Mucormycosis formerly known as zygomycosis is not the new fungal infection which all of sudden have developed instead it’s a old fungus known from years.Now talking about this, we know as of like in any fungal infection the infection occurs when the patient is immunocompromised because they are just what we called as opportunistic infections.
It is caused by fungi belonging to the order Mucorales, Rhizopus oryzae is the most common organism isolated from patients with mucormycosis and is responsible for ∼70% of all cases of mucormycosis.
Where does mucormycosis fungal hyphaes resides ??
These organisms occur in:
•Leaves
•Piles of compost
•Soil
•Rotting wood
One can contact mucormycosis by breathing in affected mold spores in the air. This is referred to as a sinus (pulmonary) exposure.But it is not like that it will affect all person who will come into contact of the spores because in normal healthy person our defence mechanism,immune system is highly capable to fight with them and will prevent the infection in our body.So don’t need to worry.As of now the cases of mucormycosis is seen in patient who are immunocompromised like in patient’s of uncontrolled diabetes,Severe chronically ill patient and patient’s who are on steroids therapy from so long.In contrast, some studies says patients with AIDS do not seem to be at increased risk for developing mucormycosis.But on the contrary, some says that even they may get infected with mucormycosis.
Now
Things to take care in patient’s –
•Don’t misuse the steroids. As we all know steroids are swords with two edges (दो धारी तलवार) i.e if it is used effectively and adequately then will treat the patient and give high benefits but if misused then will cause severe adverse effects.
•If patient is on oxygen therapy at home then don’t use tap water in humidifier of cylinder only use distilled water
•If patient is Diabetic then take care that the sugar levels are maintained within the normal range.
•If your patient have any other co-morbid conditions than take care of that conditions as well and before just believing on whatsapp forwarded treatment consult with your doctor.
Symptoms of mucormycosis infection-
•Symptoms of stuffy and bleeding nose
•Swelling of and pain in the eye
•Drooping of eyelids
•Blurred and finally,loss of vision.
•There could be black patches of skin around the nose.
These are some of the symptoms which are seen by doctors in the immuno compromised patient’s.
Also signs of a related sinus or respiratory infection may include:
•Cough
•Fever
•Headache
•Nasal congestion
•Sinus pain
With a skin infection, mucormycosis can develop within any part of your body. It may initially occur at the site of skin trauma, but it can quickly spread to another area.
How to prevent a mucormycosis infection?
Mucormycosis isn’t contagious, so you can’t get it from an infected person.Self-care measures are the best way to prevent this type of infection. If you have a weakened immune system, it’s important to keep yourself safe outdoors. Wearing a mask while doing yardwork and bandaging all wounds until they heal will help prevent fungal infections.
You may also consider taking extra precautions during the summer and autumn months, when there’s an increased amount of the fungi in the environment.
Treatment for mucormycosis –
The first steps in treating mucormycosis are receiving intravenous (IV) antifungal medications and having surgical debridement. Surgical debridement involves cutting away all infected tissue. Removing infected tissue has been shown to prevent the infection from spreading further.
Commonly used antifungal medications-
•Amphotericin B (given through an IV)
•Posaconazole (given through an IV or orally)
•Isavuconazole (given through an IV or orally)
None of the drug listed above should be taken without proper consultation of the doctor.This post is just for educational purpose and not for any clinical purpose.
Contributor- Medico Anant Singh Nanda
Helpful
✌️