Pre-Treatment Infection Checklist

Verrucas range in size from 1mm to over 1cm. They usually grow deep into the skin, appearing as areas of flat, thicker skin with a harder edge around a softer centre. They have a rough surface and are surrounded by a raised edge. They often have a black dot inside. They are highly contagious on contact surfaces such as bathroom and swimming pool floors. Treatment involves freezing them with kits available at the pharmacy. Colloidal silver spray may also kill Verrucas.

Plantar Warts are similar to Verrucas but are much bigger, grow deeper and are more painful. They have multiple tiny dots in them often arranged in lines. They are highly contagious on contact surfaces such as bathroom and swimming pool floors. Treatment involves freezing them using kits from the pharmacy.

Athlete’s foot is a form of dermatophytosis (fungal infection of the skin), caused by dermatophytes, fungi (most of which are mold) which inhabit dead layers of skin and digest keratin. It is highly contagious. You can buy treatment at the pharmacy.

Fungal infection of nails (tinea unguium) is common, particularly in toenails in the elderly. The infection causes thickened and unsightly nails which sometimes become painful. Medication often works well to clear the infection but you need to take medication for several weeks.

Erythrasma is one type of bacterial infection frequently mistaken for a fungus is Erythrasma. Erythrasma is caused by the bacteria Corynebacterium minutissimum and is most commonly seen in people with diabetes and those who are obese. As with fungi, the bacterium primarily establishes itself in folds of skin, such as the armpits, under the breast, in the groin, or between the toes. The patches of infection are initially pink but quickly become brown and scaly as skin starts to flake and shed. Treatment is with antibiotics. You could try Colloidal Silver Spray as it keeps the treatment external.

Cellulitis is a potentially serious skin complication in which a local bacterial infection begins to spread from the site of the initial injury. Cellulitis typically starts as a small area of inflammation that quickly spreads to surrounding tissues, causing swelling, pain, warmth, and the formation of characteristic red streaks moving upward from the foot. Conventional treatment uses antibiotics.