Systemic fungal diseases

This most serious type of fungal disease is rare, but it is a serious illness and requires intensive treatment. Fungal diseases affecting the whole body occur almost exclusively in patients who have a severely weakened immune system. Diseases like AIDS or leukemia can lead to this.

The immune system is also weakened as a side effect of cancer therapy with cytostatic drugs. In addition, organ transplant patients also have an increased risk of systemic fungal diseases, since the immune system is suppressed by medication to prevent organ rejection. The symptoms here are rather unspecific and depend strongly on the organ attack of the fungus.

A systemic mycosis often begins insidiously. In the course of the disease, breathing difficulties, cardiac dysrhythmia, nausea, vomiting and general exhaustion may occur. Often there are also visible reactions on the skin.

In addition to the medical history, a blood sample and a physical examination, the diagnosis is made by taking a sample of the affected regions. This allows the exact pathogen to be identified. Therapy is usually carried out with high-dose antimycotics on an inpatient basis.

A venous administration is usually necessary. In addition, symptom control is of great importance. The so-called antimycotics, a group of drugs that are only effective against fungi, play the decisive role in the therapy of fungal diseases.

One makes oneself the special structure and metabolism of the mushrooms to use. One mechanism is the inhibition of the cell wall synthesis so that the fungus cannot grow, other substances settle in the cell wall of the fungi and destroy them. Antimycotics have few side effects, as the attacked structures do not occur in the human organism.

They are administered in the form of ointments, creams, sprays or as nail varnish to be able to act locally. More severe courses, especially systemic fungal diseases, require oral therapy in tablet form or parenterally as an infusion. Supporting measures against fungal diseases are hygiene measures such as frequent changing of clothes or bed covers as well as the reduction of the above mentioned risk factors. In the following, the most common fungal diseases are examined more closely in terms of cause, diagnosis, symptoms and therapy.