Today, dermatological diseases make up a significant percentage of the diseases that an increasing number of people encounter every day.The rapid spread of diseases associated with disruption of skin integrity and epithelial tissue functions is caused not only by the increasing number of pathogenic pathogens in the external environment, but also by our way of life, daily routine and bad habits, which are the impetus for the development of various pathologies.
What is a fungus and why does it occur?
Fungal skin diseases are second in frequency of occurrence after purulent lesions of the epidermis, which are called pyoderma.Fungal infections have specific pathogens - fungal microorganisms, which determine the development of fungal skin lesions only in a pathogenic form or state.
Since fungi are part of our environment and usually do not show their presence in any way, they are opportunistic microorganisms that acquire a pathological form due to a change in environmental conditions suitable for reproduction and in case of weakening of the immune defense of the human body.
Foot fungus is characterized by two types of disease - dermatomycosis, which directly affects the skin of the heel, toes, metatarsus, or sole, and onychomycosis, which affects the nail folds, nail plates, and the epidermis beneath them.The causative agents of onychomycosis can increase the area of infection, spreading to nearby integumentary tissues.
Fungi on the feet can be transmitted directly, for example, by walking barefoot on soil inhabited by fungal microorganisms, through infected plants or during close contact with a person or animal sick with mycosis.The indirect route of infection with mycotic diseases includes the development of a fungal infection due to the use of personal hygiene products of a person suffering from fungi, through his clothes and bedding, as well as when using patient care products.
Different degrees of sensitivity to the causative agents of mycotic diseases in each person are caused by numerous factors that can affect the tendency to develop infectious diseases and the nature of the disease.
Children under the age of 10-12 are considered the most vulnerable age group.Dermatologists most often diagnose infectious diseases caused by pathogenic fungal microorganisms in children, since their outer skin is still quite thin, which allows the fungi to more easily feed on keratin, a specific skin protein that is an integral part of the epithelial tissue.
In children, the immune defense mechanisms are still in the development phase and are not able to protect the organism from the penetration of pathogenic microflora, as the developed immune system protects it, so the child's organism is at constant risk of infection with various diseases and pathologies.
Athletes belong to a group of people who are often in conditions of constant reproduction of fungi on the skin of the feet.Changing rooms and shower cabins, which athletes often use before and after training, are ideal environments for the intensive action of fungal microorganisms, because elevated air temperature and increased moisture concentration are optimal conditions for the activation of the pathogenic form of the fungus.
That is why excessive sweating of the feet often precedes the occurrence of a fungal infection on the skin of the feet, which can be a consequence of constantly wearing uncomfortable, narrow shoes that do not allow air flow.Constant sweating of the feet can be determined by the specific composition of the genetic material, and it can also be one of the external symptoms of diseases or pathologies present in the body.
Another stimulus for the occurrence of fungal disease on the skin of the legs can be a change in the usual composition of sweat gland secretions (water, uric acid, ammonia, amino acids and fatty acids) to one that is more toxic to our body and more suitable for the activation of fungi.Pathological changes in the composition of sweat have a particularly favorable effect on the development of infectious diseases caused by fungi of the genus Candida, i.e. yeast-like fungi.
Disturbances in the normal functioning of the nervous and endocrine systems, as well as the gastrointestinal tract, are accompanied by a decrease in basal metabolism in the body, which negatively affects the activity of the organs of other systems and the course of immune defense mechanisms.Since a weakened body cannot fully respond to the constant attacks of microbes and pathogenic microflora, preventing their penetration into the body, a person becomes more susceptible to the negative influence of environmental factors, which is why he is susceptible to bacterial and fungal infections.
Specific fungal parasitism on the skin of the legs and in the body is manifested by different symptoms depending on the stage of the disease.
A weak or deleted form of fungal infection is the earliest stage of disease development and is characterized by rather poorly expressed characteristic signs.A person who has a deleted form of fungal disease often feels a burning sensation in the area of infection, there are small cracks on the surface of the skin, and the epidermis itself becomes pathologically dry.
Although the initial stage of infection is best treated, if the symptoms of infection with fungal microorganisms are ignored, the disease will develop in more severe forms, and with careless and irresponsible treatment, the disease will return again, because mycotic diseases are characterized by frequent relapses.
The squamous-keratotic form of the fungal disease occurs after a milder form of mycotic infection, if the disease is not eliminated in the early stages.During the squamous-keratotic stage of the disease, fungal microorganisms create a white coating and a hard crust on the surface of the skin;the area of infection gradually increases and can reach significant sizes, for example, from the interdigital folds to the metatarsus.
Dermatologists classify the intertriginous form of fungal foot disease as the severe phase of the infection.In the intertriginous form of the disease, there is swelling in the folds between the fingers, which is accompanied by redness of the surface layers of the skin.Edema is usually raw and prone to erosion.The infected area of the skin is characterized by a significant separation of the epidermis and the appearance of deep cracks, which facilitate the penetration of fungal cells into the body.The limits of parasitism are expanding, and the fungus spreads through the bloodstream to other organs and systems.
The dyshidrotic form of fungal infection of the skin of the legs is the most difficult stage in the development of the pathology.For the dyshidrotic form of the disease, the most aggressive treatment methods are used, including pulse therapy, which involves taking shock doses of powerful drugs in a short period of time.It is characterized by the presence of blisters with fluid inside the entire surface of the feet, which can burst and form deep erosions on the skin, which is accompanied by pain, severe itching and multiple inflammatory processes.
Treatment of fungal foot infections is carried out in three ways: external treatment, internal treatment and combined therapy.
External influence on the source of infection with antifungal creams, ointments, gels, varnishes, powders, tonics and sprays is used in the first stages of the disease, when the parasitism of the fungus has not become more widespread.
The internal effect on pathogenic fungal microorganisms is carried out using fungicidal drugs, which can negatively affect the activity of other organs and systems of the body, therefore such drugs often have many contraindications.They are used in the case of fungal parasitism inside the organism, which occurs in the later stages of the development of the disease.
Combined therapy gives the most noticeable effect, but in the initial stages of a fungal infection, external application will be sufficient, because internal application of antimycotics can create additional complications and stress for the body.
The most effective drugs for solving mild forms of mycotic diseases are drugs based on terbinafine, which stimulates the accumulation of squalene in the skin, which destroys the mechanism of the pathological action of fungal microorganisms.Terbinafine is a substance that is included in various antifungal drugs, which allows it to eliminate fungal diseases caused by various pathogens.
For systemic treatment, which the doctor prescribes in case of ineffectiveness of local drugs, drugs with active ingredients such as itraconazole and ketaconazole are used.This course of treatment is longer and is not recommended for pregnant and lactating women, children under 3 years old, people with liver disease and impaired kidney function.
In order to prevent the secondary development of the disease after treatment, you must take care to disinfect your hygiene items, personal belongings and clothing items, because the fungus is capable of leaving mycelium and other waste products on the belongings of the infected person during the reproduction period.
The special spray is suitable for antifungal treatment of shoes.The antiseptic medicine is intended to remove the products of the proliferation of fungal cells from the personal belongings of a person suffering from mycosis.Wash the inside of the shoes with a 0.1% solution and leave it overnight.The spray also disinfects shoes well, it is a hypoallergenic product that does not leave marks and odors, and is suitable for shoes made of any material.
In order to effectively get rid of a fungal infection and prevent its occurrence, you must carefully follow all preventive measures and monitor your health.Any disease, including fungal, is always easier to prevent than to cure.