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To exclude other differential diagnoses, a skin biopsy may be taken. Imaging studies can be used in order to detect any underlying bony abnormalities that cause abnormal pressure on the overlying skin. For this purpose, a plain radiograph usually suffices, but, occasionally, CT scanning is used.
Corns and calluses are easier to prevent than to treat. When it is usually not desirable to form a callus, minimizing rubbing and pressure will prevent callus formation. Footwear should be properly fitted, gloves may be worn, and protective pads, rings or skin dressings may be used. People with poor circulation or sensation should check their skin often for signs of rubbing and irritation so they can minimize any damage.
Treatment of corns include paring of the lesions, which immediately reduces pain. Another popular method is to use a corn plaster, a felt ring with a core of salicylic acid that relieves pressure and erodes the hard skin. However, if an abnormal pressure source remains, the corn generally returns. If the source of any abnormal pressure is detected, this may be avoided, usually through a change to more comfortable footwear or with various types of shoe inserts or footwear with extra toe space. In extreme cases correcting gait abnormalities may be required. If no other treatment is effective, surgery may be performed.
Calluses and corns may go away by themselves eventually, once the irritation is consistently avoided. They may also be dissolved with keratolytic agents containing salicylic acid, sanded down with a pumice stone or silicon carbide sandpaper or filed down with a callus shaver, or pared down by a professional such as a podiatrist or a foot health practitioner.
There are very few things that can be done to control the spread of bacterial soft rots, and the most effective of them have to do with simply keeping sanitary growing practices.
Storage warehouses should be removed of all plant debris, and the walls and floors disinfected with either formaldehyde or copper sulfate between harvests. Injury to plant tissues should be avoided as much as possible, and the humidity and temperature of the storage facility should be kept low using an adequate ventilation system. These procedures have proven themselves to be very effective in the control of storage soft rot of potato in Wisconsin.
It also helps if plants are planted in well-drained soils, at intervals appropriate for adequate ventilation between plants. Few varieties are resistant to the disease and none are immune, so rotating susceptible plants with non-susceptible ones like cereals is a practice positive to limiting soft rot infection.
The control of specific insect vectors is also a good way of controlling disease spread in the field and in storage. Soil and foliage insecticide treatment helps controls the bugs that frequently cause wounds and disseminate the bacteria.
The amount of initial inoculum will be reduced when a crop other than corn is planted for ≥2 years in that given area; meanwhile proper tillage methods are carried out. Clean plowing and 1-year crop rotation in the absence of corn allows for greater reductions of the disease as well. Note that conventional tilling can reduce disease but can lead to greater soil erosion.
The most proficient and economical method to reduce yield losses from corn grey leaf spot is by introducing resistant plant varieties. In places where leaf spot occur, these crops can ultimately grow and still be resistant to the disease. Although the disease is not completely eliminated and resistant varieties show disease symptoms, at the end of the growing season, the disease is not as effective in reducing crop yield. SC 407 have been proven to be common corn variety that are resistant to grey leaf spot. If grey leaf spot infection is high, this variety may require fungicide application to achieve full potential. Susceptible varieties should not be planted in previously infected areas (see high risk table).
Sugarcane smut or "Ustilago scitaminea Sydow" is caused by the fungus "Sporisorium scitamineum"; smut was previously known as "Ustilago scitaminea". The smut 'whip' is a curved black structure which emerges from the leaf whorl, and which aids in the spreading of the disease. Sugarcane smut causes significant losses to the economic value of a sugarcane crop. Sugarcane smut has recently been found in the eastern seaboard areas of Australia, one of the world's highest-yielding sugar areas.
For the sugarcane crop to be infected by the disease, large spore concentrations are needed. The fungi uses its "smut-whip" to ensure that the disease is spread to other plants, which usually occurs over a time period of three months. As the inoculum is spread, the younger sugarcane buds just coming out of the soil will be the most susceptible. Because water is necessary for spore germination, irrigation has been shown to be a factor in spreading the disease. Therefore, special precautions need to be taken during irrigation to prevent spreading of the smut.
Another way to prevent the disease from occurring in the sugarcane is to use fungicide. This can be done by either pre-plant soaking or post-plant spraying with the specific fungicide. Pre-plant soaking has been proven to give the best results in preventing the disease, but post-plant spraying is a practical option for large sugarcane cultivations.
