Infection
An infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. The infecting organism seeks to utilize the host's resources in order to multiply at the expense of the host. This pathogen interferes with the normal functioning of the host and can lead to chronic wounds, gangrene, loss of an infected limb or even death.
An infection is generally characterized by inflammation, redness of the general area and/or increased temperature of the surrounding tissue, although this varies from case to case.
Some easily identifiable and common infections include:
- Impetigo - Cellulitis - Ecthyma - Erythrasma - Folliculitis - Boils - Leprosy - Viral exanthem - Herpes Type 1 - Herpes zoster - Human papilloma virus - Varicella zoster - Dematophyte infection - Candida albicans - Pityrosporum - Scabies - Eczema
How to Avoid
Avoiding infections is actually very easy and doesn't require much of you:
Most infections are cause by lack of personal hygiene, washing your hands frequently, brushing your teeth after eating and other simple things that are commonly expected of people go a long way when it come to preventing an infection. In case your job puts you in environments were you are exposed to bacterias (cook, waiter, plumber, medical doctor... if you're a medical doctor you should already know this), take necessary precautions, use masks and gloves to avoid coming in direct contact of possibly infected materials among other things. Some cuisines feature raw meats and similar things in their dishes, try to avoid these, things like steak tartar, raw kibe, sushi and rare meat (as in typical brazilian and argentinean barbecues), open wound in the mouth like labrets and tongue piercings are very prone to infections of this sort. In case of scarification, implants and surface piercings, keeping the wound covered and passing an anti-bacterial cream or gel (if you still feel unsafe about only one product, consult a doctor before mixing) is a must, remember to change the bandage 3 times a day but giving the wound at least 20 minutes of air before covering it up again DURING THE ENTIRE HEALING PROCESS, even if a wound looks closed it still is open to infections thanks to the lack of consistency and density on the tissue covering it.