Carbuncle
Brief description of the disease
A carbuncle is an acute purulent inflammation of the sebaceous glands and hair follicles, characterized by necrosis of skin and subcutaneous tissue tissues, as well as the formation of a general infiltrate. As a rule, a person has a single carbuncle, but there are cases when multiple foci of inflammation have appeared. The causes of the disease are similar to the causes of boils. First of all, these are:
- depletion of the body, lack of vitamins;
- metabolic disorders (obesity, diabetes mellitus);
- suffered serious illnesses that have undermined the immune system;
- high activity of viruses (Staphylococcus aureus or streptococcal infection).
Most often, the carbuncle appears on the back of the neck, in the area of the shoulder blades, on the lower back and buttocks. Much less often, the disease affects the limbs and the front of the chest. The clinical picture of the disease is again similar to furunculosis. First, a small superficial infiltrate appears. The focus of inflammation is growing rapidly, has tearing pain sensations, which intensify with palpation. The skin at the site of the lesion changes its natural color to a dark purple hue.
Some time after the onset, the formation breaks through the surface layer of the skin. There are several holes through which thick purulent masses of greenish-gray color are released. A few days after the breakthrough, the carbuncle forms a large defect in the skin. This process is accompanied by the fusion of the outlet, the rejection of necrotic tissue and the leakage of pus.
Carbuncle - symptoms of the disease
The main signs indicating the appearance of a carbuncle include:
- an increase in body temperature up to 40 ° C;
- nausea, vomiting;
- Strong headache;
- loss of appetite;
- insomnia.
In some cases, patients become delirious or become unconscious. If a carbuncle appears on the face, then the adverse symptoms are especially pronounced and subside only after the rejection of necrotic tissues begins.
Carbuncle - treatment of the disease
Since the process of infiltration and necrosis of skin tissues is accompanied by many complications and a general deterioration of the condition, the patient needs urgent hospitalization in the surgical department.
In the early stages of the disease, doctors use antibiotic therapy - solutions of antibiotics, which are injected along the perimeter of the inflammation focus, and the ingestion of prolonged-action sulfa drugs. If conditions permit, then the patient is given a blood transfusion. Also, the carbuncle is affected with the help of UHF and the imposition of dry antiseptic dressings with streptomycin or synthomycin emulsion.
The patient is prescribed bed rest, given liquid food, pain relievers and heart medications, and a dairy-vegetable diet is prescribed. If a facial carbuncle appears, treatment is accompanied by a ban on talking, since facial expressions lead to a rapid increase in the intensity of the inflammatory process.
In the event that conservative methods did not lead to the desired result and intoxication continues to grow, the patient is shown surgical treatment of the carbuncle. The operation takes just a few minutes. If the doctors did everything correctly and took into account the individual characteristics of the patient's body (the presence of diabetes mellitus, for example), then the prognosis of treatment is usually favorable. Otherwise, an improperly treated carbuncle leads to a poor outcome, in particular to serious cosmetic defects.
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The information is generalized and provided for informational purposes only. At the first sign of illness, see your doctor. Self-medication is hazardous to health!
