Fungal infections are more likely if you already have a weakened immune system or are taking antibiotics. In rare circumstances, fungi can cause serious conditions such as fungal meningitis or a bloodstream infection. In these rare cases, you will need to go to the ER immediately.
Fungal infections like meningitis and bloodstream infections are less common than skin and lung infections but can be life-threatening. The more you know about fungal infections and your chances of getting one, the better you can protect your health.
The most common types of fungi that cause serious or life-threatening infections include: Aspergillus, which causes aspergillosis. It most often affects people with lung disease or a weakened immune system. Candida, which causes candidiasis, also called thrush.
Typically, if you have a fungal infection of your skin or nails, you should seek medical treatment in an urgent care facility. These common skin infections can cause itching and can also spread quickly to other areas of your body.
Despite the high mortality rates of invasive fungal infections (upwards of 50%), experts estimate that 80% of those patients might be saved with appropriate diagnostics and treatments. But diagnosing fungal infections is difficult, in part because of their nonspecific symptoms.
Fungal infections tend to worsen over time, and your nails can become badly discolored and may grow abnormally thick. Nails suffering from fungal infections are often fragile and can develop serious and lasting cracks. The affected nail could also start to separate from the underlying nail bed.
Candida is the most frequent cause of fungal severe sepsis or septic shock in ICU patients.
Fungal infections that are not life-threatening, such as skin, nail, or vaginal yeast infections, are common. Some infections can be more serious. Lung infections like Valley fever or histoplasmosis can happen in people who live in or visit certain areas.
Mycoses are classified as superficial, cutaneous, subcutaneous, or systemic (deep) infections depending on the type and degree of tissue involvement and the host response to the pathogen.
Approximately 15% of all infections are caused by fungi, and invasive fungal infections are an increasingly frequent cause of sepsis, particularly in critically ill patients. Sepsis is a life-threatening condition that can result from an infection anywhere in the body.
If fungal skin infections aren't treated, they can last for a long time. They could also spread to other parts of your body, cause a bacterial infection or be passed to other people. If you have a fungal infection on your scalp, this may cause a bald patch if left untreated.
Antifungal medicines are used to treat fungal infections, which most commonly affect your skin, hair and nails. You can get some antifungal medicines from a pharmacy without needing a GP prescription.
Antifungal resistance can occur for many reasons. It sometimes develops spontaneously. Or it may result from antibiotic overuse or misuse of antifungal medicines. People with compromised immune systems are most at risk for developing fungal infections that can lead to antifungal resistance.
Even in healthy people, fungal infections can be difficult to treat because antifungal drugs are challenging to develop, and like bacteria, some fungi are adept at developing resistance to current antifungal agents.
Invasive candidiasis is a serious fungal infection caused by Candida. The yeast gets into your bloodstream and spreads to other areas, such as your eyes, heart, brain and kidneys. It's a common healthcare-associated infection and can cause life-threatening complications.
In addition to bacteria, fungi—mainly Candida albicans and other Candida spp. —can cause sepsis and this entity has increased over the last decades, now causing significant impact and health care-associated costs. In addition, fungal sepsis is associated with a higher mortality than bacterial sepsis.
If a person needs prompt medical attention for a yeast infection, they should visit an urgent care center instead of an emergency department. The emergency department is primarily for health issues that cannot wait, such as broken bones, or symptoms that could be life threatening, such as chest pain.
You can spread the fungus to someone else through direct contact. You can also get toenail fungus by touching an infected surface.
Antifungal therapy remains the mainstay of primary pulmonary fungal infection treatment. However, surgery is an important adjunct therapy for invasive infections, resistant infections, mycetoma, cavitary lesions, and empyema.
Fungal meningitis can develop after a fungal infection spreads from somewhere else in the body to the brain or spinal cord. Some causes of fungal meningitis include Cryptococcus, Histoplasma, Blastomyces, Coccidioides, and Candida.
The tendency for fungus to recur in many adults, especially on the feet and toenails, is a genetic condition. Their skin cannot recognize the fungus as foreign and get rid of it. After having a fungus there for a while the body's immune system learns to live with the fungus and no longer tries to get rid of it.
The best test to order in a patient with a bloodstream infection is a routine blood culture, which includes one anaerobic and one aerobic bottle. Routine blood culture can easily recover aerobic and anaerobic bacterial organisms as well as Candida spp., Aspergillus spp. and sometimes Fusarium spp.