Fungal infections affect skin, hair and nails

Donya Betancourt, Pediatrician, Sanur, Bali, drdonya@hotmail.com

To some people, fungal infections look like a worm under the skin and because of this worm-like appearance, it is often called "ringworm". However, the fact is, there is no worm at all and the medical name is tinea.

Tinea is a fungus that infects skin, hair or nails. As the fungus grows, it spreads out in a circle, leaving normal-looking skin in the middle. This makes the infection look like a ring, at the edge of the ring the skin is raised by the irritation, appearing red and is scaly.

The fungus is contagious and spreads easily. In fact most children and adults can come in contact with fungus type infections during a normal day's activity.

For example, you can get a fungal infection by simply touching a person who already has one. You can easily pick up a fungus from dogs and cats, as well as farm animals, so you can catch infection from your pets. If you want to examine your pets or animals the infection often looks like a patch of skin where fur is missing.

Another common location where different kinds of fungi live is on damp surfaces such as public showers and locker rooms.

Fungal infections are named for the part of the body they infect: * Tinea capitis (head), which is called "ringworm", causes itchy, red areas, usually on the head. The hair is destroyed, leaving bald patches. This tinea infection is most common in children. * Tinea corporis (body) is a fungal infection of the skin on the body. If you have this infection, you may see small, red spots that grow into large rings almost anywhere on your arms, legs or chest. * Tinea pedis (foot) is usually called "athlete's foot". The moist skin between your toes is a perfect place for a fungus to grow. The skin may become itchy and red, with a white, wet surface. The infection may spread to the toenails; called tinea unguium (nail). It can also spread to your hands and fingernails. * Tinea cruris (leg) is a fungus rash grows in the moist, warm area of the groin. The common name for this infection is "jock itch". Tinea cruris generally occurs in men, especially those active in sports in hot, humid climes.

Other skin problems can look just like a fungal infection but have very different treatments and cures. To find out what is causing your rash, your doctor may scrape a small amount of the irritated skin onto a glass slide or clip off a piece of nail or hair. Then he or she will examine the skin, nail or hair under a microscope. After doing this, your doctor will usually be able to tell if your skin problem is caused by a fungus.

Another way for the lab to diagnose whether a skin problem is caused by a fungus is with a piece of your skin, hair or nail, which will be sent to a lab to grow the fungus in a test tube. This process takes a while because a fungus grows slowly. Once your doctor decides you have a tinea infection, medicine can be administered to get rid of it.

You may only need to put a special cream on the rash for a few weeks. This is especially true for jock itch. But it can be harder to get rid of fungal infections on other parts of the body. More difficult infections may require you to take oral medication. This medicine usually has to be taken for a long time, possibly several months.

Now that you understand the high possibility of contact with this fungal infection you can begin to inspect and disinfect your living space and next week I will discuss prevention and nail type fungus infection.