What are fungal skin infections?
A fungal skin infection is an infection that arises from a fungus growing in the outermost layers of the skin. There are two main types of fungal infection – tinea, the infection which causes ringworm, athlete’s foot, and groin rashes, and candida or thrush which can cause infection around the fingernails, and under the breasts, but more commonly causes thrush in the mouth or vagina. The different types of fungal skin infection are shown below. Athlete’s foot is the most common fungal skin infection and it affects approximately 15 per cent of people. How do you catch the fungus? Athlete’s foot is extremely easy to pick up from the floors of public baths, changing rooms and around swimming pools. It can be caught by using someone else’s shoes, socks or towel. The infection may spread to the toenails, hands and fingernails. Fungal infections in the groin can also be caused by spread from athlete’s foot, or it can be transferred through sexual contact. Ringworm is usually caught from cont
