Hand Fungus or Tinea Manuum: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, Prevention, Diagnosis

Hand fungus or Tinea Manuum is identified as a fungal infection that affects the hands due to dermatophytes, a kind of fungi. The technical term used for ringworm is Tinea and Manuum means the hands. This infection is apparent and it is confined to the external layers of the human skin similar to dermatophyte infections. However, tinea manuum is quite uncommon in comparison to different other fungal infections. When the ringworm affects the feet it gets recognized as tinea pedis, meaning the athlete’s foot. Tinea Manuum is normally more severe in nature than tinea pedis but both look similar. The common problems associated with hand fungus or Tinea Manuum are burning, itching, scaling, cracking and it may get transmitted either sexually or through other mediums.

Tinea manuum is an itchy rash which sometimes affects only one hand and sometimes both the hand. The problem generally begins on the patient’s palm and gets spread up to the fingers and also to the rear side of the hand. The symptoms of hand fungus or Tinea Manuum include:

Red Borders Around Rash: A ring that has healing at the centre of the rash is more commonly seen with geophilic or zoophilic fungi.

Dry, Peeling Skin as a Symptom of Tinea Manuum: An area of the skin which is dry, scaly, and peeling with a minor itch might appear which slowly spreads.

Small Blisters: These blisters appear on the edges of the palm and fingers that may ooze.

Burning and Itching: The burning and itching differ in intensity.

Skin Discoloration as a Symptom of Hand Fungus or Tinea Manuum: When the rash remains there for a lengthier period of time, the skin may get discolored.

The ring-like rash which is typical of hand fungus or Tinea Manuum occurs when the patient’s skin on the hand gets infected by dermatophytes. Actually, infections instigated by dermatophytes aren’t uncommon. Each and every individual runs a likely danger of 10-20% of getting affected by this infection in his whole lifetime. Commonly, a person’s hand get infected with fungus by either touching or scratching that part of the body which is affected by fungal infection, like the groin or the feet. The fungal infection can also spread from animals to humans, individual to individual and soil to humans.

A physician can identify hand fungus or Tinea Manuum by implementing one of the following means:

Wood’s Lamp for Diagnosing Hand Fungus or Tinea Manuum: The wood’s lamp lights up the patient’s skin infected with fungi in an altered color as compared to the uninfected skin.

Microscopic Evaluation of Hand Fungus: A physician might also use a microscope for examining the disease-ridden skin and try to find the typical signs of this infection.

Skin Rubbing to Diagnose Hand Fungus or Tinea Manuum: Sometimes physicians may take a scraping of the skin and sometimes swab for getting an illustration of the fungal problem. Afterwards, the sample is sent to the laboratory for further examining.

Hand fungus or Tinea Manuum can typically be cured with enduring use of topical antifungal medications like selenium sulphide shampoo. Nonetheless, in some instances, an oral antifungal, like Griseofulvin is also prescribed.

There are few precautions that patients can take if they wish to avert this fungal infection on their hands and they are as follows:

• The patient infected with hand fungus or Tinea Manuum ought to keep their hands clean and dry.
• He should also avoid touching or itching other areas of his body infected with fungal infection.
• The patient suffering from hand fungus or Tinea Manuum should wear disposable gloves while he is treating his infected skin.
• The patient should also circumvent skin-to-skin contact with another person infected with fungal infection.

Hand fungus or tinea manuum can affect any person. In fact, a person who is suffering from pre-existing skin infection has more chances to get hand fungus. People who come in contact with already infected people too run the risk of getting hand fungus or Tinea Manuum. Further, people who sweat profusely also run the risk of getting a fungal skin infection. An antifungal medicine can eliminate the fungi within a time period of 4-6 weeks and this is completely curable.