Fungus in pregnancy

Fungal skin lesions cause quite a lot of unpleasant moments. This includes an unpleasant appearance of the skin, and a feeling of itching, discomfort, and general malaise. Pregnant women are especially worried about this: fungal pathologies are common during pregnancy, but is it worth treating them, or is it better to wait until the baby is born? And if you do treat them, how to do it correctly without harming the baby? And in general, is fungus dangerous during pregnancy?

We will try to understand these and other issues.

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Causes of fungus during pregnancy

Fungal diseases appear as a result of skin damage by pathogenic fungi. The source of infection can be a sick person or animals, objects affected by fungus (personal items, clothing, shoes). Predisposing factors include injuries, skin abrasions, irritations, poor immunity, metabolic disorders, taking antibiotics, and nutritional errors.

The pathogenic fungus Pityrosporum orbiculare, which affects epidermal tissues, most often appears in people prone to excessive sweating, with disorders of sebum production, diseases of internal organs and the endocrine system.

The pathogen Trichophyton mentagrophytes can parasitize for a long time in socks, shoes, on the surfaces of grates and mats of shower cabins, baths and saunas. Fungal infection can occur on public beaches, in swimming pools. The appearance of the disease can be facilitated by poor personal hygiene, increased sweating, hypovitaminosis, flat feet.

Zooanthropophilic fungi parasitize animals, including domestic ones, which can also become a source of infection. A person can become infected by contact with wool, skin particles of a sick animal, and also through contaminated things.

In addition, the widespread use of household cleaning and cosmetic products with a declared antimicrobial effect, which contributes to a change in the normal natural state of the skin, has become very popular.

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Symptoms of Fungus During Pregnancy

Fungal diseases do not go away on their own. Moreover, along with the increase in the term of pregnancy, the brightness of the signs of pathology increases.

The clinical symptoms of a fungal infection depend on the localization and stage of the process. In addition, the fungus may be perceived differently by the skin depending on the age of the patient. During pregnancy, a relapse of an old fungal disease, a tendency to a chronic form of the disease, and a loss of susceptibility to therapeutic measures are possible. Fungal infections often contribute to the appearance of external changes in patients, which can affect the psychoemotional state and provoke the development of depression.

Fungus on the feet during pregnancy

A disease characterized by a long course. It can affect smooth skin surfaces in the inguinal folds, on the buttocks, thighs, and shins. At first, erythematous-squamous elements with a bluish tint appear, which subsequently grow along the periphery, merge with each other, closing with an intermittent, ridge-like edge. The boundaries of the lesion can be both papular and pustular. The central surface of the pathological element has a brownish tint and may peel slightly. In the acute stage of the process, itching may be observed.

Foot fungus during pregnancy

At the initial stage of the disease, the interdigital folds are affected. There is slight redness, bran-like peeling of tissues. Over time, the pathology affects the skin of the arch and lateral surfaces of the feet. The soles become persistently red. Increased dryness of the skin and signs of moderate hyperkeratosis, peeling of skin particles in the folds are observed. Often, this disease occurs simultaneously with nail damage, when the color of the nail plate changes, the structure of the edge of the nail changes. At the same time, trophic processes in the nails are not disturbed. The nail can thicken, become dull, uneven, crumble excessively. Sometimes the nail plate, on the contrary, becomes thinner, collapses or peels off.

Fungus in the ears during pregnancy

With such localization of the pathology, patients are bothered by severe itching, hearing loss, a feeling of congestion, tinnitus (or noise in one ear). Persistent itching is accompanied by the appearance of discharge: brown-black, grayish, yellow-green, depending on the specific fungal pathogen. In the acute period, pain in the ears, headache, dizziness appear. The patient notes that his hearing has worsened. If the disease has affected only the outer part of the ear, the pain may not be so pronounced. However, damage to the eardrum allows the pathogen to reach the middle ear. To avoid serious complications, it is necessary to start treatment in a timely manner.

Skin fungus during pregnancy

The disease begins with the appearance of an erythematous spot and flaccid flat blisters the size of a match head. These lesions soon spontaneously open, passing into the erosion stage. Such elements spread rather quickly, merging with each other. After merging, the lesion looks like a cherry-red wound, moderately moist, with clear boundaries and a narrow peripheral border. The process may be accompanied by the appearance of cracks, especially in skin folds. The lesions can be of different sizes, often have irregular outlines, sometimes covered with barely noticeable light scales.

Fungus in urine during pregnancy

The urine of a healthy person should not contain fungi. But sometimes an infection can be found in the urine: these are yeast fungi, mold and radiant pathogens. They appear under the influence of certain factors: impaired immunity, improper antibiotic therapy, infectious inflammations of the genitourinary system (kidneys, bladder, ureters). The most common fungus found in urine is candidal fungus. This representative of fungal infection often lives in the vagina, from where it can get into the urine. Fungus in urine is often asymptomatic and can be detected accidentally during tests. If the appearance of fungus in urine is associated with the development of fungal cystitis, it manifests itself as ordinary cystitis: pain when urinating, burning, frequent urges, pain in the lower abdomen.

Diagnosis of fungus during pregnancy

Laboratory diagnostic methods are based on the detection of fungal infection and its identification.

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Microscopic diagnostics

Consists of collecting pathological material (hair, skin and nail scales, crusts, purulent discharge). The collected material is first examined under a smaller and then under a larger (400 times) microscopic magnification.

