Fungal Skin Infections

Fungal Nail Infections

Since fungus thrives in dark, warm places, your toenails are more likely to be affected than your fingernails. Your toes also have less blood flow than your fingers, which makes it harder for your body to pick up on and prevent an infection.

At first, you may only see a white or yellow spot under your nail. Over time, this spreads and can turn your whole nail white, yellow, green or black.

Your nail may thicken and could be hard to trim. Many people notice that their nail starts to curl up or down or loosens from the nail bed. Or it could become brittle and crumble when you touch it.

It’s easy to ignore fungal nail infections at first, since you may not have any pain. But if left untreated, it can hurt to put any pressure on the area. If an infection gets bad enough, it can even become hard to walk.

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Dandruff

Dandruff -- those dry, white flakes of skin you brush off your collar or shoulders -- is harmless. But it can be embarrassing and itchy. Dandruff really isn't about your hair, or how often you wash it. Instead, it's about the skin on your scalp.

Skin cells that grow and die off too fast are the problem. Exactly why that happens isn't clear. A very common fungus called malassezia may contribute to dandruff. This fungus lives on the scalp of most healthy adults without causing any problems.

One common cause is seborrheic dermatitis, or seborrhea. Some people with dandruff may also have seborrheic dermatitis in other areas of the body, such as their ears, the center of the face, and the center of the chest.

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Athlete’s Foot

Athlete's foot, also called tinea pedis, is a fungal infection of the foot. It causes peeling, redness, itching, burning, and sometimes blisters and sores. Athlete's foot is a very common infection. The fungus grows best in a warm, moist environment such as shoes, socks, swimming pools, locker rooms, and the floors of public showers. It is most common in the summer and in warm, humid climates. It occurs more often in people who wear tight shoes and who use community baths and pools.

Signs and symptoms of athlete's foot vary from person to person. However, common symptoms include:

• Peeling, cracking, and scaling of the feet

• Redness, blisters, or softening and breaking down of the skin

• Itching, burning, or both

Ringworm

Ringworm isn’t a worm. It’s a skin infection that’s caused by moldlike fungi that live on the dead tissues of your skin, hair, and nails. You can get it in any of these places -- and on your scalp.

If it’s on your skin, the first thing you’ll probably notice is a flat, scaly area. The edges of it will be slightly raised and may be bumpy. It’ll look a lot like a ring or poorly drawn circle. The skin inside the ring might be clear, scaly, or dotted with red bumps. It probably will itch a lot.

If the ringworm is on your scalp, parts of it will feel tender or painful. Your hair might be brittle and fall out easily. You’ll also have round, scaly patches of skin where your hair has broken off. The patches may be red. They might also grow bigger over time.

Candidiasis

There are many kinds of fungus that live in the human body. One type is called candida. It’s a type of yeast that normally lives in small amounts in places like your mouth and belly, or on your skin without causing any problems. But when the environment is right, the yeast can multiply and grow out of control. The infection it causes is called Candidiasis.

Symptoms of oral candidiasis (thrush) include

• White or yellow patches on the tongue, lips, gums, roof of mouth, and inner cheeks

• Redness or soreness in the mouth and throat

• Cracking at the corners of the mouth

• Pain when swallowing, if it spreads to the throat

Symptoms  of Genital Yeast Infection include

• Extreme itchiness in the vagina

• Redness and swelling of the vagina and vulva (the outer part of the female genitals)

• Pain and burning when you pee

• Discomfort during sex

• A thick, white “cottage cheese” discharge from the vagina

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Treatment:

Visit us or book an appointment for a diagnosis of any skin infection you may be experiencing. 

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