Infectious diseases >>>> Viral infections of the skin and mucous membranes

Viral infections of the skin and mucous membranes.

Diseases of the skin and mucous membranes caused by a viral infection develop as diseases of a local nature when the virus directly enters the outer skin or mucous membranes upon contact with a virus carrier or household items that have retained the presence of the virus. Or the external manifestations of a viral infection are associated with a generalized viral infection, carried with the blood or lymph flow throughout the body, and are a manifestation of the clinical symptoms of a viral disease.

Local viral infections of the mucous membranes and skin integuments are closely associated with a violation of the integrity of the skin and mucous membranes, when the virus freely penetrates the cells, reproduces and seeds the body surfaces in contact with the external environment. These cases of infection are caused by microtraumas - shaving, hair removal, abrasions, traumatic sexual intercourse (with damage to mucous membranes and skin). Such infections of the skin and mucous membranes of viral origin are called viral dermatoses. But viral dermatoses can sometimes be combined with viral damage to internal organs.

The manifestations of a viral infection on the skin and mucous membranes are associated with rashes or the so-called exanthema (a bubble on the surface filled with exudate - a liquid). Such viral infections are called exudative dermatoses . Some viral exanthemes have been observed to react to sunlight (eg, varicella-zoster virus exanthema).

Exudative viral dermatoses include:

Simple blister lichen (Herpes simplex)
Shingles (Herpes zoster)
Viral pemphigus of the mouth and extremities (Coxsackieviruses)
Chickenpox
Measles
Parvovirus B19
Rubella

In addition, viral diseases of the skin and mucous membranes are in the form of proliferative viral dermatoses, when the multiplication of the virus causes proliferative processes (proliferation of skin cells and mucous membranes). This group of viral infections includes:

Contagious contagious molluscum
Common and juvenile warts
Pointed Candylomas

It is possible to diagnose skin and mucous infectious diseases in the presence of certain external signs described in medical practice, or using laboratory tests (in cases that are in doubt by the doctor).

Treatment of viral infections of the skin and mucous membranes is based on the use of antiviral drugs and the use of immunomodulators. In both cases, pharmaceuticals are selected taking into account the specific type of virus and the state of the human immune system. The basis of protection against viral infections is maintained by the immune system itself, therefore, treatment should be aimed at activating the antiviral components of immunity . Antibiotics are not used to treat viral infections, since viruses are not susceptible to them due to their peculiar structure and physiology.