Cultural studies

They are carried out in order to establish a final diagnosis and clarify the pathogenesis of the disease. Infected material (fragments of hair, skin flakes and nail plates, pus) is placed on artificial nutrient media. The appearance of the sprouted colonies makes it possible to determine the affiliation of the pathogen to a certain genus and type of infection.

Laboratory tests are performed only with freshly collected material. It can be collected using a cotton swab, tampon, scalpel (cut of skin or pathological blister) or loop (to remove an element protruding above the surface of healthy skin). Scaly elements of affected skin and nails, epidermal particles or scrapings from mucous membranes can be used for tests.

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Treatment of fungus during pregnancy

The remains of fungal activity can have a toxic and poisonous effect, which contributes to the development of microbial complications, allergic reactions, and relapses of chronic diseases in the body. For this reason, fungal infections are sometimes difficult to treat. True, modern antifungal agents are very effective, but almost all of them have one big drawback - toxicity. It is this property that makes the prescription of antifungal drugs during pregnancy impossible.

During this period, external therapy is used, which acts directly on the affected area. In this case, side effects are minimized.

Modern science offers a large and effective set of antifungal drugs for local use. These are antibacterial agents and new generation drugs (imidazole, nitrofenode, triazole). The use of these drugs requires the patient to take the treatment process seriously, since independent cessation of therapy will lead to the recurrence of the disease.

Antifungal agents during pregnancy are selected according to the following criteria:

• spectrum of action of the active component of the drug;
• the degree of its antifungal activity;
• additional anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effect;
• aiming to develop treatment-resistant forms of the pathogen;
• safety of the drug for both the mother and the fetus (absence of significant side effects);
• relatively short application scheme;
• absence of negative consequences for the patient.

Based on these criteria, the German company Dermapharm AG has developed a new antifungal drug, Bifon. This is an effective lotion consisting of two antifungal components: bifonazole and piroctone olamine.

The first component belongs to a group of drugs that have a fungus-killing effect and prevent its further reproduction. In this case, the cellular structure of yeast-like and mold fungi, dermatomycetes is affected. For most fungal infections, a very small dose of the drug is enough - 5 ng / ml. This amount of the drug inhibits the development of the fungus and slows its reproduction, and a concentration of up to 20 ng / ml destroys them completely.

It is very important during pregnancy that the drug is practically not absorbed into the bloodstream. Its local use is considered absolutely safe and does not contribute to toxic effects on the body.

The next component of the drug, piroctone olamine, destroys infectious formations and promotes the removal of toxic fungal waste products from tissues, which helps reduce the activity of the inflammatory process.

Antifungal ointment during pregnancy is also an alternative replacement for general treatment. Usually, alternation of antifungal ointments is practiced: sulfur-salicylic-tar ointment, chloracetophos, amikazol, undecin, zincundan, mycoseptin. Salicylic acid in the form of ointments with dimexide is more widely used.

Among the most popular ointments are:

• Lamisil (gel, cream or spray) – lubricate clean and dry skin surfaces once a day, duration of treatment is 7-10 days;
• Nizoral - gently rub into the skin up to 2 times a day (use of the drug is permitted only in cases where the expected effect of treatment exceeds the potential risk to the fetus);
• Exoderil - used 1-2 times a day for 2 weeks (please note that the safety and effectiveness of this drug during pregnancy have not been determined, so be sure to consult with your doctor).

The pharmacy network offers a sufficient number of various drugs that have almost equal effects on fungal infections, but are presented by different pharmaceutical companies. These are the drugs Gino-pevaril, daktarin, candibene, clotrimazole, canesten, mikogel, lotrimin, mebetizol, sinium, fungibel, ecodax, travogen and others.

In the treatment of fungal nail plate lesions, the external preparation Mikospor should be especially highlighted, containing the previously described bifonazole and urea. In this case, urea facilitates painless removal of the affected nail, which ensures effective treatment of the disease in the future.

By the way, the domestic drug Clotrisal from the company "Kievmedpreparat", consisting of clotrimazole and salicylic acid, was developed relatively recently and has already proven itself as an effective remedy for the treatment of fungal skin lesions.

Along with local treatment, vitamin complexes can be prescribed, especially B vitamins, retinol, nicotinic and ascorbic acid.

Prevention of fungus during pregnancy

To prevent fungal infections during pregnancy, doctors recommend following these rules:

• avoid wearing synthetic underwear and shoes;
• change socks and underwear in a timely manner, clean and air out shoes;
• change bedding on time;
• observe the rules of personal and intimate hygiene, do not use other people's underwear, shoes, towels, washcloths, etc.;
• use slippers on beaches and in swimming pools;
• do not wear rubber shoes for long periods of time;
• eat a healthy and balanced diet, preventing a weakened immune system.

A good preventive measure is to eat fermented milk products and yoghurts. This creates a favorable background for maintaining the correct microflora in the body and strengthens the body's defense function.

The prognosis for fungus during pregnancy is favorable if the pathological process is not neglected.

Fungus during pregnancy in most cases does not harm the child. If the disease is not cured before labor begins, there is a risk of infection of the baby during labor. However, even in this case, the disease can be treated. The main thing in this situation is not to start the infectious process and undergo timely treatment.