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Leprosy is a disease which has afflicted mankind since times immemorial and has led to fear, suffering and stigmatisation of the affected individuals. There were times when there was no effective treatment for this disease and severe forms of the disease often produced extensive deformities of the face, the hands and the feet which were responsible for causing fear in the minds of the people. The disease was also known to spread from one individual to the other, and this led to ostracisation of the affected individuals from the family and the society.
Unfortunately, these fears are still prevalent though leprosy is now completely curable and if treated early enough, the patient can make a complete recovery without any deformities of the face and extremities. Patients who are still suffering from leprosy are only those who have not taken appropriate treatment.
Leprosy is caused by an organism which affects mainly the skin and the nerves but can spread to most other organs of the body, if immunity in the patient is low.
The leprosy bacilli discharged with the nasal or the oral secretions can survive in the environment for a few days only, and if these are deposited on the skin or inhaled by another individual during this period, they can produce the disease. Whether these bacilli will produce the disease or not would depend uponthe number of the bacilli infecting the individual and his state of immunity at that time. In case the individual has a very good immunity, all the bacilli get destroyed and there is no disease. In case the immunity is low, the bacilli may be able to produce a mild form of the disease; and if the immunity is very low, the bacilli can spread far and wide into the body and produce a generalised form of the disease.
Treatment
Treatment of leprosy consists of administration of two or three drugs in a specified dosage schedule. The treatment generally lasts six months to one year in mild cases and two to three years in severe cases.The treatment should be strictly under the supervision of a doctor and he should confirm that the bacilli have been eradicated. There is generally no need for any local treatment except for relieving the local symptoms, if any. If an area has lost its sensations, it needs specialised care, especially if such an area is located on the hands or the feet or the area is prone to injury. If a person is not able to perceive the sensation of heat, he would continue to hold the hot objecteven if it is hot enough to damage the skin, and thus the individual would burn his hand. Similarly, absence of the pain sensation promotes carelessness which leads to inadequate care of the injured area and infection and worsening ofthe ulcer.The same tends to happen if the person wears ill-fitting shoes or injures the feet beca use of barefoot walking.
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