Dermatomycosis
Dermatomycosis is a broad term for fungal infection of the skin, hair or nails caused by dermatophytes, yeasts or other fungi.
Key takeaways
- Ring-shaped scale, moist-fold rash, scalp hair loss and thickened nails represent different fungal patterns and treatment needs.
- Skin scraping, microscopy or culture is useful when appearance is atypical, widespread or treatment-resistant.
- Corticosteroid combination creams can suppress redness while allowing fungus to spread and distort the diagnosis.
The listings below do not identify the organism or depth; topical and oral antifungals are not interchangeable across sites.
Confirming fungal disease
Clinicians examine the active edge and distribution, then may collect skin scale, nail clipping or plucked hair before treatment. Eczema, psoriasis, erythrasma and bacterial intertrigo can look similar. Nail discolouration is especially non-specific and should be confirmed before lengthy oral therapy.
Treatment choices
Local skin infection may respond to a topical azole or allylamine. Scalp disease, extensive infection and many nail infections require systemic treatment because creams do not penetrate sufficiently. Oral agents have liver, pregnancy and interaction considerations, and treatment length depends on the site.
When to seek urgent care
Seek prompt care for rapidly spreading painful redness, fever, pus, facial or eye involvement, severe immune suppression with worsening rash, or a medicine reaction with blistering or breathing difficulty.