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There's Fungus Amongus

I'd written previously about fungus in the nails, but thought I'd revisit it as it pertains to other body parts too.  Why?  Because



Anyhoo, fungus is everywhere in the environment and there's about 300 species that can live and grow on our skin - many more that can live in other places in our bodies too.  Generally they don't cause problems so long as everything is working as they don't grow well over about 86 degrees, probably one of the many reasons we've developed to run our core temperature closer to 100.

Most fungi need moist environments to grow too as they feed by decomposing organic materials.  Two main types of fungi are molds and yeasts, differing mainly in how many cells they have and how they reproduce/divide and this does end up affecting what medications are best used to control them.

The fungi on the skin, known as dermatophytes, and are further divided up based on the infections they cause.  Here are the most common ones:

Tinea Pedis = Athlete's Foot:  about 20% of people have this at any time, usually men.

Tine Cruris = Jock Itch and is also seen anywhere skin folds touch and it can get moist so also seen sometimes under the breasts, armpits, and other skin folds.  There are some theories that it's the same thing that causes athlete's foot and spreads upwards when putting on underwear so some people say to put on your socks before anything else if you are prone to this.

Tinea Corporis = Ringworm.  Misnomer because it looks like a ring and is super itchy, but not actually a worm!  It's very contagious and usually spread through sharing clothes or towels or direct contact with someone who has it or a companion animal.

There are some other ones out there like pityriasis versicolor, which looks like camouflage for your torso, but tends to bother people a lot less.  I won't get into the ones that can live inside of your body because it's a whole different issue, suffice it to say they can live in there for decades without causing problems after breathing them in and then suddenly manifest when your immune system weakens.  Yes, welcome to planet Earth, where it turns out basically everything will kill you if it gets a chance.

So all that's great, but how do you treat these things?  It can be tough, but there are a few tips

- reduce moisture.  Dry off after you sweat, wear moisture-wicking clothes like cotton or synthetics and consider changing socks or underwear if you sweat a lot and then don't get a chance to immediately shower, like commuting to work or rigorous work activities.

- don't put cortisone on it.  It can be very hard to tell the difference between a dermatitis (skin inflammation caused by the immune system) and a fungal skin infection.  Dermatitis is usually treated with a topical steroid like cortisone cream, but that same cream will make fungus start growing wildly.  Feel free to send in pictures if you can't tell the difference.

- There's no one best anti-fungal skin treatment out there.  I hear our dermatologists recommend Lotrimin (clotrimazole) most frequently, followed by Lamisil (terbinafine).  With these, you have to apply them twice daily, it takes 2-4 weeks to see the results, and then you should keep applying for a week AFTER the rash is gone to keep it from quickly coming back.
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