is a secondary bacterial infection contagious :: Article CreatorCan RSV Have Long-Lasting Effects In Adults?
RSV infection typically gets better within a couple of weeks. However, it may cause long-term cause damage to your lungs, airways, or heart, which lasts after the infection has passed. Sometimes, this damage may be permanent.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common cause of acute respiratory infections in children and adults. It may cause mild cold-like symptoms or more serious illness, including severe bronchiolitis or pneumonia.
RSV infection tends to cause more severe symptoms in young children, but it can also cause serious illness in older children and adults. The risk of serious illness is higher for adults who are 65 years or older, as well as those with chronic lung disease, heart disease, or compromised immune systems.
In some cases, RSV may cause tissue and organ damage that lasts for several weeks, months, or longer after the infection has passed. Although more research is needed, it may raise your risk of chronic lung and heart disease.
Most people with RSV infection recover fully, even without treatment.
But in some cases, RSV may cause damage to your lungs, airways, or heart that is long lasting or permanent.
Some people may have long-term effects from RSV, including an increased risk of chronic lung conditions.
Respiratory issues
A 2017 review linked RSV infection in early childhood to an increased risk of recurrent wheezing and asthma later on. Most of the studies only followed participants for 1 to 8 years after the infection. Still, some studies followed participants for longer and found an increased risk of wheezing and asthma that continued into adulthood.
RSV may also cause chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to get permanently worse.
Heart disease
A 2018 review found that viral respiratory infections such as RSV may also damage the heart and raise the risk of heart disease. The risk appears to be highest in the first few days after the infection is diagnosed, but some level of increased risk may last for months.
An older 2010 study from this review found that adults who had a heart attack were more likely than those without heart disease to have antibodies to RSV. Those antibodies are a sign of past RSV infection. More research is needed to learn how long the increased risk lasts after RSV infection.
General health
A 2020 study also found that RSV can affect your health in the mid-to-long term after infection. The authors of this study recruited older adults who were hospitalized with RSV and followed up with them for a year after discharge. Almost a third of those who were 75 years or older died within a year of infection.
Many of the participants in this study had pre-existing heart or lung conditions, which often got worse with RSV. For example, 50% of those with pre-existing asthma and 38% of those with pre-existing congestive heart failure developed worse symptoms after contracting RSV.
How long does it take to recover from RSV in adults?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most RSV infections get better on their own within a week or two.
It may take longer to recover if:
you develop a severe infection or complications from RSV you have an underlying health condition that makes it harder to fight off infections or heal you take certain medications or other medical treatments that suppress your immune system If you develop severe symptoms or complications from RSV, you may need treatment in a hospital.
Talk with your doctor to learn more about your outlook.
Can RSV last for months in adults?
RSV infection typically resolves within a week or two, at which point the virus is no longer active in your body.
For some people, it may take a few weeks for the infection to pass.
RSV infection may cause tissue damage that takes longer to heal. As a result, some symptoms may linger after the infection has passed.
RSV infection also raises your risk of secondary bacterial infections and may contribute to chronic lung conditions or heart disease. These conditions may cause long lasting symptoms that require treatment.
If you develop a cough, wheeze, or other symptoms that last for more than a couple of weeks, talk with your doctor.
If you're having trouble breathing or your mouth or nails develop a blue tint, get medical help right away. These are potential signs of a serious respiratory infection or other problem that requires immediate treatment.
Your doctor can help you learn whether an infection or other health condition causes your symptoms. Your treatment options and outlook will depend on the cause of your symptoms.
Does RSV stay in your body forever?
RSV won't stay in your body forever, but it sometimes causes long lasting tissue or organ damage.
It's possible to contract the virus more than once in your lifetime.
What is the treatment for RSV?
Mild RSV infections typically resolve without treatment. You may use over-the-counter medications to manage mild symptoms such as cough, runny nose, and low grade fever.
If you develop severe symptoms, your doctor may prescribe supportive care such as:
inhalers fever reducers such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen, or antipyretics supplemental oxygen intravenous fluids Doctors sometimes prescribe antiviral medication for RSV, but this treatment is rare for adults.
Severe RSV infection raises your risk of secondary bacterial infections, which can worsen your symptoms. If you develop a bacterial infection, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics to treat it.
RSV infection can cause serious illness, especially in young children and older adults. Adults with chronic lung conditions, heart disease, or compromised immune systems have an increased risk of serious infection.
