Beware of finding fungus in unlikely places
I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving, ate both healthy and unhealthy food, sweet and savory, got a lot of rest, didn't worry about calories, got a run or two in, ate protein and fiber and didn't avoid the pies.
As tempted as I am to advise you on how to work off your post-Thanksgiving bellies, I have no intention of doing so myself, and I would much rather write about something less seasonal - fungus, to be exact. Fungus that eats people.
There are three genera of fungus associated with people-eating: Trcihophyton, Epidermophyton and Microsporum. Many fungal infections are caused by combinations of fungi from these three genera. Infections can occur anywhere on the body, although they're more likely to be in warm, moist places such as the webbing between the toes or fingers, the groin or the scalp.
Tinea capitis, ringworm of the scalp and of the hair, is generally found in children, and often disappears spontaneously at puberty. Infection may also occur in the eyebrows or eyelashes. Infection begins at the hair follicle, creating spreading red lesions on the scalp. The fungus may eat channels into the hair follicle, causing broken, brittle hair, or extend through the hair cuticle and cause hair loss. The infected area may be red, itchy and scaly, and the scalp may become soft and tender, or covered with crusty, pus-filled sores. All in all, a very nasty condition. Treatment includes antifungal medications and medicated shampoo.
Next, Tinea pedis - every athlete's peeve. Athlete's foot is common among athletes because they tend to have moister, warmer feet than the rest of us, and they share showers, gym floors and sometimes even socks. The four different kinds of Athlete's Foot are Interdigital, Moccasin, Inflammatory and Ulcerative.
Interdigital fungus occurs, as predicted, on the webbing between your toes. It causes moisture, peeling, dry flakes and cracking between the toes. Moccasin fungus is named thus because of its scaly distribution on the soles of the feet. Inflammatory Athlete's Foot is particularly icky; it forms painful blister-like, pus-filled vesicles surrounded by scaling. Ulcerative Athlete's Foot seems to me to be the most lamentable of all. It is characterized by acute ulceration of large areas of the soles, along with lesions and erosions. This most often occurs in the web spaces between the toes, but spreads rapidly, and is often followed by a secondary bacterial infection and an undesirable odor.
As tempted as I am to advise you on how to work off your post-Thanksgiving bellies, I have no intention of doing so myself, and I would much rather write about something less seasonal - fungus, to be exact. Fungus that eats people.
There are three genera of fungus associated with people-eating: Trcihophyton, Epidermophyton and Microsporum. Many fungal infections are caused by combinations of fungi from these three genera. Infections can occur anywhere on the body, although they're more likely to be in warm, moist places such as the webbing between the toes or fingers, the groin or the scalp.
Tinea capitis, ringworm of the scalp and of the hair, is generally found in children, and often disappears spontaneously at puberty. Infection may also occur in the eyebrows or eyelashes. Infection begins at the hair follicle, creating spreading red lesions on the scalp. The fungus may eat channels into the hair follicle, causing broken, brittle hair, or extend through the hair cuticle and cause hair loss. The infected area may be red, itchy and scaly, and the scalp may become soft and tender, or covered with crusty, pus-filled sores. All in all, a very nasty condition. Treatment includes antifungal medications and medicated shampoo.
Next, Tinea pedis - every athlete's peeve. Athlete's foot is common among athletes because they tend to have moister, warmer feet than the rest of us, and they share showers, gym floors and sometimes even socks. The four different kinds of Athlete's Foot are Interdigital, Moccasin, Inflammatory and Ulcerative.
Interdigital fungus occurs, as predicted, on the webbing between your toes. It causes moisture, peeling, dry flakes and cracking between the toes. Moccasin fungus is named thus because of its scaly distribution on the soles of the feet. Inflammatory Athlete's Foot is particularly icky; it forms painful blister-like, pus-filled vesicles surrounded by scaling. Ulcerative Athlete's Foot seems to me to be the most lamentable of all. It is characterized by acute ulceration of large areas of the soles, along with lesions and erosions. This most often occurs in the web spaces between the toes, but spreads rapidly, and is often followed by a secondary bacterial infection and an undesirable odor.
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