An introduction to skin infections
Skin infections occur when your body becomes infected by a particular pathogen that can trigger a negative reaction from your skin. These infections may be contagious but their causes are usually easier to recognise and, given the right treatments, your symptoms should start to diminish relatively soon.
Fungal skin infections, scabies and warts are all different types of skin infections.
The causes of skin infections
The cause of a particular skin infection will largely depend on the type of infection itself – in a fungal skin infection, the root trigger is normally an overgrowth of the candida yeast.
What triggers this overgrowth can be down to a variety of interlinking factors, such as:
- Diet and lifestyle: What you eat can affect your susceptibility to a skin infection. In a skin infection like scabies, malnutrition can weaken your immune system and make your epidermis more vulnerable to the scabies mite
- Weakened immune function: Your immune system is primarily responsible for protecting your body against invasive pathogens and bacterial infections. When your immune function is compromised, it will not be able to effectively combat any signs of infection, making you more susceptible to bugs, bacteria and viruses
- Sluggish digestive system: When you suffer from on-going digestive problems like constipation, it can increase the population of unfriendly bacteria in your gut, as well as your levels of candida yeast, making you more susceptible to infections
- Direct and indirect contact: As most skin infections are highly contagious, direct or indirect contact with an afflicted party will mostly likely result in you contracting the infection as well, meaning that you may have to take a number of protective measures to avoid picking up a bug.
The treatment for skin infections
Skin infections are very different from skin conditions but they can share some similar issues, particularly when it comes to the role of your immune function and digestive system.
Some infections, like the HPV-virus, are not treatable, which is why we often advise that sufferers take a vitamin C supplement like Nature-C, in order to give their immune system a boost during this troubled time.
Molkosan is a firm staple when it comes to maintaining a healthy gut function and increasing your population of friendly bacteria. Neem can also be quite beneficial when it comes to relieving the external symptoms, so we often recommend that sufferers use Neem Cream on the affected areas of their skin.
