Trichophytosis is a fairly common disease when it comes to lichen. To many, this term may seem unfamiliar. In fact, under him is the well-known ringworm. You can easily pick it up by talking with a street cat. The price of a minute tenderness is often an unpleasant disease.
Medical certificate
Trichophytosis is a dermatological disease of a fungal nature. It affects the hair, skin and nails. Initial signs of infection appear during the first week. With timely treatment, the disease passes without a trace. Otherwise, a progressive pathological process can lead to a violation of the integrity of the skin and persistent baldness.
Trichophytosis in humans is of several types: superficial, infiltrative suppuration (deep), chronic. Each of the forms of the disease is characterized by a specific clinical picture. More details about them will be described below.
Causative agent of infection
Trichophytosis - this name is derived from the main causative agent of the disease - trichophytone fungus. Other medical names are also used in medical guides: ringworm, dermatophytosis, dermatomycosis. However, all these are synonyms of one pathological process.
Getting on human skin, fungi penetrate the dermis, where they begin to multiply. If spores germinate near the hair follicles, they may be affected.
Transmission ways
The main carriers of fungi are street animals, as well as young and middle-aged children. In the first case, the disease will be more severe. The thing is that other fungi can be the cause of ringworm. However, trichophytons are the most common pathogens of the disease.
The fungus has the property of being stored on household items. Therefore, the main route of transmission of the disease is contact-household. Moreover, it is not necessary to have direct contact with an animal or an infected person. Trichophyton spores easily spread through the air and quickly “root” in the body.
On the other hand, after direct or indirect contact, a person is not always ill. If the fungus just gets on the skin, it will be destroyed by the immune system. For infection to occur, predisposing factors are necessary. These include traumatic skin damage, prolonged exposure to high humidity and a decrease in the body's defenses.
Risk group
The probability of infection of fungal infections in almost all age and sex groups is the same. However, trichophytosis in children attending kindergarten or school is detected several times more often. This is evidenced by medical statistics.
A fungus that falls off with particles of hair or hair can survive in the soil for up to several months. Therefore, the number of cases of infection increases in the autumn-spring period, when agricultural work begins. High probability of the development of such an ailment among farmers and gardeners.
Clinical picture
The incubation period of trichophytosis in humans is 3-4 days. Then its main symptoms begin to form. They depend on in which area the main focus of the pathological process is localized.
For example, in case of damage to smooth skin, the disease manifests itself in the form of flaky pinkish spots bordered by a slight thickening. On this peculiar rim periodically small bubbles may appear. Over time, they burst, dry out and crust over.
When it comes to lesions of the skin under the hair, they initially begin to peel off. In this case, the patient does not feel discomfort. Then in these areas the hair becomes brittle. And after a while they begin to fall out. As for the nail plates, black spots appear on them. They gradually increase in size, spreading over the entire plate. The nail itself becomes brittle.
Features of the course of the disease in children
Trichophytosis in children in their clinical manifestations does not differ from the adult form of the disease. However, in small patients, the probability of self-healing is almost zero. Therefore, the infectious process should be treated immediately after the onset of initial signs. In addition, it is necessary to thoroughly disinfect all clothing and household items in order to remove the remaining spores of the fungus. This is a kind of prevention of trichophytosis, or rather re-infection.
Superficial form of trichophytosis
The incubation period of the disease is 7 days. Depending on the localization site, superficial trichophytosis can affect both the scalp and smooth skin.
The first case is usually diagnosed in children. This form of pathology is much less common in newborns and adults. A patient may have multiple foci with blurred borders. In diameter, they reach 2 cm. They are localized mainly in isolation from each other. The dermis around such a focus is red, slightly swollen, covered with whitish-branched scales. Swelling and redness are sometimes exacerbated by vesicles and pustules. The hair located in this area gradually lose their shine and become brittle.
Damage to smooth skin occurs in isolation or is combined with trichophytosis of the scalp. Favorite places of localization are the areas of the neck and face, forearms, and torso. The disease occurs in people of different age groups. It begins with the occurrence of one or 2-3 edematous spots. They have clear boundaries, can slightly protrude above the surface of the skin. Itching is usually absent or mild.
Infiltrative suppurative trichophytosis
In this case, the incubation period can vary from several weeks to 2 months. The disease begins its development with the appearance of several pinkish spots with pronounced borders. The marginal roller in them mainly consists of plaques and vesicles, which eventually shrink into crusts. In the future, the inflammatory process only worsens. Spots increase in size, can merge together. Favorite places of localization are the scalp. They can also be found in the chin area and above the upper lip.
