Overview of Fungal Infections and Treatment Options

Fungal infections are caused by fungi and can affect the skin, nails, or internal organs. They often require antifungal medications for treatment.
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Skin Infections | Fungal Disease Management | Antifungal Therapies | Antifungal Treatments | Skin Mycoses
Prepared by Shruti Sahoo, reviewed by Dr. Eugene Smith

Fungal Infections FAQ


Image credit: clearskinclinic.in

What is a fungal infection?

A fungal infection is also known as mycosis. Although most fungi are harmless to humans, some of them are capable of causing diseases under specific conditions. Fungi reproduce by releasing spores that can be picked up by direct contact or even inhaled. That’s why fungal infections are most likely to affect your skin, nails, or lungs.

Can fungi cause a fungal infection?

Different types of fungi can cause fungal infections. In some cases, fungi that aren’t typically found on or inside your body can colonize it and cause an infection. In other cases, fungi that are normally present on or inside your body can multiply out of control and cause an infection. Fungal infections can be contagious.

Where do fungal infections occur?

Fungal infections can be on the surface of your skin, nails or mucous membranes (superficial or mucocutaneous), underneath your skin (subcutaneous) or inside other organs of your body — like your lungs, brain or heart (deep infection). Superficial fungal infections affect your nails, skin and mucous membranes (like your mouth, throat or vagina).

What causes localized fungal infections?

Localized fungal infections sometimes occur when the mix of other microorganisms (eg, bacteria) that normally live in certain parts of the body (also called the microbiome) is out of balance. For example, certain types of fungi (such as Candida) are normally present on body surfaces or in the intestine.

Fungal Infections References

If you want to know more about Fungal Infections, consider exploring links below:

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