Boric acid (16.5%boron), borax (11.3% boron) or SoluBor (20.5% boron) can be applied to soils to correct boron deficiency. Typical applications of actual boron are about 1.1 kg/hectare or 1.0 lb/acre but optimum levels of boron vary with plant type. Borax, Boric Acid or Solubor can be dissolved in water and sprayed or applied to soil as a dust. Excess boron is toxic to plants so care must be taken to ensure correct application rate and even coverage. Leaves of many plants are damaged by boron; therefore, when in doubt, only apply to soil. Application of boron may not correct boron deficiency in alkaline soils because even with the addition of boron, it may remain unavailable for plant absorption. Continued application of boron may be necessary in soils that are susceptible to leaching such as sandy soils. Flushing soils containing toxic levels of boron with water can remove the boron through leaching.
The cat must have a supply of niacin, as cats cannot convert tryptophan into niacin like dogs. However, diets high in corn and low in protein can result in skin lesions and scaly, dry, greasy skin, with hair loss. Another B vitamin, biotin, if deficient causes hair loss around the eyes and face. A lack of B vitamins can be corrected by supplementing with a vitamin B complex, and brewers yeast.
Physiological plant disorders are caused by non-pathological conditions such as poor light, adverse weather, water-logging, phytotoxic compounds or a lack of nutrients, and affect the functioning of the plant system. Physiological disorders are distinguished from plant diseases caused by pathogens, such as a virus or fungus. While the symptoms of physiological disorders may appear disease-like, they can usually be prevented by altering environmental conditions. However, once a plant shows symptoms of a physiological disorder it is likely that that season’s growth or yield will be reduced.
Cats cannot synthesize vitamin A from plant beta-carotene, and therefore must be supplemented with retinol from meat. A deficiency in vitamin A will result in a poor coat, with hair loss, with scaly and thickened skin. However an excess of vitamin A, called hypervitaminosis A, can result from over feeding cod liver oil, and large amounts of liver. Signs of hypervitaminosis A are overly sensitive skin, and neck pain causing the cat to be unwilling to groom its self, resulting in a poor coat. Supplementing vitamin A with retinol to a deficient cat, and feeding a balanced diet to a cat with hypervitaminosis A will treat the underlying nutritional disorder.
Some sources claim that diaper rash is more common with cloth diapers. Others claim the material of the diaper is relevant insofar as it can wick and keep moisture away from the baby's skin, and preventing secondary "Candida" infection. However, there may not be enough data from good-quality, randomized controlled trials to support or refute disposable diaper use thus far. Furthermore, the effect of non-biodegradable diapers on the environment is a concerning matter for public policy.
The most effective treatment, although not the most practical one, is to discontinue use of diapers, allowing the affected skin to air out. Another option is simply to increase the frequency of diaper changing. Thorough drying of the skin before diapering is a good preventive measure because it is the excess moisture, either from urine and feces or from sweating, that sets the conditions for a diaper rash to occur.
The smuts are multicellular fungi characterized by their large numbers of teliospores. The smuts get their name from a Germanic word for dirt because of their dark, thick-walled, and dust-like teliospores. They are mostly Ustilaginomycetes (of the class Teliomycetae, subphylum Basidiomycota) and can cause plant disease. The smuts are grouped with the other basidiomycetes because of their commonalities concerning sexual reproduction.
Smuts are cereal and crop pathogens that most notably affect members of the grass family ("Poaceae"). Economically important hosts include maize, barley, wheat, oats, sugarcane, and forage grasses. They eventually hijack the plants' reproductive systems, forming galls which darken and burst, releasing fungal teliospores which infect other plants nearby. Before infection can occur, the smuts need to undergo a successful mating to form dikaryotic hyphae (two haploid cells fuse to form a dikaryon).
The bacteria can survive in the rhizosphere of other crops such as tomato, carrots, sweet potato, radish, and squash as well as weed plants like lupin and pigweed, so it is very hard to get rid of it completely. When it is known that the bacterium is present in the soil, planting resistant varieties can be the best defense against the disease. Many available beet cultivars are resistant to "Pectobacterium carotovorum" subsp. "betavasculorum", and some examples are provided in the corresponding table. A comprehensive list is maintained by the USDA on the Germplasm Resources Information Network.
