Every two minutes, someone is diagnosed with leprosy. Often believed to have been eradicated, leprosy still occurs in more than 100 countries worldwide.

If you have pale-colored skin sores, lumps, or bumps that do not go away after several weeks or months you need to contact your doctor!

Leprosy is an infectious disease that causes severe, disfiguring skin sores and nerve damage in the arms and legs :

Leprosy can also affect he eyes and the thin tissue lining the inside of the nose :

Tissue Breakdown Deep tissue is fatigued by repetitive stress and releases chemical messengers. Chemical messengers are released but damaged nerves cannot relay message to brain. No action is taken to rest endangered part. Fatigue becomes too great and tissue cells are destroyed. Enzymes released from destroyed tissues stimulate repair response (inflammation). Inflammation causes edema which blocks the supply of nutrients and oxygen. Starved tissue breaks down, releases more chemical messengers and inflammation increases. The amount of broken down tissue and plasma becomes too great to be confined. Skin bursts to release breakdown products and an ulcer is formed.

Other signs of leprosy can be:  Skin lesions that may be faded/discolored  Growths on the skin  Thick, stiff or dry skin  Severe pain  Numbness on affected areas of the skin  Muscle weakness or paralysis (especially in the hands and feet)  Eye problems that may lead to blindness  Enlarged nerves (especially those around the elbow and knee)  A stuffy nose  Nosebleeds  Ulcers on the soles of feet

Leprosy is caused by a slow- growing type of bacteria called Mycobacterium leprae (M. leprae). Leprosy is also known as Hansen's disease, after the scientist who discovered M. leprae in 1873.

Treatment  A number of different antibiotics (including dapsone, rifampin, clofazamine, fluoroquinolones, macrolides, and minocycline) are used to kill the bacteria that cause the disease. More than one antibiotic is often given together.  Aspirin, prednisone, or thalidomide is used to control inflammation.

If leprosy is left untreated it can cause major damage to the hands, feet, eyes, and face as such in these severe cases :

Facts: - The bacteria attack nerve endings and destroy the body's ability to feel pain and injury. Without feeling pain, people injure themselves and the injuries can become infected, resulting in tissue loss. Fingers and toes become shortened and deformed as the cartilage is absorbed into the body. Repeated injury and infection of numb areas in the fingers or toes can cause the bones to shorten. The tissues around them shrink, making them short.

- Official figures show that almost 182, 000 people, mainly in Asia and Africa, were affected at the beginning of 2012, with approximately new cases reported during Leprosy can remain undetected for some time due to the bacteria lying dormant in the host.

ATTENTION If you have any knowledge of an individual having this condition, do not waste any more time and contact a doctor. Or the CDC…

Sources  ticle/ htm ticle/ htm  treatments/guide/leprosy-symptoms- treatments-history treatments/guide/leprosy-symptoms- treatments-history  x.html x.html  cuments/Non-ILEP_Publications/wcpal.pdf cuments/Non-ILEP_Publications/wcpal.pdf 