RSV infection typically gets better within a couple of weeks, but in some cases, it may cause tissue or organ damage that lasts after the infection itself has passed. Sometimes, this damage may be long lasting or permanent.
Some research suggests that RSV infection may raise your long-term risk of chronic wheezing and asthma. It may also increase your risk of heart attack. More research is needed to learn how long the increased risk lasts.
Let your doctor know if you develop a severe cough, wheezing, or shortness of breath that lasts more than a couple of weeks. They can help you learn what's causing your symptoms and how to manage them.
Although most cases of RSV infection get better without treatment, severe cases may require supportive care in a hospital. Short- or long-term complications from RSV may also require treatment to manage.
Understanding MRSA Infection
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a bacteria that causes infections in different parts of the body. It's tougher to treat than most strains of Staphylococcus aureus (staph) because it's resistant to some commonly used antibiotics.
Though most MRSA infections aren't serious, some can be life-threatening. Many public health experts are alarmed by the spread of tough strains of MRSA. It's sometimes called a "superbug" because it's hard to treat.
MRSA most often appears as a skin infection, such as a boil or abscess (a mass that is full of pus). At first, it might look like a pimple, but it can turn into a hard, painful lump that is red and filled with pus. An infection also might look like a skin lesion, or an area of skin that's different from the rest of your skin, like a sore. (Photo Credit: Scott Camazine/Science Source)
The symptoms of a MRSA infection depend on where the infection is. MRSA often gets into a skin injury such as a cut, scrape, or burn. It also might infect a surgical wound.
What does MRSA look like?
MRSA most often appears as a skin infection, such as a boil or abscess (a mass that is full of pus). At first, it might look like a pimple, but it can turn into a hard, painful lump that is red and filled with pus. Many people who have a staph skin infection often mistake it for a spider bite.
An infection also might look like a skin lesion, or an area of skin that's different from the rest of your skin, like a sore. If there are red streaks branching out from the lesion, that may be a sign that the infection is spreading to your bloodstream.
The area around the infection may look:
Swollen Red Filled with pus Fluid-filled blisters Yellow and crusty Other MRSA symptoms
The infected area may feel painful and warm to the touch. If it's a skin injury, such as a cut, it may hurt more than a typical skin injury would.
MRSA can cause many other symptoms because it can get into your bloodstream and then settle elsewhere in the body. Along with pain at the site of the infection, the symptoms may include:
Fever Chest pain Shortness of breath Fatigue Muscle or joint pain A rash If staph infects your lungs and causes pneumonia, you may have:
Shortness of breath Fever Chills MRSA can also cause an abscess in your spleen, kidney, or spine. It can cause endocarditis (heart valve infections), osteomyelitis (bone infections), joint infections, mastitis (infection in the breast), and infections of implanted prosthetic devices (such as those used in a knee replacement, for instance).
Very rarely, staph can result in necrotizing fasciitis, or "flesh-eating" bacterial infections. These are serious skin infections that spread quickly. While frightening, very few necrotizing fasciitis cases have been reported.
Garden-variety staph bacteria are common and can live in our bodies. Plenty of healthy people carry staph without being infected by it. In fact, one-third of the population has staph bacteria in their noses.
But staph can be a problem if it manages to get into the body, often through a cut. Staph is one of the most common causes of skin infections in the U.S. Usually, these are minor and don't need special treatment. Less often, staph can cause serious problems such as infected wounds or pneumonia.
Did You Know?
About 2% of people (2 in 100) are MRSA carriers, even though most of them aren't infected.
Staph can usually be treated with antibiotics. But over the decades, some strains of staph, such as MRSA, have become resistant to antibiotics that once destroyed them. MRSA was discovered in 1961. It's now resistant to penicillins such as amoxicillin, methicillin, oxacillin, penicillin, and other common antibiotics known as cephalosporins.
The overuse and misuse of antibiotics have caused MRSA and other bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics. For example, people sometimes take antibiotics when they have a cold or another virus, even though antibiotics won't help in those cases.
Antibiotics are a type of antimicrobial, or a substance used to kill microbes, including bacteria. Increased use of antimicrobials in humans, animals, and agriculture is contributing to drug resistance.
While some antibiotics still work against MRSA, this type of bacteria is constantly adapting. Researchers developing new antibiotics are having a tough time keeping up.
MRSA is contagious and spreads through contact. You can get MRSA by touching another person who has it on their skin, or by touching things that have the bacteria on them. MRSA is carried by about 2% of the population (or 2 in 100 people), although most of them don't develop serious infections. People can carry the bacteria without having any symptoms, so they can spread it to others without knowing it.
