Treatment of Skin Diseases - Essay Example

Nursing My field of profession is mental health, where I specialize in diagnosing and treatment of people with mental related disorders. Recently, I attended an adult placement in an investigation ward dealing with people with skin conditions. Not only did I learn some of the major causes of diseases, but I also learnt on an integrative approach of dealing with people suffering from various diseases. From my involvement, I learnt the various causes of skin conditions and the corresponding control principles. The use of infective methods is normally related to the epidemiology of a particular disease. This implies that a the diagnosis and subsequent treatment of a particular skin condition is usually derived at by determining the interaction of the disease causing agent, the environment as well the host, in this case the patient. The control of infection is usually done for the sole purpose of reducing the exposure of a susceptible person to the disease or infection-causing agent. Among such factors that tend to increase ones chances of contacting a skin condition include the presence of an underlying disease such as cancer or diabetes. Additionally, a persons chances of contracting a skin disorder or condition can also be aggravated by injuries to the skin such as burns or surgical wounds, which can result in broken skin or drying of the skin hence, removing the skin protective mucous membrane. The age of a person also puts one at a high risk of contracting a skin disease with the most vulnerable being the elderly and the very young children (Lebwohl, Heymann & Coulson, 2002). The most common sources of such infectious disease-causing microorganisms may either be endogenous or exogenous. Exogenous sources of microorganisms that can cause skin infections were identified as contaminated water, or surface, plant pollen grains as well as contaminated air. On the other hand, endogenous sources include an individuals common resident flora. Moreover, for successful transmission of a skin condition, an individual’s environment must foster the interaction between the individual’s immune system and the disease-causing agent. Most agents tend to cause infection through direct contact with an infected person or airborne. I also learnt that the most common means of preventing as well as controlling a skin infection is usually through the maximization of a patient’s defense system and subsequent removal or control of the some of the possible reservoirs or sources of the infectious agents. Similarly, in order to prevent the spread of an infection, it is usually important to promote an environment that will reduce the risk interaction between the susceptible individual and the infectious pathogens. Poor life habits were also associated with the development of certain skin conditions. For instance, overexposure to sunlight was attributed to the cause of almost 30% of most reported cases of skin cancer (Queensland Health, Revised 2010). Moreover, poor eating habits, especially the consumption of fatty foods, was also associated with the development of acne among other skin conditions. As therefore seen, my practical based experience in an unfamiliar field was in the investigation of skin conditions at an adult placement ward. During the placement among the new facts that I learned ranged from the causal factors of skin infections to the various means of treatment of these infections. From my new experience in this field, I also related some of the various ways in which the treatment of mental disorders is related to that of skin infections in which I found some imperative similarities. References Jaret, P. (2012). Coping With Acne: Your Care Plan. Retrieved April 5, 2012, from WebMD: Lebwohl, M. G., Heymann, W. R., & Coulson, I. (2002). Treatment of Skin Disease E-Book: Comprehensive Therapeutic Strategies. Elsavier Limited: New york. Porcelli, P. (2000). Psychological factors affecting medical conditions: a new classification for DSM-V. Brooklyn, NY: Cambridge Press. Queensland Health. (Revised 2010). Infection Control Guidelines. Retrieved April 5, 2012, from http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CDgQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.health.qld.gov.au%2Fchrisp%2Fic_guidelines%2Fsect2_elements.pdf&ei=SEN8T7HjLM-D8gOFiaSrDQ&usg=AFQjCNGD0HZCix4Wrs4lxnvuZDM7Yh915A&sig2=3PmGMRaV6LwDpGUi467jWQ U.S. National Library of Medicine. (2010, September 15). Kaposis Sarcoma. Retrieved April 5, 2012, from PubMed Health: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001682/ Read More