Fungus during pregnancy

The defeat of the skin with a fungus causes quite a lot of unpleasant moments. This is an unpleasant appearance of the skin, and a feeling of itching, discomfort, general malaise. Particularly concerned about this are pregnant women: fungal pathologies are often found during pregnancy, but should they be treated, or is it better to wait for the birth of a child? And if to treat, then, how to do it right, without harming the baby at the same time? And in general, is the fungus dangerous during pregnancy?

We will try to understand these and other issues.

[1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7]

Causes of fungus during pregnancy

Fungal diseases appear as a result of skin lesions by pathogenic fungi. The source of infection can be a sick person or animals, objects affected by the fungus (personal things, clothes, shoes). As predisposing factors can be called trauma, scuffing of the skin, irritation, poor immunity, disturbance of metabolic processes, administration of antibiotics, inaccuracies in nutrition.

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

The causative agent Trichophyton mentagrophytes can for a long time parasitize in socks, shoes, on the surfaces of gratings and rugs of shower cabins, baths and saunas. Fungal infection can occur on public beaches, in swimming pools. The appearance of the disease can contribute to a lack of personal hygiene, increased sweating, hypovitaminosis, flat feet.

Zooanthropophilous fungi parasitize on animals, including domestic ones, which can also become a source of infection. A person can become infected by contacting with hair, particles of the skin of a sick animal, and also through contaminated things.

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

[8], [9], [10]

Symptoms of fungus during pregnancy

Fungal diseases do not pass by themselves. Moreover, along with the increase in the duration of pregnancy, the brightness of the signs of pathology is increasing.

The clinical symptoms of fungal infection depends on the location and stage of the process. In addition, the fungus can be perceived differently by skin cover, depending on the age of the patient. During pregnancy, recurrence of an old fungal disease, the appearance of a propensity to chronic form of the disease, loss of receptivity to therapeutic measures is possible. Often fungal lesions contribute to the appearance of external changes in patients, which can affect the psychoemotional state, provoke the development of depression.

Fungus on legs during pregnancy

A disease characterized by a prolonged course. It can affect the smooth surface of the skin in the inguinal folds, on the buttocks, hips, legs. First, erythematous-squamous elements with a bluish tinge appear, which subsequently expand along the periphery, merge with each other, closing with a discontinuous, roll-like edge. The borders of the hearth can be papular or pustular. The central surface of the pathological element has a brownish hue, can be slightly flaky. In the acute stage of the process, itching can occur.

Fungus of foot in pregnancy

At the initial stage of the disease interdigital folds are affected. There is a slight reddening, an exocrine exfoliation of the tissues. Over time, pathology captures the skin of the arch and lateral surfaces of the feet. The soles become permanently red. There is an increased dryness of the skin and signs of mild hyperkeratosis, exfoliation of skin particles in the folds. Often such a disease occurs simultaneously with the nail lesion, when the color of the nail plate changes, the structure of the nail edge changes. At the same trophic processes in the nails are not violated. The nail can thicken, become dull, uneven, unnecessarily crumble. Sometimes the nail plate, on the contrary, is thinned, destroyed or exfoliated.

Fungus in the ears of pregnancy

With such a localization, the pathology of patients is disturbed by severe itching, deterioration of hearing, feeling of stuffiness, tinnitus (or in one ear). Prolonged itching is supplemented by the appearance of secretions: brownish-black, grayish, yellow-green, depending on the specific fungus pathogen. In the acute period there are tenderness in the ears, headache, dizziness. The patient notes that his hearing has worsened. If the disease affects only the outer part of the ear, the pain may not be so pronounced. However, damage to the tympanic membrane allows the pathogen to reach the middle ear region. To avoid serious complications, it is necessary to start treatment in time.

Fungus of the skin in pregnancy

The disease begins with the appearance of an erythematous spot and flabby flat bubbles the size of a match head. These foci are soon opened spontaneously, moving to the stage of erosion. Such elements spread rather quickly, merge with each other. After the fusion, the focus looks like a cherry-red wound, moderately moist, with clear boundaries and a narrow peripheral rim. The process can be accompanied by the appearance of cracks, especially in skin folds. Foci may be of different sizes, more often have irregular contours, sometimes covered with subtle light scales.

Fungus in urine during pregnancy

The urine of a healthy person should not contain fungi. But the infection can sometimes be in the urine: yeast fungi, mold and radiant pathogens. They appear under the influence of several factors: immunity disorders, abnormal antibiotic therapy, infectious inflammation of the genitourinary tract (kidneys, bladder, ureters). The most common in the urine is a candida fungus. This representative of the fungal infection often lives in the vagina, from where it can get into the urine. Fungus in the urine often proceeds asymptomatically and can be detected by accident when passing tests. If the appearance of the fungus in the urine is associated with the development of fungal cystitis, it manifests itself as ordinary cystitis: pain during urination, cuts, rapid urges, soreness in the lower abdomen.