Even though some genes associated with root defense response have been identified, the specific mechanism of resistance is unknown, and it is currently being researched.
Growth of the bacteria is possible between 32–90 °F, with the most ideal conditions between 70–80 °F. Post-harvest storage and transportation is difficult for tropical and other warm environments when the air is not properly ventilated during these processes. Higher temperatures and high humidity are ideal growing conditions for the bacteria making ventilation a big priority when trying to combat this disease.
The following measures are advisable for keeping the vulva and vagina healthy:
- Avoiding washing with soap, since soap disturbs the natural pH balance of the vagina. Some pH-balanced soaps exist, but their effects remain unclear. Other measures are seldom necessary or advisable. Two notable examples: so-called "feminine hygiene sprays" are unnecessary, may be generally harmful, and have been known to cause severe allergic reactions. Vaginal douching is generally not necessary and has been implicated in helping to cause bacterial vaginosis (BV) and candidiasis ("yeast infections").
- After using the toilet, wipe from the front toward the back to avoid introducing bacteria from the anal area into the vulva. Use non-perfumed, undyed toilet paper.
- Drink plenty of water and urinate frequently and as soon as possible when you feel the need, to help flush bacteria out of the urinary tract and avoid urinary tract infections. For the same reason, try to urinate before and after sex.
- Change out of a wet swimsuit or other wet clothes as soon as possible.
- Avoid fragrances, colours, and "deodorants" in products that contact the vulva/vagina: sanitary napkins, tampons, and toilet paper. Some women who are sensitive to these substances should also avoid bubble baths and some fabric detergents and softeners.
- Use a menstrual cup instead of sanitary pads or tampons. Menstrual cups are a new form of menstrual product that has recently been rapidly gaining in popularity as a greener, more cost-effective and healthier alternative to tampons and sanitary pads.
- Avoid wearing leather trousers, tight jeans, panties made of nylon or other synthetic fabrics, or pantyhose without an all-cotton crotch (not cotton covered by nylon - cut out the nylon panel if necessary).
- Anything which has been in contact with the anal area (see anal sex) should be thoroughly washed with soap and water or a disinfectant before coming in contact with the vulva or vagina.
- Use condoms during heterosexual intercourse, practise safer sex, know your sex partners, ask sex partners to practise basic hygiene of their genitals. Use artificial lubrication during the intercourse if the amount naturally produced is not enough.
- Be careful with objects inserted inside the vagina. Improper insertion of objects into any body opening can cause damage: infection, cutting, piercing, trauma, blood loss, etc.
- Avoid letting any contaminants inside the vagina, including dirt but especially sand.
- See your gynecologist regularly.
- Be careful while removing hair in this area.
Women who are unable to walk are more likely to have infections. The problem can be prevented according to above-mentioned and following measures:
- Wash crotch and rectal areas (with a soap-substitute if desired) and large amount of warm running water, every morning and evening. The disabled person can sit on a shower chair with an open seat or on a toilet. Use a shower head or water container to wash more directly.
- Use towel to dry.
- DO NOT use talcum/body powder, if desired use corn starch powder (corn-flour) on the skin of the genital area to absorb perspiration.
- Avoid sitting on plastic or synthetic materials for extended lengths of time.
- Wear loose underpants and change if soilage or wetness occurs.
Beet vascular necrosis and rot is a soft rot disease caused by the bacterium Pectobacterium carotovorum" subsp. "betavasculorum, which has also been known as "Pectobacterium betavasculorum" and "Erwinia carotovora" subsp. "betavasculorum". It was classified in the genus "Erwinia" until genetic evidence suggested that it belongs to its own group; however, the name Erwinia is still in use. As such, the disease is sometimes called Erwinia rot today. It is a very destructive disease that has been reported across the United States as well as in Egypt. Symptoms include wilting and black streaks on the leaves and petioles. It is usually not fatal to the plant, but in severe cases the beets will become hollowed and unmarketable. The bacteria is a generalist species which rots beets and other plants by secreting digestive enzymes that break down the cell wall and parenchyma tissues. The bacteria thrive in warm and wet conditions, but cannot survive long in fallow soil. However, it is able to persist for long periods of time in the rhizosphere of weeds and non-host crops. While it is difficult to eradicate, there are cultural practices that can be used to control the spread of the disease, such as avoiding injury to the plants and reducing or eliminating application of nitrogen fertilizer.