In health care facilities, MRSA can spread through contact with an infected wound or with contaminated hands. Infections sometimes spread when patients have invasive procedures such as surgeries.
Another type of staph, MSSA (methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus), is very common. The main difference between MSSA and MRSA is that MSSA is much less resistant to the antibiotics most doctors will give you. MSSA can be treated with penicillin and other antibiotics that don't work on MRSA.
MSSA can cause skin infections, and if it gets into the body, it can cause pneumonia and bloodstream infections.
MRSA infections are common among people with weak immune systems, including people in hospitals, nursing homes, and other health care facilities. This is called health care-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA).
Risk factors for HA-MRSA include:
Being hospitalized Having an invasive medical device (such as a catheter) Living in a long-term care facility Infections can appear around surgical wounds and invasive devices, such as catheters and implanted feeding tubes.
The Department of Health and Human Services reviews the National Action Plan to Prevent Health Care-Associated Infections regularly. Some studies suggest that implementing existing prevention practices can lead to up to a 70% reduction in certain infections.
But you can get MRSA outside of health care facilities, too.
MRSA also shows up in healthy people who have not been hospitalized. This type of MRSA is called community-associated MRSA, or CA-MRSA.
CA-MRSA skin infections have spread among people who share close quarters or have more skin-to-skin contact. Examples are team athletes, military recruits, prison inmates, and children in day care.
Your risk of CA-MRSA is higher if you:
Participate in contact sports Live or spend time in crowded facilities Have a penis and have sex with someone who has a penis Are infected with HIV More CA-MRSA infections are being seen in the general community, especially in certain geographic regions. Most cases of CA-MRSA are mild skin infections, but sometimes they can be severe.
CA-MRSA is more likely to affect younger people than HA-MRSA is.
Testing to find out whether you have MRSA will vary depending on where the infection site is. To diagnose the problem, your doctor may take samples from different parts of your body. They may take samples of your:
Blood Urine Sputum (mucus coughed up from your lungs) Tissue from a wound A skin or nasal swab Then, your doctor will send the samples to a lab to be tested for signs of drug-resistant bacteria.
The treatment that you need depends on what kind of infection you have and where it is. For example, it may be limited to a skin infection, or the bacteria may have entered your bloodstream.
Treatment may include:
Draining fluid from an abscess Surgically removing tissue that's infected Prescribing antibiotics that can treat MRSA If you have only a skin infection, you might not need any antibiotics. But it's important that you don't try to drain the abscess yourself because you can make the infection worse. Be sure to get treatment from a health care provider.
While MRSA skin infections can usually be treated in your doctor's office, severe infections will land you in the hospital. You'll get antibiotics through an IV to help kill the infection.
Although strands of HA-MRSA and CA-MRSA come from the same bacterium, Staphylococcus aureus, they have different levels of resistance and virulence — the ability to infect and cause disease. HA-MRSA is resistant to more types of antibiotics than CA-MRSA is.
One study found that certain antibiotics may work better to treat either CA-MRSA or HA-MRSA. So, your doctor may prescribe different antibiotics based on whether you have HA-MRSA or CA-MRSA.
Can methicillin drugs treat MRSA?
Methicillin can't treat MRSA because MRSA is resistant to it. Some other types of antibiotics can be used to treat an infection, though. Some antibiotics are more likely to treat your infection than others, depending on what type you have.
In most cases, MRSA is easily treated. But MRSA infections can be serious, so make sure you get medical care. You should call your doctor if you notice signs of active infection — most likely of the skin — with a spreading, painful, red abscess or rash. If you see red streaks coming out from the infection site, see a doctor right away because it might mean the infection is spreading to your bloodstream.
If you are already being treated for an infection, watch for signs that your medicine isn't working. Those may include:
The infection is no better after you've been taking the antibiotic for 3 or 4 days. The rash spreads. You get a fever, or your fever gets worse. People who are sick or have weak immune systems have a higher risk of getting serious MRSA infections. If you have a condition that lowers your immunity and think that you might have an infection, call your doctor right away.
Usually, MRSA causes mild skin infections, but sometimes, infections can become serious and more difficult to treat. If the infection spreads to your bloodstream and causes a heart infection or sepsis, for example, it can be fatal.
This is why you should see a doctor if you think you might have a MRSA infection, even if it seems superficial. That way, you can get the right treatment and make sure the infection doesn't get any worse or spread to other parts of your body.