Diagnosis of fungus during pregnancy

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

[11], [12], [13], [14], [15], [16]

Microscopic diagnosis

It consists in taking a pathological material (hair, skin and nail flakes, crusts, purulent discharge). Taken material is considered first under a smaller, and then under a large (400 times) microscopic increase.

Cultural research

Carried out in order to finally establish a diagnosis and find out the pathogenesis of the disease. Infected material (fragments of hair, skin scales and nail plates, pus) is placed on artificial nutrient media. Appearance of sprouting colonies makes it possible to determine the origin of the pathogen to any genus and type of infection.

Laboratory studies are conducted only with freshly selected material. It can be collected with a cotton swab, tampon, scalpel (cut skin or pathological vesicle) or loops (to remove the element protruding above the surface of healthy skin). For research, you can use scaly elements of the affected skin and nails, particles of the epidermis or scraping from the mucous membranes.

[17], [18], [19], [20], [21], [22], [23]

Treatment of fungus during pregnancy

The remains of the life of fungi can have a toxic and poisonous effect, which contributes to the development of microbial complications, allergic reactions, recurrences 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 appointment of antifungal drugs in pregnancy impossible.

In this period, external therapy is used, which acts directly on the affected area. In this case, adverse events are minimized.

Modern science offers a large and effective set of antifungal agents for topical application. These are antibacterial agents, and preparations of a new generation (imidazole, nitrofenod, triazole). The use of these drugs requires a serious attitude of the patient to the treatment process, since self-termination of therapy will lead to the appearance of a second disease.

Means from the fungus during pregnancy are selected according to the following criteria:

• spectrum of the active composition of the drug;
• the degree of its antifungal activity;
• additional anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial effect;
• focus on the formation of resistant to treatment forms of the pathogen;
• drug safety, for both the mother and the fetus (no significant side effects);
• relatively short scheme of application;
• absence of negative consequences for the patient.

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

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

Very important in pregnancy is that the drug is not practically absorbed into the bloodstream. Its local application is considered absolutely safe and does not contribute to toxic effects on the body.

The next component of the drug pyroctonolamine destroys infectious formations and promotes the removal of toxic products of the fungi from the tissues, which allows to reduce the activity of the inflammatory process.

Ointment from the fungus during pregnancy is also an alternative substitute for general treatment. Usually, the alternation of antifungal ointments is practiced: sulfuric-salicylic-tar ointment, chlorocetophosic, amikazole, undecin, zincundan, mycoseptin. More widely used salicylic acid in the form of ointments with dimexidom.

Among the most popular ointments can be identified:

• lamizil (gel, cream or spray) - lubricate clean and dry skin surfaces once a day, the duration of treatment is 7-10 days;
• nizoral - lightly rubbed into the skin up to 2 times a day (use of the drug is allowed 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 (note that the safety and efficacy of this drug during pregnancy are not determined, so be sure to consult your doctor).

The pharmacy network presents a sufficient number of different drugs that have virtually the same effect on the fungal infection, but represented by various pharmacological firms. These are Gyno-pevaril, dactarin, kandibene, clotrimazole, kanesten, mikogel, lotrimin, mebetizol, sinium, fungibel, ecodax, travogen and others.

In the treatment of fungal infection of the nail plates, the external preparation Mikospor, containing the bifonazole and urea described earlier, should be especially emphasized. Urea in this case contributes to the painless removal of the affected nail, which ensures further effective treatment of the disease.

By the way, the domestic preparation Klotrisal of the company "Kievmedpreparat", consisting of clotrimazole and salicylic acid, has been developed relatively recently and has already proved itself as an effective agent for the treatment of fungal skin lesions.

Simultaneously with local treatment, complex vitamins, especially B vitamins, retinol, nicotinic and ascorbic acid, can be prescribed.

Prevention of fungus during pregnancy

As a preventive measure against fungal infection during pregnancy, doctors are advised to adhere to the following rules:

• avoid wearing synthetic underwear and shoes;
• timely change socks, underwear, clean and air the shoes;
• time to change bedding;
• observe the rules of personal and intimate hygiene, do not use other people's underwear, shoes, towels, washcloths, etc .;
• on the beaches, in swimming pools, use slippers;
• do not wear rubber shoes for a long time;
• fully and correctly eat, not allowing a decrease in immunity.

A good preventive tool is nutrition with sour-milk products, yoghurts. This creates a favorable background for maintaining the proper microflora in the body and strengthens the protective function of the body.

The prognosis of fungus during pregnancy is favorable, if not to start the pathological process.

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