Patient's question:
At first, there were red spots on the glans, then the top turned white, and white ulcers appeared at the urethral opening and inner foreskin. Is this a sexually transmitted disease? What is it? How is it treated?First follow-up question: Now, the skin on the inner thigh sometimes hurts a bit! Does anyone know if this is a symptom of a fungal infection?
Doctor's answer:
Hello: Fungi that infect the skin (dermatophytes) can only survive on dead skin tissue and the stratum corneum and cannot penetrate deeper into the skin. Some fungal infections do not cause symptoms or only mild irritation, scaling, and redness. Other fungal infections can cause itching, swelling, blisters, and scaling.Fungi typically thrive on relatively moist skin surfaces: between the toes, in the groin, and under the breasts. Obese individuals have more skin folds and are more prone to fungal infections.
Interestingly, fungal infections in one part of the body can cause rashes in other areas. For example, a fungal infection on the feet can cause itching and papules on the fingers. These dermatophytid rashes may be an allergic reaction of the skin to the fungi.
If redness and inflammatory rashes are found in a common site for fungal infections, it may be suspected as a fungal infection. A small skin scraping should be taken for microscopic examination or culture; fungal growth is required for a definitive diagnosis.