MRSA can live on surfaces such as furniture and towels for hours or even weeks, so any infected person can pass it to others if they touch these surfaces.
Here are some ways to prevent spreading MRSA:
Avoid sharing personal items such as towels and razors. Wash your hands frequently. Carry a hand sanitizer with you if soap and water aren't available. Change your sheets and towels regularly. Keep cuts and scrapes clean and covered with bandages until they heal. If you play contact sports, keep an eye on cuts and scrapes. Use a disinfectant to clean surfaces such as light switches and water faucets. If you have a MRSA infection, good hygiene is important to avoid spreading it. This includes washing your hands and bathing or showering regularly.
Here are some tips to prevent spreading a MRSA infection:
Don't touch your sores. If you do touch your sores, wash your hands. Cover infected sores with a bandage if possible. When you sneeze, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue, and then wash your hands. Be careful around people with weakened immune systems, such as the elderly. Avoid contact sports, gyms, and pools until your sores have healed. Avoid haircuts, manicures, and massages until your sores have healed. Pets can also have MRSA and pass it on to humans. Your pet may have an active infection or be a carrier. If you think your pet has MRSA, you can get them tested at the vet and treated if needed.
MRSA is an infection that is often mild and limited to a skin infection. But in some cases, it can spread to other areas of your body and cause serious medical problems, so it's important to see a doctor if you think you have a MRSA infection.
Although MRSA can't be treated with some common antibiotics because it's resistant to them, it can be treated with certain types of antibiotics. Good hygiene practices, such as frequent handwashing, can help prevent the spread of MRSA.
How do you get MRSA?
MRSA is spread through contact, including skin-to-skin contact, and by touching surfaces that have the bacteria on them.
Once you have MRSA, do you always have it?
Maybe. Sometimes MRSA goes away after treatment, but sometimes it can come back often.
What are the first signs of MRSA?
The first signs of MRSA are usually skin infections, such as a boil or abscess.
What is MRSA caused by?
MRSA is a bacteria that has become resistant to some common antibiotics. It can cause infection that can spread from one person to another.
What are the top four staph infection symptoms?
Staph infection symptoms can vary depending on the type of staph, but they may include skin infections (such as boils), pneumonia symptoms (such as a high fever and chills), signs of bone infection (such as pain and swelling), and signs of endocarditis (flu-like symptoms).
Can Staphylococcus aureus infection be cured?
Staph infections can be treated and cured, but sometimes, infections can come back.
What are five ways a person can catch MRSA?
You can catch MRSA in a health care setting, such as a hospital, through an invasive device such as a catheter, or when someone with contaminated hands touches you. Outside of a health care setting, you can get MRSA if you share towels with someone who's infected, you play contact sports and get infected through a cut, or you touch a contaminated surface at a day care facility, for example.
Fungal Infections Of The Skin
A fungal infection, also called mycosis, is a skin disease caused by a fungus.
There are millions of species of fungi. They live in the dirt, on plants, on household surfaces, and on your skin. Sometimes, they can lead to skin problems such as rashes or bumps.
Bacterial vs. Fungal skin infections
The key difference between bacterial and fungal infections is how doctors treat them. You'll take an antifungal medicine for a fungal infection, which could take a while to treat. Doctors prescribe antibiotics to treat bacterial infections, and these medicines work more quickly.
A fungal skin infection might cause:
Irritation Scaly skin Redness Itching Swelling Blisters Fungal skin infections can happen anywhere on your body. Some of the most common are athlete's foot, jock itch, ringworm, and yeast infections.
Athlete's foot
Athlete's foot, or tinea pedis, is a fungal infection of the foot. Fungi thrive in warm, moist environments such as shoes, socks, swimming pools, locker rooms, and public showers. This infection is more common in people who wear tight shoes, don't change sweaty socks, and use public baths and pools. The fungi responsible for athlete's foot live on the dead tissue of hair, toenails, and outer skin layers, with Trichophyton rubrum being the most common culprit.
Jock itch
Jock itch is also known as tinea cruris. A type of fungus called tinea causes this infection. This fungus thrives in warm, moist areas such as the genitals, inner thighs, and buttocks. Infections are more common during the summer or in warm, wet climates. Jock itch appears as a red, itchy, ring-shaped rash.
