Definition – What is meant by yeast fungi on the skin?
Yeast fungi are part of the physiological flora of the skin and mucous membranes, so they are present on the body even under healthy conditions. They feed here on the secreted fat of the sebaceous glands. The best known representative is the yeast fungus Candida albicans.
Normally, these yeast fungi do not cause any symptoms of disease. However, in people with a weakened immune system or under warm and humid conditions, the fungi can proliferate strongly and thus cause infections. Yeast fungi are particularly common in skin folds, on the scalp, on the fingers and on mucous membranes in the mouth and genital area.
Causes
The trigger of a yeast infection on the scalp is only in rare cases the yeast Candida albicans. The cause is usually another yeast fungus, namely Malassezia furfur (also called Pityrosporum ovale). This yeast fungus is also part of the physiological skin flora, so it also occurs in small numbers in healthy people.
Its pathogen reservoir is the scalp. Under special conditions, however, it can multiply strongly and become symptomatic. One calls this appearance then bran fungus lichen (Pityriasis versicolor).
Especially in the summer months, this is favored by the heat and high humidity as well as increased sweating. The same applies to indoor swimming pools and saunas. Furthermore, some people are predisposed to yeast infections.
Especially patients with a weakened immune system or with certain diseases are preferentially affected. A poor immune system may be present, for example, in HIV infections (AIDS), cancer, under cortisone therapy or long-term antibiotic use. Diabetics are also more frequently affected. Other causes are overweight (obesity) and stress.
Diagnosis
If a fungal infection of the scalp with scaling and further corresponding clinical symptoms are suspected to be a bran fungus lichen (pityriasis versicolor), the doctor can remove scalp scales from the roughened skin by means of a so-called Tesafilm tear-off. These are then examined under a microscope. Under UV light, the fungus also shows a characteristic coloration. If there is any uncertainty, a tissue sample (biopsy) can also be taken from deeper skin layers, which is performed under local anesthesia.
