When a Fungus Sets Up Housekeeping​—on You

SOME guests are eagerly looked forward to, but I do not happen to be one of them. And, generally, guests make it a point not to outstay their welcome, but I have the irksome quality of taking roots, setting up housekeeping with certain persons indefinitely and refusing to leave until forcibly evicted. Among the more common places where I set up housekeeping on the human body are the feet, especially between the toes, on the scalp, under the beard and in the groin.

Who am I? I am a fungus. And the problems I cause have been given several nicknames​—Jock Itch, Jungle Rot, Barber’s Itch and Athlete’s Foot being the most common.

Actually I belong to a large family of living things in the plant kingdom known as fungi, many of my “cousins” being most useful to humankind. Among my relatives are the edible mushrooms, so beloved by cooks and gourmets, as well as bakers’ and brewers’ yeasts. Others of our family account for blue cheese and Roquefort cheese.

And not to be overlooked is the role that some members of our family play in the form of antibiotics. Who has not heard of the good accomplished by penicillin, as a result of which many persons today survive pneumonia and other diseases that, in times past, so often proved fatal? But as for myself, even though I do my best to get next to people, somehow my friendliness does not seem to be appreciated.

We of the fungus family differ from ordinary vegetation in that we do not contain chlorophyll. Therefore, we cannot manufacture our own food from the sun and the soil, as most plants do. Instead, we keep alive by feeding on organic matter. Most of us feed on living matter, for which reason we are classified as parasites, but some of us can also subsist on dead organic matter. You’ve seen us growing on stale bread or cheese, or as mildew in damp closets, or as smut or rust growing on corn or wheat.

We find it most agreeable to live the year around in warm, humid areas such as Florida, Hawaii, the South Pacific and other like tropical areas. Some of us also thrive in temperate zones during the hot summer months when strenuous activity in sports of one kind or another tends to saturate the skin folds with moisture and to make the skin soggy and susceptible for us to thrive.

We can grow almost anywhere in sand or soil, providing nutrients are present; and when you walk barefoot around beaches or swimming pools, you are giving us an open invitation to move in and set up housekeeping on you. You are doing the same when you wear clothing that has been previously worn by one with whom we have resided.

Because of the nature of the lesions we cause, we have come to be known as ringworms, but that is a shabby misconception. And while, as a rule, we are nothing more than an irritating nuisance, at times we put folks to bed, and there are some of our immediate family that are extremely vicious and can even kill our host.a

Prevention and Eviction

By now you are probably thinking that there is no way to avoid our setting up housekeeping on you. But do not despair. It may surprise you to know that about 75 percent of the world’s population is born with a natural immunity or inborn resistance to us, so that, try as we may, we just cannot enter. Because of this immunity factor, it is common to see a husband with athlete’s foot, while others in his family never catch it. Those born without this immunity may unwittingly allow us to get a toehold in their shoes through chance environmental exposure. But for those individuals who are susceptible I have some good advice.

As I mentioned earlier, you frequently invite us in. You can avoid that by not walking barefoot in public places, such as at summer resorts. Wear sandals when using public showers as well as when going to and from such showers. If you don’t happen to have sandals, put a towel on the floor of the shower stall. Avoid wearing clothing used by others. Reduce foot-perspiration problems by changing from socks made of artificial fiber to those made of wool or cotton. Reduce groin perspiration by wearing boxer shorts rather than the jockey type, and cotton underwear instead of nylon. Dry well all moist body areas after taking a bath, especially between the fingers and the toes and the skin folds. If your feet perspire heavily, apply foot powder in the morning, or apply baby powder to other moist areas, but be sure not to use a powder that contains starch. Avoid wearing tight-fitting underwear and don’t scratch affected parts; you might spread the infection to other parts of your body.

In the case of underarm infection, it may help to shave the affected area weekly. However, the key emphasis in both prevention and cure is to keep the skin CLEAN and DRY. We fungi can survive only on a moist skin surface.

Today there are many remedies available both to control and to evict us. Some of these have been derived from non-irritating fatty acids, which may be incorporated in liquids, ointments or powders. A simple home remedy that some have found effective is one tablespoon of powdered borax in a quart of warm water in which hands or feet are soaked. It may also help to soak socks and underwear in a solution of one cup of borax to a pail of water. A cup of borax in your laundry water every couple of weeks may help to prevent us from returning.

To get rid-of us of the fungi clan, never hang your underwear in damp bathrooms to dry. If you don’t have an automatic drier, hang them in the sunshine with the crotch exposed. Also, turn swimsuits inside out before hanging them up to dry.

If, with all these efforts and precautions, you are not rid of us, then we recommend that you seek professional advice. Still, as one doctor put it, ‘Fungi infections tax the ingenuity of the physician.’ Since some of us are far more difficult to evict than are others, your doctor may experimentally prescribe various kinds of medication until he finds one that does the trick. It may even mean taking some kind of medication by mouth, and that from three to six months. And, usually, treatment is kept up for a while after you apparently have gotten rid of us. You know, we can lurk among the skin cells, just waiting for another opportunity to multiply and cause another outbreak. But with all the help you have on your side, you need not give up hope. With perseverance you will get rid of us yet!

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