Culture And Sensitivity Aerobic Skin Scrapings
What is this test?
Skin Scrapings culture and sensitivity is a technique predominantly used to test the sensitivity of the aerobic bacteria, which can infect the skin of the human body. This test is done on both males and females to confirm the bacterial skin infection.
What is Skin Scraping:
Skin scraping is a technique widely used in dermatology to diagnose the bacterial infestations such as demodicosis, sarcoptic mange etc. In this, the suspected skin area will be prepared for scraping and then the scrapings are collected, and the site is cleaned with surgical spirit.
What are Bacteria, and Aerobic Bacteria:
Bacteria are the single-celled micro-organisms that can live within the soil, in the ocean and also inside the human gut. They have a number of shapes such as spirals, rods, and spheres etc. Some bacteria can cause illness to the human body and some other plays a major role in the overall functioning of our ecosystem.
Aerobic bacteria are the bacteria which can survive in the presence of oxygen only. In the absence of oxygen, aerobic bacteria cannot survive and can die. Some of the aerobic bacteria are Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Nocardia, Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus faecalis etc.
Why this test is performed:
This test is performed to check if an individual skin is infected by an aerobic bacteria or not. This test may be recommended to you by a physician if you have conditions like broken skin, diabetic foot ulcer and symptoms like skin rash, skin bleed, irritation on the skin, change in the color of the skin etc. This test helps to find the bacteria that affects the skin, fingernails or toenails.
This test also helps the doctors to plan the treatment according to the type of bacteria, that infects the skin. The test is also performed to check the effectiveness of the treatment.
Test Preparation
Inform your doctor if you are on any medications, have any allergies or underlying medical conditions before your Culture And Sensitivity Aerobic Skin Scrapings. Your doctor will give specific instructions depending on your condition on how to prepare for Culture And Sensitivity Aerobic Skin Scrapings.
No specific preparation is necessary for this test.
Understanding your test results
The test results may vary depending on age, health history, medical condition, etc.
If your test results are negative, then it may indicate that there are no signs of growth of aerobic bacteria.
If your test results are positive, then it may indicate there is a chance for growth of aerobic bacteria, which means that the particular skin area has been infected by an aerobic bacteria.
If abnormal test results were seen, consult your doctor immediately with your lab test reports.
| Gender | Age groups | Value |
| UNISEX | All age groups | The growth depends on the infecting organism. Clearing around the disc indicates organism is sensitive to antibiotic |