What is Mucormycosis?

Mucormycosis is an invasive infection, which means that it is constantly harming the infected body. Mucormycosis infection was also formerly known as zygomycosis. While this infection is quite rare, it develops a very serious condition when developed.

It usually happens to people whose immune system is weakened due to some reason like some disease or food etc. It is very important to treat mucormycosis. If it is not treated in a situation or if the treatment is not successful, then it can lead to a fatal condition.

Causes of Mucormycosis

Mucormycosis is a type of fungal infection that occurs primarily due to mold exposure. These molds develop into the following things –

1. Leaves – like rotten leaves, etc.
2. Compost – like a large pile of manure made by the rotting of something
3. Soil – Molds are also formed in some parts of soil.
4. Wood – If the wood has started rotting due to water etc., molds are also formed in it.

If the molds are so light, they fly together in the air. If you are breathing air affected by these, then you may have mucormycosis. By breathing, these molds come into contact with the lungs and begin to spread infection. The following organs are usually affected by infection due to mold

• Sinus
• Lungs
• Face
• The eye
• The central nervous system (in extremely rare cases)

Weakened Immune system

Apart from this, if there is a cut, hole, or wound in your skin, this fungus can also infect you through it. In such a situation, the infection starts from the wound on the skin.

These molds are naturally found in the atmosphere, so it is not necessary that whoever comes in contact with them should have this infection. In most cases, it has been seen that the infection occurs only to those people whose immune system is weakened due to some reason. Reasons for the weakening of the immune system usually include the following –

• Cancer patients
• Recently done any organ transplant
• HIV / AIDS
• Diabetes
• Surgery

However, the immune system is weak when the symptoms of the above-mentioned diseases cannot be controlled properly. For example, if a diabetic patient is not able to keep blood sugar levels normal with the help of drugs and other measures, then his immune system is regularly weakened. Conversely, the efficiency of the immune system can also be improved by keeping blood sugar at normal levels.

Symptoms of mucormycosis

Mucochromycosis is an infection that either develops symptoms related to the respiratory tract or exhibits symptoms similar to a skin infection. In some cases, its symptoms may also vary according to its severity, while in some rare cases, its symptoms are not known for a long time. If mucormycosis develops symptoms related to the respiratory tract, they are usually common flu-like symptoms, including –

• cough
• fever
• Headache
• blocked nose
• Sinus pain

The skin symptoms caused by mucormycosis are slightly different and can develop in any part of the body. It depends on which part of the skin is affected by the infection. These symptoms usually develop like mild bruises on the skin and then rapidly spread to the surrounding areas. Dermatological symptoms resulting from mucormycosis usually include the following –

• Skin blackening
• Aching skin
• Ulcer
• Blisters
• fever
• Blush
• swelling

When to see a doctor?

Some symptoms of mucormycosis are related to common problems, which are usually not considered necessary to be investigated. But these symptoms may also be related to mucormycosis. So if you are experiencing these symptoms for five to six consecutive days and are getting serious continuously, then you should talk to the doctor about this.

If you notice any type of symptoms related to skin infections or allergies, then talk to your doctor about this. If your immune system is weak, then you should not delay in any situation, you should talk to the doctor about any health problem of any kind.

Mucormycosis test

In some cases, people with mucormycosis are unable to know that they are suffering from this infection. In such cases, the examination of mucormycosis is usually done when the doctor performs a test to detect any other infection related to the sinus, lungs, or skin. If you suspect any symptoms related to the infection, a doctor should be examined.

If the skin has been affected by mucormycosis, a sample is taken from the affected skin tissue to test the condition and sent to the lab for examination. This process is called a biopsy. In the case of a skin infection, during the examination, the doctor may clean the wound and take samples from it. A sample of the patient’s phlegm or nasal fluids may be taken in cases of infection related to the sinus or lungs.

Treatment of mucormycosis

The treatment of mucormycosis mainly depends on which part of the body is affected by the infection. Apart from this, treatment can also be done according to how severe the infection is and for what reasons. In intravenous medications, it is considered necessary in almost all cases, as well as other oral medications, for the treatment of mucormycosis. Intravenous drugs are those given by intravenous injection and oral drugs that are consumed by the patient.

Surgery etc. may also be required to treat the patient in some severe cases. During surgery, tissues infected with mucormycosis are removed from the skin, so that the infection does not spread further.

If the treatment process of intravenous therapy and removal of infected tissue is working properly after a certain time doctors stop giving intravenous drugs and start giving oral medicines to the patient. Some of the major medicines prescribed by a doctor for mucormycosis include the following –

Amphotericin B drug is given to the patient only by intravenous injection
Posaconazole medications can be given in the form of food tablets and intravenous injections.
Isavuconazole drugs can also be taken as food tablets and intravenous injections.