hand or foot-drop can be restored with surgery, massage and physiotherapy. Surgery can also restore eyelid muscles so eyes blink again. But surgery can’t restore feeling. People are encouraged to look after themselves by soaking feet regularly, oiling their skin to make it softer and checking daily for wounds. — www.leprosymission.org