Jock itch is only mildly contagious, spreading through direct contact or indirectly via objects carrying the fungus. Symptoms include:
Itching, chafing, or burning in the groin or thigh area A red circular rash with raised edges, redness Flaking, peeling, or cracking skin Ringworm
Ringworm, or tinea corporis, is a fungal skin infection named for its ring-shaped rash with a worm-like edge. Ringworm is contagious and can spread through direct contact with infected people or animals or by touching tainted clothing or furniture. Heat and humidity can help the spread of the infection. Symptoms include a red, circular, flat sore with scaly skin — where the outer part of the sore might be raised, while the middle appears normal. Red rings or patches may overlap.
Yeast infections
Yeast infections of your skin are called cutaneous candidiasis. A type of fungus called candida causes these infections when it grows too much. Yeast infections aren't contagious. They're most common in warm, moist, creased areas of your body, including your armpits and groin. They often happen in people with obesity or diabetes. Also, if you're taking an antibiotic, you are more likely to get a yeast infection.
Onychomycosis
Onychomycosis is a fungal infection that affects the nails on your fingers or toes. It causes your nails to become discolored, thickened, and sometimes separate from the nail bed. The condition is more common in older adults due to issues such as poor blood flow, immune system problems, and diabetes. Onychomycosis impacts toenails more often than fingernails because they grow more slowly, have less blood flow, and are usually in dark, moist conditions.
You're more likely to get a fungal skin infection if you:
Come into contact with an infected person or animal Borrow shoes or clothes that contain harmful fungus Take long-term or high-dose antibiotics Are overweight Have diabetes Sweat a lot Have a weakened immune system Live in a warm or wet environment Wear tight clothing or footwear that doesn't breathe well Try a new skin product To treat a fungal skin infection, you'll need antifungal medications, which can be topical (applied directly to your skin) or tablets (oral).
Topical antifungals
These medications come as creams, lotions, and shampoos. You can usually buy them from a pharmacist without a doctor's prescription. Examples include:
Clotrimazole (Canesten) Miconazole (Daktacort and Daktarin) Terbinafine (Lamisil) You may need to continue treatment for fungal nail infections for up to a year. For other types of infections, you should add up to 2 weeks of treatment after your symptoms have disappeared to make sure the infection doesn't return.
Always read the leaflet with your medication and ask a pharmacist any questions.
Antifungal tablets
If your infection doesn't get better after using an antifungal, it covers a large part of your skin or affects your nails or scalp, your doctor may prescribe antifungal tablets. Examples of antifungal tablets include:
Griseofulvin Itraconazole Terbinafine (Lamisil) You'll take this medicine for up to 6 months to completely get rid of your infection.
Here are steps you can take to lower your chances of getting a fungal skin infection:
Dry yourself completely after showering or bathing, especially between your toes and in skin folds where moisture can get trapped. Avoid walking barefoot in public places such as locker rooms, showers, and pools where fungus can spread. Wear loose-fitting clothing made from cotton or other materials that let your skin breathe. Avoid sharing towels, hats, brushes, or combs with others. If you often get athlete's foot, switch your shoes every few days to let them dry out completely. Wear sandals or open shoes in hot weather. People with diabetes should keep their blood sugar levels under control, as this can help prevent fungal infections. If someone in your family has ringworm on their scalp, wash or throw away any bedding, hats, combs, or other items they might have touched to prevent spreading the infection. If you think your pet has ringworm, take them to the vet for treatment to avoid catching it yourself. Athlete's foot, also called tinea pedis, is a fungal infection of your foot.
The fungi grow best in warm, moist places such as shoes, socks, swimming pools, locker rooms, and public showers. They're often found in the summer and in hot, humid climates. It happens more often in people who wear tight shoes, don't change their sweaty socks, and use public baths and pools.
Athlete's foot causes
The fungi that cause athlete's foot live on the dead tissue of your hair, toenails, and outer skin layers. At least four kinds of fungus can cause the infection. The most common is Trichophyton rubrum.
Athlete's foot symptoms
Signs of athlete's foot vary from person to person. You might have:
Peeling, cracking, and scaly feet Blisters Skin that's red, softened, or broken down Itching Burning Types of athlete's foot
Interdigital. This is also called toe web infection. Most people with athlete's foot have this form. It usually occurs between your two smallest toes. The infection can spread to the sole of your foot.
Moccasin. This form can begin with irritation, dryness, itching, or scaly skin. Over time, your skin may thicken and crack. This infection can involve your entire sole and extend to the sides of your foot.
Vesicular. This is the rarest kind of athlete's foot. It usually begins with a sudden outbreak of fluid-filled blisters, often on the underside of your foot. They also can appear between your toes, on your heel, or on top of your foot.
