Skin Diseases: Psoriasis, Decubitus Ulcer and Verrucae - Research Paper Example

Skin Diseases: Psoriasis, Decubitus Ulcer and Verrucae (Warts) Psoriasis Signs and Symptoms People with Psoriasis skin disease are likely to experience symptoms that include having red patches of skin on the affected area with these parts being covered by silvery scales. For children who have Psoriasis, it is common for the affected areas of their skin to have small scaling spots. Other general symptoms that can be used to identify this skin disease are having dry and cracked skin that may start bleeding when the cracks are deep. For those with this skin disease, it is common to experience sensations such as itching, burning and soreness in the affected areas of the skin. The symptoms of Psoriasis skin disease may also include having ridged, thickened and pitted nails in addition to the person experiencing swollen and stiff joints. This symptoms appearing on the skin can be represented by a few spots of scaling but can also spread to cover extensive areas of the skin surface (Langley, Krueger and Griffiths, 2005). 2. What are the demographics or prevalence of the disease? Data on Psoriasis skin disease indicates its prevalence differs according to countries, age, gender and the social and economic status of individuals. For children (those of age eighteen and below), prevalence vary from country to country were in Europe, Parisi, Symmons, Griffiths and Ashcroft (2013) report 0.71 percent. The authors also report prevalence of 2.15 percent in Italy for 13- to 14-year-old children and 0.71 percent for German. In adults, prevalence of psoriasis was found to be higher than in children where the United Kingdom about 1.30 percent, Croatia 1.21 percent towards end of 1980s and Norway had a prevalence of 3.10 percent as per a study in 2008. For adults in the US, prevalence of psoriasis ranges between 2.2 percent and based on studies between 2004 and 2009 with data from African Americans community showing prevalence of 1.3 percent in a 2005 study. 3. What is the etiology or pathology? Psoriasis is caused by an abnormality in the genetic composition of the patient with multiple genes being involved. The studies in the genes that cause psoriasis is limited with the exact location of the genes not yet determined. 4. How is the disease diagnosed? In psoriasis diagnosis, the doctor does a differential diagnosis to eliminate infections such as lichen planus, inea infections and pityriasis rosea based on the fact that psoriasis can be distinctively identified based on the skin having spots that are circumscribed, circular and with plaques having grey or silver dry scale (Langley, Krueger and Griffiths, 2005). 5. What is the treatment? There is no effective treatment of psoriasis skin disease since it is caused by genetic factors. 6. What is the prognosis? Since psoriasis is a genetic skin disease, there is no specific medication for the disease but its symptoms can be minimized by medications that minimize the rate of skin growth and itching in order to improve the patient’s quality of life (Langley, Krueger and Griffiths, 2005). Decubitus Ulcer 1. What are the signs and symptoms? The first sign that someone suffers from decubitus ulcer is the development of pressure sores in the affected areas. This is particularly on the skin surfaces that do not have enough cushions between the skin and underlying bones. These pressure sores develop in specific areas such as around the shoulder, back of the head and ears, and on the skin while on the lower part of the body they can occur around the sacrum, buttocks, tailbone, hips, heels, over the ankles and where the knees come into contact. There are also cases where the pressure sores can develop over places that have thick skin resulting in the skin folds over on itself. The symptoms of decubitus ulcer are experienced over four stages where in stage one the sores are not open wounds but still painful. During the second stage the skin breaks open forming ulcer followed by third stage where the sore continues into tissues under the skin creating a depression around the affected area. In the last stage, the pressure sore deepens into the muscle and bone where if no immediate action is taken there are damages to tissues, joints and tendons. 2. What are the demographics or prevalence of the disease? Decubitus ulcer is common for people who are bedridden especially when there is no regular shifting in body positioning during such period in addition to those who spend most of the time on wheelchair. Maklebust and Sieggreen (2001) notes about 30 percent of patients may experience this condition especially during the initial stages of being bedridden or on the wheelchair. 3. What is the etiology or pathology? The main cause of this condition is pressure is continuously applied on the skin with the result being reduction in blood flow to affected area and eventually the skin dies (Maklebust and Sieggreen, 2001). 4. How is the disease diagnosed? Diagnosis of decubitus ulcer involves examination of the skin for the pressure sores. Infection in the affected areas will result in further testing to determine where it has gone deep into the tissues or bones (Maklebust and Sieggreen, 2001). 5. What is the treatment? The first action is to prevent further damages to vulnerable skin by avoiding pressure on the area. This is followed by covering the affected area with protective film to prevent injury. Dead skin must also be removed from the area with larger areas of dead where deep depressions may require reconstructive surgery (Maklebust and Sieggreen, 2001). 6. What is the prognosis? The first stages of decubitus ulcer can heal through simple treatment and within a short period of time but failure of bedside treatment may require reconstructive surgery for repair of damaged areas (Maklebust and Sieggreen, 2001). Verrucae (Warts) 1. What are the signs and symptoms The signs and symptoms of verrucae include development of uncomfortable growths on the feet soles which are in most cases covered with small dots. Although they might not be painful, a person may experience pain in the feet soles when walking (Rubin and Young, 2002). 2. What are the demographics or prevalence of the disease? Verrucae are contagious and can therefore easily spread among people especially when the infected area comes into contact with another person’s skin. 3. What is the etiology or pathology? Verrucae is a viral skin disease whose agent is the human papilloma virus (HPV) that causes the skin to swell due to accumulation of keratin on the area (Rubin and Young, 2002). 4. How is the disease diagnosed? Diagnosis for Verrucae involves determination of medical history and identification of the type of HPV responsible for the infection (Rubin and Young, 2002). 5. What is the treatment? Verrucae infection can heal by itself after sometime therefore does not necessarily call for medical attention. In case the Verrucae become painful, treatment might include application of creams that contain salicylic acid, imiquimod and retinoids. Cryotherapy is also an option and involves freezing them with liquid nitrogen in so doing the wart tissue are destroyed (Rubin and Young, 2002). 6. What is the prognosis? Even after the disappearance of warts from the skin surface, the virus might not be eliminated from the bloodstream for a period of up to two years. This increases the chance that the skin infection might reappear in future (Rubin and Young, 2002). References Langley, R. G. B., Krueger, G. G., & Griffiths, C. E. M. (2005). Psoriasis: epidemiology, clinical features, and quality of life. Annals of the rheumatic diseases, 64(suppl 2), ii18-ii23. Maklebust, J., & Sieggreen, M. (2001). Pressure ulcers: Guidelines for prevention and management. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Parisi, R., Symmons, D. P., Griffiths, C. E., & Ashcroft, D. M. (2013). Global epidemiology of psoriasis: a systematic review of incidence and prevalence. Journal of Investigative Dermatology, 133(2), 377-385. Rubin, R. H., & Young, L. S. (Eds.). (2002). Clinical approach to infection in the compromised host. New York: Springer. Read More