With infiltrative suppuration trichophytosis, lymph nodes sometimes increase. Patients complain of general malaise. It is possible that fever, severe headaches.
Chronic form of trichophytosis
The disease is most often diagnosed among adolescents and adult women. In boys infected in childhood, spontaneous self-healing is observed during sexual development. In girls, the pathology acquires a chronic course. The disease is characterized by a meager clinical picture. In most cases, it is detected during the "epidemiological chain" in order to establish a vector of fungal infection within the same family.
Pathological foci of chronic trichophytosis are found both on the scalp and in the buttocks, lower legs, and forearms. Rarely, the symptoms of the disease appear on the body or face. First, pinkish-cyanotic spots with a flaky surface form in the patient. In this case, abscesses or vesicles are absent.
Against the background of the chronic form of the disease, nail plates are sometimes involved in the pathological process. First, gray spots appear on them, which gradually increase. Then they change color to yellow, and the entire surface becomes bumpy. Further, the nail plates thicken and noticeably deform.
Diagnostic Methods
Trichophytosis in humans refers to dermatological diseases. Therefore, if you suspect an ailment, you need to contact a dermatologist. Another specialist working in this area is the mycologist.
Diagnosis of fungal infection is quite simple. First, the doctor performs a physical examination, sometimes it is supplemented by examination with a Wood lamp. It is necessary for differentiation with microsporia, which in the light of this device gives a green glow.
The next stage of diagnosis is a microscopic and cultural examination of scrapings from the affected areas. This approach allows you to accurately determine the causative agent of the disease. During the procedure, the doctor scrapes the skin flakes or hair fragments with a scalpel, and then examines them under a microscope and sows Saburo in a nutrient medium.
In practice, microscopic and cultural studies are not always prescribed. An urgent need arises only when it is necessary to determine the type of pathogen and its sensitivity to antifungal drugs. Inexpensive but effective anti-Trichophytosis remedies will be mentioned below.
Drug treatment
Therapy of the disease depends on where the focus of the pathological process is located.
You can stop the infiltrative-suppurative form of trichophytosis with the help of lotions prepared from Burov's fluid. In a hospital, ulcers must be opened, then the cavities are washed with a special solution. The sanitized lesion is treated with tincture of iodine and sulfuric ointment is applied.
Therapy of trichophytosis of smooth skin consists in the external use of antifungal drugs. Inexpensive, but effective means are well-known ointments: salicylic, sulfuric and sulfur-tar. Any drug can treat affected areas. Isoconazole, Clotrimazole have a positive therapeutic effect. The expressed inflammatory process can be eliminated with the help of medicines of a combined orientation, which contain hormones ("Mykozolon", "Travocort"). If the main ailment is accompanied by a bacterial infection, the doctor may recommend Triderm cream.
When the scalp is infected, systemic antifungal therapy is used. The main drug for eliminating the pathology is the antibiotic Griseofulvin. It is available in the form of tablets and is a derivative of the mold.
In the chronic form of the disease, black dots on the head are removed using the Arievich method. First, for two days, a milk-salicylic ointment is applied under the compress. Then the bandage is removed and 2-5% salicylic ointment is reapplied. After that, the stratum corneum of the skin is removed with a blunt scalpel, and the points themselves are removed with tweezers.
Trichophytosis treatment is not stopped until the tests show a negative result. The standard course of therapy is from 1.5 to 2 months.
Features of therapy among children
Trichophytosis in young patients is treated according to the same principles as in adults. The changes concern only the choice of drugs. Preference is given to medicines containing terbinafine ("Lamisil", "Terbizil"). They are less toxic and well tolerated by babies.
The dosage and duration of the course of therapy is determined by the doctor. In this case, he must necessarily take into account the age of the patient and the form of the disease.
Help traditional medicine
Traditional therapy of trichophytosis in humans can be successfully supplemented by the use of non-traditional drugs. For example, folk healers recommend rubbing an ointment prepared on the basis of garlic into the affected area. The crushed mass must be supplemented with plantain juice and birch charcoal. All ingredients are taken in equal proportions.
You can also wash infected skin areas with water infusion from a series of celandine and horsetail. For this recipe, herbs are taken in an approximate ratio of 4: 2: 1. Dry ingredients should be poured with water, leave to brew for 50 minutes. Apply the resulting product is recommended several times a day.
Prevention Methods
Prevention of trichophytosis should be carried out regardless of whether there is a danger of infection. First of all, doctors advise to observe basic rules of personal hygiene, not to use other people's clothing and utensils. Every day you need to take a shower, and after it change your underwear. Shoes should always be dry. Direct contact with people or animals in whom ringworm has been identified should also be limited.