Contents:
- List of leprosy medications commonly prescribed by doctors
- Have taken leprosy medicine but how come other skin problems appear?
- Then do I have to stop taking leprosy medicine?
Leprosy can actually be completely cured if treated immediately. Treatment of leprosy usually involves prescribing drugs to stop the transmission and development of the bacteria that causes this infection. However, not infrequently people who have routinely taken leprosy medication experience other skin problems. What is the reason? Is this a sign that leprosy medication taken is not effective and suitable for the body?
List of leprosy medications commonly prescribed by doctors
Leprosy is a chronic skin infection caused by bacteriaMycobacterium leprae.In some cases, this infection even interferes with the upper respiratory tract and other organs except the brain. Usually, leprosy is characterized by the appearance of white and reddish spots on the skin, accompanied by numbness in the area of infected skin. The surface of the skin also feels dry.
The type of treatment carried out will depend on each type of leprosy you experience. If you have leprosy, you will be given a variety of drugs such as:
- Dapsone
- Rifampicin
- Clofazimine
- Minocycline
- Ofloxacin
All leprosy drugs are antibiotics that are used simultaneously. Using antibiotics simultaneously at one time is intended so that bacteria are not immune to the drugs given so that leprosy will be cured quickly.
Have taken leprosy medicine but how come other skin problems appear?
When you have taken leprosy medication as instructed by a doctor, then during the treatment period you may experience a leprosy reaction. Leprosy reactions are events where the bacteria that causes leprosy begin to react to the drugs you consume. At that moment, your immune system is also developing and building defenses to attack bacteria. So, many other symptoms appear, such as:
- Reddish skin
- The skin becomes dry and peeled off
- Pain in the joints
These side effects are experienced in as many as 25-40% of patients with leprosy and usually often appear 6 months to one year after treatment begins.
Then do I have to stop taking leprosy medicine?
Certainly not. Stopping taking leprosy without your doctor's knowledge will affect your overall health. Although initially skin problems due to leprosy drugs that are reacting will gradually disappear, but leprosy itself still resides in the body.
If leprosy is not treated, it will cause other health conditions such as:
- Make skin tissue dead. This makes patients with leprosy at risk of amputation due to wound infections that never heal.
- Blind, due to nerve part of the eye is also attacked by infection.
- Kidney failure
- Muscles become weak and stiff
- Erectile dysfunction or impotence in men
If the reaction of leprosy occurs, the doctor will usually add the type of leprosy medication you should consume. This is to prevent excessive side effects from treatment. Types of drugs given such as painkillers or anti-inflammatory drugs.
In addition, not being disciplined for taking medication makes the disease-causing bacteria stronger and immune to current and subsequent treatments. As a result, the symptoms of leprosy that you experience can get worse because the bacteria continue to multiply in the body.
Stopping taking medication also risks transmission of the disease to other people. Not only makes the condition worse, the stronger bacteria can easily move and infect other people's bodies. It could be, the people closest to you contract this disease later on if you don't take leprosy medicine.
To find out what treatment is right for you, then you should immediately see a doctor if you experience a leprosy reaction. Because, if the reaction of leprosy is not handled properly and quickly, this will also worsen your health condition.