Diagnosis of the cause of a physiological disorder (or disease) can be difficult, but there are many web-based guides that may assist with this. Examples are: "Abiotic plant disorders: Symptoms, signs and solutions"; "Georgia Corn Diagnostic Guide"; "Diagnosing Plant Problems" (Kentucky); and "Diagnosing Plant Problems" (Virginia).
Some general tips to diagnosing plant disorders:
- Examine where symptoms first appear on a plant—on new leaves, old leaves or all over?
- Note the pattern of any discolouration or yellowing—is it all over, between the veins or around the edges? If only the veins are yellow deficiency is probably not involved.
- Note general patterns rather than looking at individual plants—are the symptoms distributed throughout a group of plants of the same type growing together. In the case of a deficiency all of the plants should be similarly effected, although distribution will depend on past treatments applied to the soil.
- Soil analysis, such as determining pH, can help to confirm the presence of physiological disorders.
- Consider recent conditions, such as heavy rains, dry spells, frosts, etc., may also help to determine the cause of plant disorders.
Recommended strategies to prevent mold include: avoiding mold-contamination; utilization of environmental controls; the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) including skin and eye protection and respiratory protection; and environmental controls such as ventilation and suppression of dust. When mold cannot be prevented, the CDC recommends clean-up protocol including first taking emergency action to stop water intrusion. Second, they recommend determining the extent of water damage and mold contamination. And third, they recommend planning remediation activities such as establishing containment and protection for workers and occupants; eliminating water or moisture sources if possible; decontaminating or removing damaged materials and drying any wet materials; evaluating whether the space has been successfully remediated; and reassembling the space to control sources of moisture.
Once boron has been absorbed by the plant and incorporated into the various structures that require boron, it is unable to disassemble these structures and re-transport boron through the plant resulting in boron being a non-mobile nutrient. Due to translocation difficulties the youngest leaves often show deficiency symptoms first.
Blight refers to a specific symptom affecting plants in response to infection by a pathogenic organism. It is a rapid and complete chlorosis, browning, then death of plant tissues such as leaves, branches, twigs, or floral organs. Accordingly, many diseases that primarily exhibit this symptom are called blights. Several notable examples are:
- Late blight of potato, caused by the water mold "Phytophthora infestans" (Mont.) de Bary, the disease which led to the Great Irish Famine
- Southern corn leaf blight, caused by the fungus "Cochliobolus heterostrophus" (Drechs.) Drechs, anamorph "Bipolaris maydis" (Nisikado & Miyake) Shoemaker, incited a severe loss of corn in the United States in 1970.
- Chestnut blight, caused by the fungus "Cryphonectria parasitica" (Murrill) Barr, has nearly completely eradicated mature American chestnuts in North America.
- Fire blight of pome fruits, caused by the bacterium "Erwinia amylovora" (Burrill) Winslow "et al.", is the most severe disease of pear and also is found in apple and raspberry, among others.
- Bacterial leaf blight of rice, caused by the bacterium "Xanthomonas oryzae" (Uyeda & Ishiyama) Dowson.
- Early blight of potato and tomato, caused by species of the ubiquitous fungal genus "Alternaria"
- Leaf blight of the grasses
On leaf tissue, symptoms of blight are the initial appearance of lesions which rapidly engulf surrounding tissue. However, leaf spot may, in advanced stages, expand to kill entire areas of leaf tissue and thus exhibit blight symptoms.
Blights are often named after their causative agent, for example Colletotrichum blight is named after the fungi "Colletotrichum capsici", and Phytophthora blight is named after the water mold "Phytophthora parasitica".
Magnesium supplements are used to prevent the disease when ruminants, for obvious economic reasons, must have access to dangerous pastures.
The affected animal should be left in the pasture, and not forced to come back to stall because excitation can darken the prognosis, even after adequate treatment.
Intravenous mixed calcium and magnesium injection are used. Subcutaneous injection of magnesium sulfate (200 ml of 50% solution) is also recommended.