Prevention of Disability

Nerve involvement starts quite early in a few cases, but in others occurs only late in the disease, especially if it is left untreated. It commonly leads to weakness of various muscles and loss of sensation in the hands and feet, so that the person no longer feels hot or cold, or even pain - this leads to unintentional damage, ulceration, infection and eventual destruction of fingers and toes, and the well-known deformities of untreated leprosy. The muscles around the eye may also be affected and blindness is another important complication of untreated disease. Efforts to prevent disability in people who already have some nerve damage due to leprosy therefore concentrate particularly on the eyes, hands and feet. Fortunately, the complications of leprosy, such as nerve involvement and eye damage, can themselves be treated, so that the problem may sometimes be reversed completely, or, if that is no longer possible, further deterioration can be prevented. As may be expected, more severe damage requires more complex and lengthy treatment, and is more likely to leave some residual disability or deformity. See ILEP Learning Guide Two (475KB) .