Athlete's foot diagnosis
Not all itchy, scaly feet are caused by a fungus. Your doctor may scrape off a bit of skin and look at it under a microscope to check for a different condition.
Athlete's foot treatment
Your doctor might give you antifungal medicine to put on your skin or, in severe cases, another kind to take by mouth. Be sure to keep your feet clean and dry.
Athlete's foot prevention
To keep from getting athlete's foot, wear shower sandals in public showering areas, wear shoes that let your feet breathe, and wash your feet every day with soap and water. Dry them thoroughly, and use a quality foot powder.
A type of fungus called tinea causes jock itch. The infection is also known as tinea cruris. Tinea loves warm, moist areas such as your genitals, inner thighs, and buttocks. Infections happen more often in the summer or warm, wet climates.
Jock itch is a red, itchy rash that's often ring-shaped.
Is jock itch contagious?
It's only mildly contagious. It can spread from person to person through direct contact or indirectly through objects with the fungus on them.
Jock itch symptoms
Symptoms of jock itch include:
Itching, chafing, or burning on your groin or thigh A red, circular, rash with raised edges Redness on your groin or thigh Flaking, peeling, or cracking skin Jock itch diagnosis
Doctors can usually diagnose it by what it looks like and where it is on your body. They might look at a sample of skin under a microscope to be sure.
Jock itch treatment
Keep the affected area clean and dry. Over-the-counter antifungal medicines can treat most cases of jock itch. In severe cases, your doctor might need to give you a prescription cream. No matter your treatment, be sure to:
Wash and dry the area with a clean towel Use the antifungal medicine as directed Change clothes -- especially your underwear -- every day Ringworm, also called tinea corporis, isn't a worm but a fungal skin infection. It's named for its ring-shaped rash with a winding, worm-like edge.
Is ringworm contagious?
Ringworm can spread through direct contact with infected people or animals. You can also pick it up off clothing or furniture. Heat and humidity can help spread the infection.
Ringworm symptoms
Ringworm is a red, circular, flat sore that can happen along with scaly skin. The outer part of the sore might be raised, while the skin in the middle appears normal. Patches or red rings may overlap.
Ringworm diagnosis
Your doctor can diagnose ringworm based on your symptoms. They might ask whether you've come into contact with infected people or animals. They might also take samples from the area and look at them under a microscope to be sure.
Ringworm treatment
Treatment usually involves antifungal medications that you put on your skin. You might use an over-the-counter cream such as:
Clotrimazole (Lotrimin, Mycelex) Miconazole (Micatin, Monistat-Derm) Terbinafine (Lamisil) In more severe cases, you might need prescription medications to put on your skin or take by mouth.
Yeast infections of your skin are called cutaneous candidiasis. A type of fungus called candida causes these infections when it grows too much. Yeast infections aren't contagious.
The infections are most common in warm, moist, creased areas of your body, including your armpits and groin. They often happen in people who are obese or who have diabetes. People taking antibiotics are also at higher risk.
Candida can cause diaper rash in infants. It can also cause infections in your nails, vagina, or mouth (oral thrush).
Yeast infection symptoms
Signs of a yeast infection on your skin include:
Rash Patches that ooze clear fluid Pimple-like bumps Itching Burning Signs of a yeast infection in your nail beds include:
Swelling Pain Pus A white or yellow nail that separates from the nail bed Signs of thrush (yeast infection of your mouth) include:
White patches on your tongue and inside your cheeks Pain Signs of a vaginal yeast infection include:
White or yellow discharge from your vagina Itching Redness in the external area of your vagina Burning Yeast infection diagnosis
Your doctor will ask about your medical history and do a physical exam. They might also take a sample from the affected area to look at under a microscope.
Yeast infection treatment
Treatment depends on the infection. Medicated creams can treat most skin yeast infections. For a vaginal infection, you can usually use medicated suppositories. A medicated mouthwash or lozenges that dissolve in your mouth may treat oral thrush. If you have a severe infection or a weakened immune system, you might need anti-yeast medications that you take by mouth.
Fungal infections, or mycoses, are skin diseases caused by various fungi that live in warm and wet environments. Common types include athlete's foot, jock itch, ringworm, and yeast infections, each presenting with specific symptoms such as itching, redness, and rashes. These infections are often not serious but can be irritating and are easily spread through direct contact or shared items. Prevention involves good hygiene practices, such as keeping skin clean and dry, avoiding sharing personal items, and wearing protective footwear in public areas. Treatment typically involves topical antifungal medications, with more severe cases requiring oral antifungals.
Comments
Post a Comment