LARVA MIGRANS, CUTANEOUS (Creeping Eruption) |
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LARVA MIGRANS, CUTANEOUS
(Creeping Eruption)
DESCRIPTION
Creeping eruption is a skin infestation of hookworm or roundworm larvae. These parasites usually infect dogs and cats. The skin areas that come in contact with the ground--usually the feet, legs, or buttocks -- are involved.
Appropriate health care includes:
Home care after diagnosis.
Physician's monitoring of general condition and medications.
SIGNS & SYMPTOMS
Skin rash or small blisters, progressing to thin raised lines on the child's skin leading from the parasite's entry point. The random lines create tunnel-like lesions that lengthen up to 1cm a day. Most children have several tracks simultaneously, each of a different length and pattern.
CAUSES
Infestation by larvae of hookworms and roundworms found in the intestinal tracts of dogs and cats.
RISK FACTORS
Play in warm, moist sand in which cats or dogs have defecated.
Work or play that involves crawling in confined spaces and contact with infected soil, as under a house.
PREVENTING COMPLICATIONS OR RECURRENCE
Teach your child to handle cat litter carefully and to avoid touching soil outside.
Urge your child not to play in soil used by cats and dogs for elimination.
Have pets treated for worms.
BASIC INFORMATION
MEDICAL TESTS
Your own observation of symptoms.
Medical history and physical exam by a doctor.
POSSIBLE COMPLICATIONSSecondary bacterial infection of affected skin.
PROBABLE OUTCOME
Usually curable in 1 to 2 weeks with treatment.
TREATMENT
HOME CARENo specific instructions except those listed under other headings.
MEDICATION
Your doctor may prescribe:
Topical thiabendazole for local application in a 2% solution with dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Follow instructions carefully. Apply it to the end of the track (farthest from the point of entry).
Oral thiabendazole for serious infestations by many larvae. This form causes your child to suffer adverse reactions and side effects.
See Medications section for information regarding medicines your doctor may prescribe.
ACTIVITY
No restrictions.
DIET & FLUIDS
No special diet.
OK TO GO TO SCHOOL?Yes. This is not contagious.
CALL YOUR DOCTOR IF
Your child has symptoms of larva migrans.
Skin lesions on your child develop pus, indicating secondary infection.
Your child takes oral thiabendazole and new, unexplained symptoms develop.
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