Self-treating itching, young man gets fungus all over his body

Suffering from itching and red patches all over his body for a long time, the 17-year-old male went to the district hospital many times for examination and treatment with topical and oral medications. The lesions improved but then recurred periodically.

For about a year now, the patient has not gone to the doctor but has been self-treating with topical medications bought online without clear labels or ingredients. Gradually, the lesions spread throughout the body, the patient was so itchy that he lost his appetite and sleep before going to the hospital for examination.

According to Dr. Duong Thi Thuy Quynh, Department of Men's Skin Disease Treatment, Central Dermatology Hospital, through clinical examination, it was discovered that the patient had red, circular, polygonal patches on the trunk, arms, and legs, with scaly skin, tending to spread around, with red papules and pustules on the chest and back. The patient was very itchy in the affected area.

Circular red patches on the patient's arms and body (Photo: BSCC)

"The results of the fresh examination of the fungal hyphae revealed segmented fungal hyphae on the keratinocytes. The patient was diagnosed with systemic fungal infection and prescribed treatment with Itraconazole 200mg/day, a topical antifungal medication," said Dr. Quynh.

After only 5 days of treatment, the skin lesions improved. The patient was discharged from the hospital and continued treatment at home according to the prescription and was instructed on a suitable lifestyle and hygiene regimen to limit recurrence.

According to Dr. Quynh, dermatophyte skin disease is a superficial fungal infection of the skin, including body fungus, face fungus, groin fungus, hand fungus, and foot fungus.

Fungal infections typically cause burning, circular or polycyclic red patches with scaling that tend to spread and are very itchy. The disease responds well to treatment, but relapses are common and may require long-term preventive treatment.

There are many factors that increase the risk of fungal infection, such as being related to raising or contacting animals; being obese and sweating a lot; using alkaline soaps; frequently wearing shoes, using public bathtubs or swimming pools...

After diagnosis, the doctor will prescribe topical or oral medications alone or in combination depending on the severity of the disease. Fungal infections respond quite well to treatment within 1-2 weeks of treatment.

Using the wrong medication can make the condition worse and require longer treatment. Like this patient, instead of improving after 5 days of treatment, it took a whole year of applying all kinds of medications, causing the fungus to spread.

Associate Professor, Dr. Le Huu Doanh, Director of the Central Dermatology Hospital, said that many people still have the habit of self-treating when they have skin diseases. Some diseases become very serious, from fungus, psoriasis, contact dermatitis due to self-treatment.

Nhu Loan

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/tu-y-dieu-tri-ngua-nam-thanh-nien-bi-nam-moc-toan-than-ar906340.html