{"id":5620,"date":"2017-09-21T16:32:48","date_gmt":"2017-09-21T16:32:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/punjabnews24.com\/?p=5620"},"modified":"2017-09-21T16:32:48","modified_gmt":"2017-09-21T16:32:48","slug":"fungal-infections-10-questions-to-protect-your-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/fungal-infections-10-questions-to-protect-your-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Fungal Infections: 10 Questions to Protect Your Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

Punjab News 24:\u00a0<\/strong>Fungi are everywhere. There are an estimated 1.5 million different species of fungi on Earth, but only about 300 of those are known to make people sick. Fungal infections are often caused by microscopic fungi that are common in the environment. Fungi live outdoors in soil and on plants and trees as well as on many indoor surfaces and on human skin.<\/p>\n

Mild fungal skin infections can look like a rash and are very common. For example,\u00a0ringworm\u00a0is a skin infection that\u2019s caused by a fungus, not a worm! Fungal infections in the lungs can be more serious and often cause symptoms that are similar to other illnesses, such as the flu or tuberculosis. Fungal meningitis and bloodstream infections are less common than skin and lung infections but can be life-threatening. Because the symptoms of fungal infections can be similar to other illnesses, proper diagnosis and treatment are often delayed. The more you know about fungal infections and your chances of getting one, the better prepared you can be to protect your health.<\/p>\n

Who Gets Fungal Infections?<\/h1>\n

Anyone can get a fungal infection, even people who are otherwise healthy. Fungi are common in the environment, and people breathe in or come in contact with fungal spores every day without getting sick. However, in people with weak immune systems, these fungi are more likely to cause an infection.<\/p>\n

People with weak immune systems<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Infections that happen because a person\u2019s immune system is weak are called opportunistic infections. These illnesses can be caused by bacteria, viruses, or fungi. Many fungal infections are opportunistic infections.<\/p>\n

What weakens an immune system?<\/h2>\n

Some people are born with a weak immune system. Others may have an illness that attacks the immune system such as HIV\/AIDS.\u00a0 Some medications, like corticosteroids or cancer chemotherapy, can also lower the body\u2019s ability to fight infections.<\/p>\n

If you have a weakened immune system, you should be aware that fungal infections can happen. Learning about fungal infections can help you and your doctor recognize them early. This may help prevent serious complications.<\/p>\n

Here are 10 questions you can use to understand fungal infections, learn how you can get sick, and know what you need to do to stay healthy.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

10 Questions to Help You Learn Your Chance of Getting a Fungal Infection<\/strong><\/h3>\n
    \n
  1. Where do you live and travel?<\/strong>\u00a0Fungi that can cause serious infections are more common in some parts of the world and in some parts of United States. For example, the fungus that causes\u00a0Valley fever\u00a0(also called coccidioidomycosis) is found mainly in the southwestern United States.<\/li>\n
  2. What types of activities are you doing?<\/strong>\u00a0Harmful fungi can be found in air, dust, and soil.\u00a0Histoplasma<\/em>\u00a0grows especially well in soil that contains bird or bat droppings. Activities like digging, gardening, cleaning chicken coops, and visiting caves can result in you breathing in fungi that may cause infection.<\/li>\n
  3. Do you have a dog or cat?<\/strong>\u00a0People can get\u00a0ringworm\u00a0from their\u00a0pets. Dogs and cats with ringworm sometimes have circular, hairless patches on their skin or other types of rashes. Adult animals do not always show signs of ringworm infection.<\/li>\n
  4. Have you recently taken antibiotics?\u00a0<\/strong>Antibiotics can make women more likely to get vulvovaginal candidiasis, also known as a\u00a0vaginal yeast infection.\u00a0Women who are pregnant and have weakened immune systems also are more likely to get this condition. Men also can get genital candidiasis.<\/li>\n
  5. Are you taking any medications that affect your immune system?<\/strong>\u00a0Medications\u00a0used to treat conditions like\u00a0rheumatoid arthritis\u00a0or\u00a0lupus\u00a0may weaken your immune system and increase the chance of getting a fungal infection.<\/li>\n
  6. Are you living with HIV\/AIDS?<\/strong>\u00a0People living with HIV\/AIDS may be more likely to get fungal infections. Two well-known fungal infections associated with HIV\/AIDS in the United States are\u00a0oral candidiasis\u00a0(thrush) and\u00a0Pneumocystis<\/em>\u00a0pneumonia. Worldwide,\u00a0cryptococcal meningitis\u00a0is a major cause of illness in people living with HIV\/AIDS.<\/li>\n
  7. Will you be hospitalized?\u00a0<\/strong>In the United States, one of the most common bloodstream infections in hospitalized patients is caused by a fungus called\u00a0Candida<\/em>.\u00a0Candida<\/em>normally lives in the gastrointestinal tract and on skin without causing any problems, but it can enter the bloodstream during a hospital stay and cause infection.<\/li>\n
  8. Have you recently had a transplant?<\/strong>\u00a0People who have recently had an\u00a0organ transplant\u00a0or a\u00a0stem cell transplant\u00a0have a greater chance of developing a fungal infection while their immune systems are weakened. Doctors prescribe antifungal medication for some transplant patients to prevent fungal infections from developing.<\/li>\n
  9. Are you receiving chemotherapy or radiation treatments?<\/strong>\u00a0Cancer treatment, such as chemotherapy and radiation, weakens your immune system and may increase the chance you will get a fungal infection.<\/li>\n
  10. Do you have symptoms of pneumonia that are not getting better with antibiotics?<\/strong>\u00a0Fungal infections, especially lung infections like\u00a0Valley fever,\u00a0histoplasmosis, and\u00a0aspergillosis, can have similar symptoms as bacterial infections. However, antibiotics don\u2019t work for fungal infections. Early testing for fungal infections reduces unnecessary antibiotic use and allows people to start treatment with antifungal medication, if necessary.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Anyone can get a fungal infection. You can learn more about the signs, symptoms, and treatment of fungal infections and get prevention tips.<\/p>\n

    Fungal diseases can affect anyone. Learning about them can help you and your doctor recognize the symptoms of a fungal disease early and may help prevent serious complications.\u00a0Fungal diseases are often caused by fungi that are common in the environment. Most fungi are not dangerous, but some types can be harmful to health.<\/em><\/p>\n

    Mild fungal skin diseases can look like a rash and are very common. Fungal diseases in the lungs are often similar to other illnesses such as the flu or tuberculosis. Some fungal diseases like fungal meningitis and bloodstream infections are less common than skin and lung infections but can be deadly.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Punjab News 24:\u00a0Fungi are everywhere. There are an estimated 1.5 million different species of fungi on Earth, but only about 300 of those are known to make people sick. Fungal infections are often caused by microscopic fungi that are common in the environment. Fungi live outdoors in soil and on plants and trees as well […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5621,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[239,315],"tags":[239,294,370],"class_list":["post-5620","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-top-stories","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5620"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5620\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5622,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5620\/revisions\/5622"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blastingskyhawk.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}