The fungal disease of the hand is medically known as tinea manuum or tinea manus. The infection is highly contagious and should be treated as quickly as possible. The skin usually turns red and begins to flake and itch. In severe cases, deep cracks also appear and the hand fungus restricts the movement of the hand.
Here you will find further information and selected hand fungus specialists and centers.
Tinea manuum (also known as tinea manus) is a fungal disease of the hand. The term comes from Latin: Tinea stands for skin fungi in general, manuum or manus means "of the hand" or "hand". The word stem manus for hand is used in general language words such as "manual".
In addition to tinea manuum, there is also tinea pedis, the classic athlete's foot, or tinea capitis, the head fungus.
Hand fungus is caused by dermatophytes, which are different types of filamentous fungi. The exact causative agents are usually
Skin fungus is a very common disease overall. Depending on the source, up to 75 percent of all people are affected at times. Athlete's foot and nail fungus in particular account for a large proportion of this enormous prevalence.
Hand fungus occurs much less frequently. However, there are no exact figures.
There is no clear cause of hand fungus. Dermatophytes are found everywhere in the environment. They can
can be transmitted.
Infection does not normally occur on healthy skin despite contact with the pathogen. Other predisposing factors are necessary for an infection to occur, such as
The working hand or, in athletes, the sports hand is conspicuously often affected by hand fungus. This hand
Entry points can also be damage to the skin barrier.
Very often hand fungus is also associated with athlete's foot or nail fungus: the foot is significantly more frequently affected by athlete's foot. Touching the foot with the hand then transfers the fungus to the hand.
Hand fungus usually occurs on one side. The basic signs of skin inflammation are always
A special distinction is made between
The dyshidrosiform hand fungus causes unpleasant itchy pustules and blisters on the palms and fingertips.
The hyperkeratotic rhagadiform hand fungus is characterized by
characterized. Rhagades are tears in the skin that can be extremely uncomfortable. They can also be entry points for superinfections caused by bacteria.
If the back of the hand is affected by tinea manus, reddish foci with accentuated edges usually form. This is common with generalized skin fungus (tinea superficialis).
As it progresses, the foci spread over the entire palm. Scales and rhagades also appear. At this stage, the function of the hand is also severely impaired. Grasping objects can be difficult and painful.
Hand fungus is highly contagious. Every touch can spread pathogens to other
or surfaces.
A visit to the family doctor or dermatologist is recommended in any case.
Hand fungus causes circular, reddish spots on which skin flakes often form © darkhriss | AdobeStock
The doctor usually makes a visual diagnosis. They can recognize hand fungus from the symptoms. This is particularly clear if the patient also suffers from severe athlete's foot.
If the findings are unclear, the doctor can take a swab and examine the material under a microscope.
However, it is still important to take a medical history in the case of a skin fungus. The doctor will ask about predisposing conditions such as PAD or diabetes mellitus.
In addition, a number of differential diagnoses can also be considered for the reddening of the hand and itching. These include
There are also rare skin diseases such as dishydrosis or hereditary palmoplantar keratoses. These can usually only be correctly identified and treated by a dermatologist.
With the help of Wood light, a UV lamp, some fungal pathogens can be identified by their fluorescence.
If the diagnosis is unclear, the doctor will prepare a pathogen culture. For this purpose, the tissue sample is cultivated in the laboratory so that the exact pathogen can be identified. Only in this way can the exact strain be further classified. A culture can take three to six weeks.
One advantage of cultivation is that it can be used to test the effectiveness of various fungal medications (antimycotics). Any resistance can then also be identified. This means that treatment can be tailored precisely to the individual case.
A fungal infection of the skin is generally treated with antimycotics. These are drugs that are directed against fungi. Depending on the active ingredient, they either prevent them from multiplying or kill them.
The skin is by nature a barrier that is difficult to penetrate. Fungi can hide well inside it as environmentally resistant spores. They are therefore relatively difficult to kill. This situation is even more precarious with nail fungus.
Hand fungus therefore requires prolonged, continuous and consistent treatment. It takes three to four weeks for the top layers of skin to be completely shed and renewed. The aim of antimycotics is to prevent the fungus from multiplying and growing over this period. If this is successful, the hand fungus is defeated.
Ointments or solutions are usually applied to the affected areas by the patient. This is referred to as local or topical therapy (topical means "on the spot"). Topical therapy is usually sufficient for hand fungus. It can be carried out with various agents such as
can be carried out.
The therapy must be carried out consistently over the specified period. Otherwise the patient risks a relapse. In most cases, the therapy relieves the symptoms very quickly - this shows that the medication is working. However, fungal spores still remain in the skin, which can grow again after the medication is discontinued.
If the local therapy does not work, "tougher means" must be used. This is particularly common with infections of deeper skin layers and with the hyperkeratotic form of hand fungus.
Fungus control is then transferred to the body. The patient takes tablets whose active ingredients act on the entire organism.
Antifungal agents include azoles, terbinafine or griseofulvin. The latter is hardly used any more. However, griseofulvin is the only fungicidal medication of its kind that is approved for the treatment of children. Fluconazole can only be used in children (older than one year) if there is no alternative.
The systemic administration of most antimycotics has the disadvantage that the drugs can damage the liver. In addition to a healthy liver as a basic requirement, a blood sample should therefore be taken at least once during the course of treatment.
Contamination with fungal pathogens cannot be completely avoided. They occur always and everywhere.
However, certain hygienic measures can greatly reduce the risk of infection.
Almost all dermatophytes can be reliably killed with disinfectants. It is therefore worth disinfecting hands and feet in public baths or gyms.
Wash yourself regularly and avoid damp, warm environments, especially in sports shoes, for long periods of time.
Children are particularly susceptible due to their not yet fully developed immune system. They should pay strict attention to personal hygiene. They should therefore not have any contact with hand fungus patients.
Other people with a higher risk, as mentioned above, should also avoid contact with affected persons.
