Fungal Infections

A fungal infection may also be known as ‘mycosis’, and is a disease of the skin caused by a fungus. The most common types of fungal infections are:

• Athlete’s Foot – This is a fairly common skin infection of the feet caused by fungus. Although it can affect other parts of the foot, it usually appears between the toes. Symptoms of athlete’s foot include itching, redness, scaling, and cracking. In rare cases, there could also be blisters.
• Jock Itch – This is a skin infection that affects the groin, inner thighs and buttocks. It is common in those who sweat a lot, such as athletes, and may appear as a red rash with raised edge in a ring shape. Jock itch can also cause persistently itchy skin, and a burning sensation around the affected area.
• Ringworm – No ‘worms’ exist so to speak, and ringworm is a skin infection caused by a fungus that exists on dead tissues, such as the skin, hair, and nails. Ringworm is the fungus responsible for both athlete’s foot and jock itch. When it appears anywhere else on the body, the infection is just called ringworm. Ringworm is easy to spot from its appearance – often a red or silver-coloured ring-shaped rash, sometimes with scaly skin.
• Yeast Infection – These are infections usually known as thrush, and are very common. They occur in the mouth, throat and genitals. Although symptoms may differ somewhat between yeast infections, often symptoms include soreness, redness, a white or yellow discharge and itching/burning sensation.

There are literally millions of different species of fungi. These fungi exist in the air, in water, dirt, on plants, on household surfaces, and even on your skin. Sometimes, an invading fungus can compromise a particular area of the body and the immune system cannot cope, causing problems to the skin such as bumps or rashes.

Warm and moist environments are perfect conditions for fungi to grow and multiple. Therefore, fungal infections usually manifest themselves on feet that have been in damp socks or shoes, as well as the groin area, inside the mouth and the inner thighs.

As skin is the largest organ of the human body, it is obviously vital to treat it when something goes wrong. This is particularly crucial when it comes to fungal infections. Although fungal infections are not deadly, they are certainly highly contagious and can be passed on to others very easily.

Fungal infection treatments can vary depending on the type of the infection. Treatments come in both an oral or topical form, and work by either killing off the fungal cells, or stopping the cells from growing and reproducing. Medical Specialists® provide a wide range of different effective fungal infection treatments that can be delivered to either your home or work within 24 hours of ordering.