Nursing Tip of the Day! - Infectious Diseases

Category: Infectious Diseases 
Chancroid (also termed soft chancre) is a sexually transmitted disease that causes painful, well-circumscribed, nonindurated (soft), genital ulcers with ragged edges and inguinal lymphadenopathy.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Infectious Diseases

Category: Infectious Diseases 
Scabies can spread rapidly in crowded conditions such as nursing homes, prisons, homeless shelters and refugee camps. Crusted scabies is highly contagious. Scabies mites cannot survive off of the human body for more than 3 days.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Infectious Diseases

Category: Infectious Diseases 
For scabies, permethrin 5% cream is applied to all areas of the body, sparing the face, and left on for 8-14 hours and repeated in 1-2 weeks. Oral ivermectin 200 μg/kg as a single dose and repeated 2 weeks later is an alternative regimen.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Infectious Diseases

Category: Infectious Diseases 
The hallmark symptom of scabies is intense pruritus, often worse at night. Patients may also develop a small papular rash at infected areas and fine burrows may be visualized in the interdigital web spaces.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Infectious Diseases

Category: Infectious Diseases 
Scabies is a topical ectoparasite spread by close personal contact. The disease is characterized by intense pruritus (itching) caused by sensitization to the mite’s feces. Initial infections have a longer incubation and delayed onset of pruritus.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Infectious Diseases

Category: Infectious Diseases 
Trichomoniasis recommendations (from the Centers for Disease Control) include metronidazole or tinidazole as a single 2 g oral dose. The alternative regimen calls for metronidazole 500 mg orally, twice daily, for 7 days.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Infectious Diseases

Category: Infectious Diseases 
HSV-1 transmission via skin-to-skin or skin-to-mat contact in wrestling is known as herpes gladiatorum. Herpes gingivostomatitis is a herpes simplex infection of the mouth and gums, herpes simplex of the finger is known as whitlow.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Infectious Diseases

Category: Infectious Diseases 
Herpetic lesions begin as papules, then progress to vesicles, ulcerations and then crust over and heal without scarring. In addition to localized lesions, infections include systemic symptoms such as fever, headache and lymphadenopathy.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Infectious Diseases

Category: Infectious Diseases 
Herpes simplex is a life-long viral infection caused by either the HSV-1 or HSV-2 virus. Primary infections occur when a patient is infected with either HSV-1 or HSV-2 for the first time. Recurrent infections occur when the HSV infection is reactivated.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Infectious Diseases

Category: Infectious Diseases 
The WHO is working diligently to eliminate blindness caused by trachoma by 2020 and has developed the SAFE initiative. This is a combination of efforts that includes Surgery, Antibiotics, Facial cleanliness and Environmental improvement.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Infectious Diseases

Category: Infectious Diseases 
Active trachoma is most common in young children and is often asymptomatic or manifests as conjunctivitis with ocular discharge. Inflammation leads to the formation of characteristic follicles on the upper tarsal conjunctiva.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Infectious Diseases

Category: Infectious Diseases 
Trachoma is a chlamydial infection of the eye characterized by repeated infections, scarring of the conjunctiva, inversion of the eyelids, opacification of the cornea and blindness. Trachoma is the number one cause of infectious blindness worldwide.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Infectious Diseases

Category: Infectious Diseases 
In women, chlamydia affects the cervix and can progress into the upper genital tract, causing salpingitis and pelvic inflammatory disease. In cervicitis, women may complain of discharge, intermenstrual bleeding, dyspareunia and pelvic pain.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Infectious Diseases

Category: Infectious Diseases 
Chlamydia is a common cause of urethritis in men and cervicitis in women. It is the most common reportable sexually transmitted disease in the United States and is frequently asymptomatic in both men and women.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Infectious Diseases

Category: Infectious Diseases 
Primary infection of syphilis causes painless, nonpruritic chancres. Without treatment, secondary syphilis will occur 4-10 weeks later and often presents as a nonpruritic, reddish-pink rash on the trunk, palms and soles.