Fungus alert: be aware and safe

HEALTH

Mushrooms, mould and mildew can cause infections during the monsoons.

It is hard to imagine that mushrooms can harm you. But mushrooms, along with mould and mildew can lead to fungal infections like athlete's foot and yeast infection. Known as mycosis, the term refers to conditions in which fungi pass the resistance barriers of the human body and establish infections.

Fungi have no one place of habitat. They spread via tiny spores in air, soil, on plants and in water. Some even live inside the human body. However, only about half of all fungi are harmful.

If you inhale any of the spores, they land right inside your body, a reason why most fungal infections start in the lungs or on the skin. The most likely prey for fungi are people with a weakened immune system.

Fungal infections can be of different kinds with different levels of intensity. Superficial infections are limited to the outermost layers of the skin and hair while the deeper ones tend to be invasive resulting in pathological changes in the deeper layers of the skin and diseases like ringworm or tinea.

At more intense levels fungal infections can turn chronic in nature, leading to life-threatening conditions like cryptococcosis and aspergillosis and skin trauma. These may require antifungal drugs, photochemotherapy and surgical interventions.

The severe forms of fungal infection like aspergillosis can be acquired during transplants in patients with a weakened immune system. Patients in critical care thus require special attention due to their susceptibility to such fungal diseases.

"The best way to diagnose a fungal infection is by being aware of a problem. Unfortunately, there are no basic symptoms since the infection can launch anywhere in or on your body," explains Dr Ben DePauw, professor of medicine at University Medical Centre in the Netherlands.

He adds that being prudent and avoiding the use of too many anti-bacterials are the best ways to prevent an infection. Keeping the skin clean, dry and hygienic also helps. In any case, these are always good suggestions to follow.