Symptoms of fungal infection

Characteristics of Fungi

There are many subgroups to that of fungi. Namely, mushrooms in the forest, mold on your bathroom ceiling and yeast which you may have on your skin are all from the same family. Therefore, there are numerous types of fungi but not all are dangerous for humans. Most of the members of this family reproduce and spread through spores, small, seed-like elements they expel into the air. These spores may get inhaled by people, or can get onto human skin, entering the pores, or staying on the surface. Either way, this is how most of the people get in contact with fungi. However, even though they may get to our lungs and other organs, these rarely cause any serious conditions like infections.

Potentially Dangerous Fungi

Candida is the name of a fungus we all have on the surface of our intestines. These are harmless most of the time but sometimes, when located in our nail, mouth, skin, sex organs or sinuses, they might cause infections, some more serious than others. Groups of people mostly affected by this type of infection are those who have problems with low immunity. This group encompasses people with chronic illnesses like HIV, cancer and similar. Candida, the fungus mentioned here, is not the only one which can cause such infections, but is, nevertheless, the most common one.

In our organism, the quantity of fungi and area where they reside is often controlled by different bacteria. The bacteria balance the fungi, and keep their number optimal for our health. But, if we, for example, take some medications like antibiotics, which are to get rid of some bacteria, and also destroy those good, balancing ones, the fungi may get out of control and cause infections and similar conditions. Usually, after a while the bacteria breed themselves and restore the balance.

Some Other Characteristics

One of the most prominent characteristics regarding fungi is that they can be geographically distinctive. Namely, some locations have their native fungi, while some other places have their own. Thus, some infections which take place in one part of the country are not caused by the same fungus as those in the other. Another interesting fact is that fungi incubate slowly. It takes quite a moderate amount of time in order for the fungi to cause an infection. Therefore, people often do not even realize that they had been exposed to these. Regardless, people who, for many reasons, have their immunity low, usually experience these infections quite fast and noticeable. In such cases, these conditions may even be deadly.

Finally, as far as treating fungi is concerned, there are numerous medications, applied either through antibiotics or injections, as well as some other methods. The treatment usually lasts longer but is effective most of the times.