Filariasis or kelephant battery is swelling of the legs due to infection with filarial worms. This worm attacks the lymph vessels and is transmitted through mosquito bites.
Elephantiasis disease still exists in Indonesia, especially in Papua, East Nusa Tenggara, West Java, and Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. According to data from the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia, there were almost 13,000 cases of elephantiasis in Indonesia.
In addition to the legs, other body parts, such as the genitals, arms, and chest, can also experience swelling. Before swelling occurs, elephantiasis does not cause specific symptoms, so treatment is often too late.
Therefore, prevention of elephantiasis is very important. Prevention can be done by avoiding mosquito bites and following the government's program of administering mass prevention drugs (POPM).
Causes and Transmission of Feet Gwow
Elephantiasis disease or filariasis is caused by infection with filarial worms in the lymph vessels. These worms can be transmitted from one person to another through mosquito bites.
Although attacking the lymph vessels, filarial worms also circulate in the blood vessels of elephantiasis sufferers. If an elephantiasis sufferer is bitten by a mosquito, the filarial worms can be carried with the blood and enter the mosquito's body.
Then when this mosquito bites another person, the filarial worms in the mosquito's body will enter the person's blood and lymph vessels. The filarial worms will then multiply in the lymph vessels and block the lymph circulation, causing elephantiasis.
Several types of filarial worms that cause filariasis or elephantiasis are: Wuchereria bancrofti, Brugia malayi, and East Brugia. While the type of mosquito that spreads filarial worms is Culex, Aedes, Anopheles, and Mansonia.
Seeing how it is transmitted, a person will be more at risk of getting elephantiasis if:
- Living in an elephantiasis endemic environment.
- Live in an environment with poor hygiene.
- Often bitten by mosquitoes or living in a mosquito-infested environment.
Elephant Foot Symptoms
As the name implies, the main symptom of elephantiasis is swelling of the legs. In addition to the legs, swelling can also occur in other body parts, such as the arms, genitals, and chest.
The skin on the swollen legs will thicken, dry, become darker, cracked, and sometimes sores appear. Unfortunately, limbs that have experienced swelling and skin changes cannot return to their original state. In this condition, elephantiasis has entered a chronic phase.
At the beginning of the disease, elephantiasis sufferers usually do not experience any symptoms. This causes the patient to be unaware that he has contracted elephantiasis (filariasis), so it is too late to treat it. Inflammation of the vessels or lymph nodes may also appear in the early stages, in the form of localized swelling of the vessels and lymph nodes.
Kshould you go to the doctor?
If you plan to travel to an area where there are cases of elephantiasis, first consult with your doctor. Ask your doctor if there is a way to prevent it. You also need to consult a doctor if someone in your neighborhood suffers from elephantiasis.
See a doctor if there is swelling in the ducts and lymph nodes, especially if you live in a place where there are a lot of elephantiasis cases or after traveling to an area where there are elephantiasis cases. Especially if the swollen lymph nodes occur repeatedly.
Elephant Foot Diagnosis
The doctor will ask the patient about the symptoms that are felt and since when the symptoms have appeared. After that, the doctor will perform a physical examination to check for these symptoms.
If you suspect that the patient has elephantiasis, the doctor will recommend a blood test. Blood samples will be examined to determine whether there are filarial worms or not. This examination is carried out with a microscope or through a special chemical test using antigens.
If necessary, the patient can also undergo other supporting examinations to see the impact of the elephantiasis disease he is suffering from. Examinations carried out include scanning tests with ultrasound or X-rays and urine tests.
Elephant Foot Treatment
Treatment that can be undertaken by filariasis patients aims to prevent the infection from getting worse and to avoid complications of filariasis. To reduce the number of parasites in the body, patients can take deworming drugs, such as: ivermectin, albendazole, or diethylcarbamazine.
After being given these drugs, the worms that cause elephantiasis will die, so that the swelling of the lymph nodes subsides and the lymph flow returns smoothly.
When filarisis has caused swelling of the legs and feet, the size cannot return to its original size. However, there are several things you can do to keep your swollen feet clean, including:
- Rest your legs and always keep your legs elevated, when sitting or lying down.
- Use stockings compress, as recommended by the doctor.
- Clean the swollen leg area with soap and water every day.
- If you have a wound, immediately clean the wound with an antiseptic.
- Move the leg through light exercise to keep the lymph flowing smoothly in the swollen area.
If the swelling in the legs is very severe, or if there is swelling of the scrotum (hydrocele), the patient may undergo surgery to reduce the swelling. The surgery will remove some of the infected lymph nodes and vessels.
Feet that have experienced swelling due to filariasis cannot return to normal. Therefore, it is very important to take steps to prevent filariasis, especially for people who are at risk of getting this disease.
Elephant Foot Complications
The main complication that can arise from elephantiasis is severe swelling of the infected body part. This swelling can be painful and cause disability. However, the pain and discomfort that arise can be relieved through elephantiasis treatment steps.
Swollen feet can also experience a secondary bacterial infection, because the skin of elephantiasis is often injured.
Elephant Foot Prevention
The main step to prevent elephantiasis is to avoid mosquito bites. This is very important to do, especially in endemic areas of elephantiasis. To maximize protection against mosquito bites, you can take the following simple steps:
- Wearing shirt and trousers
- Apply mosquito repellent lotion
- Sleep in a mosquito net
- Cleaning puddles around the house
The spread of elephantiasis can also be stopped by following the government program to eradicate elephantiasis, namely the provision of mass prevention drugs (POPM).
This program is carried out in areas that still have cases of elephantiasis, such as the provinces of Papua, West Papua, West Java, East Nusa Tenggara, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, and Southeast Sulawesi.