Yellowknife (Oct 03/03) - Northern News Services Health care workers may now have a better grasp on some of the common rashes in the Northwest Territories.

At a conference sponsored by the Yellowknife Health and Social Services Authority held Sept. 25, Elizabeth Cook, an instructor at Aurora College, described some of the rashes most common in the North.

Cook said that impetigo, a skin infection that usually affects children, molluscum, warts, herpes simplex and scabies are among the most common in the territories.

Dr. Kami Kandola, regional medical officer of health, stressed the need for health care workers to look beyond the obvious symptoms.

"My goal is to help nurses understand when they should contact health authority," she said. "You have to ask the right questions but we want them (nurses) to know that there are resources available to support them."

The conference included presentations from Wanda White, communicable disease specialist, and Noreen Heer Nicol, a dermatology clinical nurse specialist from Colorado.

"I was thrilled to have the opportunity to come here," said Heer Nicol. "I think continuing education for any health care program is the single most important thing we can do." Other topics addressed at the conference included skin cancer, fungal infections, laboratory testing and a five-step approach to dermatologic assessment.