Fungal Infections | Fungi | Fungus | MedlinePlus

Fungal Infections | Fungi | Fungus | MedlinePlus

Fungal Infections

Also called: Mycoses

MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

• Blastomycosis
• Candida auris infection
• Cryptococcosis
• Fungal arthritis
• Fungal nail infection
• Hypersensitivity pneumonitis
• Lymph node culture
• Mucormycosis
• Skin lesion of blastomycosis
• Sporotrichosis

Related Health Topics

• Aspergillosis
• Athlete's Foot
• Histoplasmosis
• Molds
• Pneumocystis Infections
• Tinea Infections
• Valley Fever
• Yeast Infections

National Institutes of Health

The primary NIH organization for research on Fungal Infections is theNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

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Summary

If you have ever had athlete's foot or a yeast infection, you can blame a fungus. A fungus is a primitive organism. Mushrooms, mold and mildew are examples. Fungi live in air, in soil, on plants and in water. Some live in the human body. Only about half of all types of fungi are harmful.

Some fungi reproduce through tiny spores in the air. You can inhale the spores or they can land on you. As a result, fungal infections often start in the lungs or on the skin. You are more likely to get a fungal infection if you have a weakened immune system or take antibiotics.

Fungi can be difficult to kill. For skin and nail infections, you can apply medicine directly to the infected area. Oral antifungal medicines are also available for serious infections.

Start Here

• Fungal Diseases (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Blood Culture Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
• Fungal Culture Test  (National Library of Medicine)Also in Spanish
• Skin Rashes and Other Problems (American Academy of Family Physicians)Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Fungus Infections: Preventing Recurrence (American Osteopathic College of Dermatology)
• Who Gets Fungal Infections? (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Related Issues

• Cancer Patients and Fungal Infections (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Hospitalized Patients and Fungal Infections (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Medications that Weaken Your Immune System and Fungal Infections(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Organ Transplant Patients and Fungal Infections (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Outbreaks and Investigations (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Stem Cell Transplant Patients and Fungal Infections (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Specifics

• Blastomycosis (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Cryptococcosis (C. gattii) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Cryptococcosis (C. neoformans) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Fungal Diseases: Ringworm (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Fungal Keratitis (American Academy of Ophthalmology)Also in Spanish
• Fungal Meningitis (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)Also in Spanish
• Fungal Sinusitis (American Academy of Otolaryngology--Head and Neck Surgery)
• Mucormycosis (Zygomycosis) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Nail Fungal Infections (American Academy of Family Physicians)Also in Spanish
• Nail Fungus (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)Also in Spanish
• Sporotrichosis (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Tinea Versicolor (American Academy of Dermatology)

Images

• Onychomycosis (Logical Images)
• Tinea Versicolor (Logical Images)

Statistics and Research

• Fungal Eye Infection Statistics (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Mycoses  (National Institutes of Health)

Journal ArticlesReferences and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Incidence of recurrent fungal keratitis after primary keratoplasty and visual outcome... 
• Article: Evaluation of corneal cross-linking as adjuvant therapy for the management of... 
• Article: Prosthetic fungal infections: poor prognosis with bacterial co-infection. 
• Fungal Infections -- see more articles 

Find an Expert

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Also in Spanish
• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases 

Children

• Fungal Diseases (American Academy of Pediatrics)Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Blastomycosis (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish
• Cryptococcosis (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish
• Fungal nail infection (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish
• Mucormycosis (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish
• Sputum fungal smear (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish
• Tinea versicolor (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish