High Risk Patients
It has long been known that infected skin scales from individuals can survive normal laundry procedures to infect other individuals1. The communal use of towels and socks has long been known to be the most important factor in the spread of athlete's foot2 and has also been recently implicated in spread of Community-Acquired MRSA within sports teams3. In otherwise healthy people the skin diseases referred to on this web site only vary rarely result in serious problems.
However some groups of people are at a higher risk of complications from skin infections and for these groups, thorough preventative actions and aggressive treatment of infection is very important to avoid the higher incidences of serious complications
Vaginal thrush
Pregnant women, obese people, and people with diabetes also are more likely to be infected by Candida. In some people (usually people with a weakened immune system), Candida can invade deeper tissues including the blood, causing life-threatening systemic candidiasis4.
People taking antibiotics may develop candidiasis because the antibiotics kill the bacteria that normally reside on the body, allowing Candida to grow unchecked. Corticosteroids or immunosuppressive therapy after organ transplantation can also lower the body's defences against candidiasis.
Fungal nail infections
Several factors that increase the risk of developing a fungal nail infection have been identified. One survey found that 26% of people with diabetes had onychomycosis and that diabetes increased the risk of infection, but the type and severity of diabetes was not correlated with infection. Another survey found that peripheral vascular disease and immunosuppression increased the risk of infection. These factors may explain the general increase in prevalence of onychomycosis in the elderly population.6
So, in summary the following groups of people need to take extra care with avoiding or actively treating skin infections. They should consider the risks of picking-up skin infections from family and other people with whom they share towels, bed linen, bath mats, communal showering and sports facilities, even their laundry basket. Consider the use of ERADICIL to disinfect their laundry and reduce the chances of contracting common skin infections that, for them, could have serious consequences.
- The elderly
- Pregnant women
- People with obesity
- People with diabetes
- People with HIV or AIDS
- People who are taking certain medications that can weaken their own defences against these specific infections, such as organ transplant patients and those receiving chemotherapy or radiation to treat their cancers
- Patients with peripheral vascular disease, long-term heavy smokers and those struggling with alcohol addiction
Eradicil has applications in care homes, commercial hospital laundries and hospice environments where vulnerable / immunocompromised people share laundry facilities with infected persons.
1 Broughton R. Reinfection from socks and shoes in tinea Pedis. Br J Derm. 1955;67:249-54
2 English MP, Wethered RR, Duncan EHL. Studies in the epidemiology of tenea pedis. Br Med J. 1967; 3:136-9
3 Romano R, Lu D, Holtom P. J Athletic Train. 2006;41(2):141-5
4 Ferre J. Vaginal candidosis: epidemiological and etiological factors. Int J Gynaecol Obst. 2000;71 Suppl 1:S21-7
5 Gupta AK, Konnikov N, MacDonald P, et al. Prevalence and epidemiology of toenail onychomycosis in diabetic subjects: a multicentre survey. Br J Dermatol 1998;139:665–671.
6 Burzykowski T, Molenberghs G, Abeck D, et al. High prevalence of foot diseases in Europe: results of the Achilles Project. Mycoses 2003;46:496–505