Skin Fungus

Many people are ashamed when they suffer from a fungal infection. But this shame is unjustified. Everyone carries skin fungi with them. You can get an infection from this when your skin’s natural barrier is weakened. As a result, your skin is less well protected, which can lead to a fungal infection. Do you suffer from red spots on your skin that give an itchy and burning feeling? Then read on!

What is a skin fungus?

A skin fungus is a fungus that grows on people’s skin, nails or hair. Skin fungus occurs on everyone’s skin and in most cases does not cause problems. Only when the skin fungus penetrates into your skin can it lead to a fungal infection.

What are the causes of a fungal infection?

When the skin fungus penetrates your body and spreads, a fungal infection develops. Normally your skin protects you against these skin fungi, but the protection may be weakened. This may be because:

  • Your skin is irritated or damaged, for example because of too tight or abrasive clothing.
  • Your skin is softened by moisture and / or heat.
  • Your skin is washed too much with soap.

In addition, the elderly, people with reduced resistance (for example due to chemotherapy) and people with diabetes mellitus are more sensitive to fungal infections.

What are the symptoms of a fungal infection?

You can recognize a fungal infection by one or more of the following characteristics. For example to:

  • Red spots on your skin with painting around the edges.
  • Round spots that keep getting bigger, while at the same time the middle of it is already healing. This form of skin fungus is also known as ringworm.
  • An itchy and burning feeling.
  • The appearance of small blisters and pimples .
  • Shedding on your hands. It is possible that the skin fungus causes the skin on your hands to shed. This is often a response to a fungal infection that is elsewhere on your body.

How can you treat a fungal infection?

Fortunately, most fungal infections are often superficial and don’t hurt as much. You can often treat these fungal infections yourself with an anti-fungal cream. Tips when using an anti-fungal cream are:

  • Apply the cream in a thin layer. This will prevent the cream from being visible even after smearing or the cream from irritating your skin.
  • Spread the cream to about two inches around the visible areas. The fungal infection is often spread further than is visible to the naked eye.

Are you starting to see improvement in your skin?

  • Then keep lubricating until your skin has completely healed.
  • After two to four weeks of lubrication, you should start to see improvement in the skin. Pimples and blisters often take a little longer to heal. Contact your doctor if the fungal infection is not reduced.

Do you suffer from a more serious, deeper skin fungus? Then contact your doctor. This can prescribe you anti-fungal pills. These pills are often not preferred by doctors (and consumers) because they are accompanied by strong side effects. This means you should not take the pills if you are pregnant  or want to become pregnant , or if you are breastfeeding . In addition, the pills can make the contraceptive pill less reliable. The anti-fungal pills can also enhance the effect of some other medicines, such as antidepressants or certain heart medications.