Orf
Overview
Orf is a skin infection you can get from infected sheep or goats. It most often affects the fingers, hands, forearms or face. It usually clears up without treatment in about 6 weeks.
Symptoms
Orf usually affects the skin on your fingers, hands, forearms or face. To start with, the affected area of skin is small and may look a reddish-blue colour, or darker if you have brown or black skin. It may be itchy or tender. Over a few weeks, the affected area of skin gets bigger and turns into a blister. The blister is usually 2 to 3cm, but it can grow up to 5cm. It may leak fluid before crusting over. Other symptoms of orf include: a high temperaturegeneral tiredness (fatigue)swollen glands on the inside of your elbow or under your arm
Treatment
There's no specific treatment for orf. The blister on your skin should clear up in around 6 weeks. Cover it with a waterproof dressing to keep it clean and dry and stop it getting infected. If it becomes infected, you may need antibiotics. If it does not clear up by itself, your doctor may recommend creams, treatment to freeze the affected area of skin (cryotherapy) or minor surgery to remove the affected area of skin.