What is the Difference Between Dermatophytosis and Dermatomycosis

The key difference between dermatophytosis and dermatomycosis is that dermatophytosis is a fungal infection caused by dermatophytes such as Trichophyton, Microsporum, or Epidermophyton, while dermatomycosis is a fungal infection caused by Candida, Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Cladosporium species.

Skin is the largest organ of the human body. It protects the body from pathogenic microorganisms and other disease-causing elements. It also regulates body temperature and helps in sensory perceptions such as touch, heat, and cold. Skin is a sensitive organ and could be prone to many outside pathogenic attacks. These pathogens could be of different origins and cause many infectious diseases. Depending on the type of pathogen, skin diseases are of many types. Dermatophytosis and dermatomycosis are two such disease conditions of the skin.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Dermatophytosis 
3. What is Dermatomycosis
4. Similarities – Dermatophytosis and Dermatomycosis
5. Dermatophytosis vs Dermatomycosis in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Dermatophytosis vs Dermatomycosis

What is Dermatophytosis?

Dermatophytosis is a skin disease caused by a dermatophyte. Dermatophytes are fungi that require keratin for growth. It is also known as ringworm. The infection results in red, itchy, and scaly rashes having a circular shape. Symptoms usually begin four to fourteen days after exposure. Generally, three genera of fungi cause dermatophytosis they are Trichophyton, Microsporum, or Epidermophyton. Dermatophytosis usually spreads through surfaces. Therefore, the use of public showers during sports, excessive sweating, and contact with animals promote the disease’s occurrence. Moreover, poor immune function and obesity can also lead to the occurrence of infection.

The infection spreads from animals and between people. Infections typically show enlarging or raised rings on the skin. Infections on the feet cause athlete’s foot, and infections in the groin causes jock itch. Specific symptoms of the infection show red raised patches on the outside edges resembling a ring shape. Patches tend to ooze or sometimes develop into a blister.

Diagnosis is mainly made from appearance and symptoms. It is also confirmed by culturing and potassium hydroxide microscopy. Prevention of the infection involves keeping the skin dry and clean. Globally, about 20 % of the population is infected by dermatophytosis. Infection is usually common in the groin and feet. It is a common infection among adults. Topical antifungal treatments such as miconazole, terbinafine, clotrimazole, ketoconazole, or tolnaftate are some of the treatment methods. During severe conditions, systemic treatment with oral medication can be used.

What is Dermatomycosis?

Dermatomycosis is a skin disease caused by a fungus. The main fungal agents that are responsible for dermatomycosis are Candida spp., Aspergillus spp., Fusarium spp., and Cladosporum spp. The infection damages the superficial layers of the skin, nails, and hair. Such fungal infections occur on injured or pathologically changed skin areas.

Approximately 70% of dermatomycosis spreads from person to person and through contaminated objects. Filamentous fungi cause the majority of dermatomycosis. These fungi feed on keratin, which occurs in the skin, hair, and nails. The symptoms of dermatomycosis include itching, scaling, reddening, and burned skin. In nail infections, the nails are discoloured and deformed. In hair infections, the hair becomes brittle and breaks near the scalp or skin.

This infection is diagnosed by isolating fungal cultures and observing them through a microscope. A novel pathogen-specific fungal detection system named EURO Array can also be used for the diagnosis. Mild infections on the skin or nails are treated with antifungal creams. Severe infections require oral drug treatment.

What are the Similarities Between Dermatophytosis and Dermatomycosis?

• Dermatophytosis and dermatomycosis are fungal infections.
• Moreover, both infections can progress to systemic infections.
• They infect the skin, nails, or hair.
• Moreover, both conditions possess symptoms such as reddening, scaling, and itchiness.
• Infections are treated with antifungal creams or oral drugs.

What is the Difference Between Dermatophytosis and Dermatomycosis?

Dermatophytosis is an infection caused by dermatophytes such as Trichophyton, Microsporum, or Epidermophyton, while dermatomycosis is an infection caused by fungi of Candida, Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Cladosporium. Thus, this is the key difference between dermatophytosis and dermatomycosis. The symptoms of dermatophytosis are red, raised patches on skin with outside edges resembling a ring shape and blisters, while the symptoms of dermatomycosis are itching, scaling, reddening, and burned skin.

The below infographic presents the differences between dermatophytosis and dermatomycosis in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.

Summary – Dermatophytosis vs Dermatomycosis

Dermatophytosis is caused by dermatophytes such as Trichophyton, Microsporum, or Epidermophyton, while dermatomycosis is caused by fungi belonging to Candida, Aspergillus, Fusarium, and Cladosporium. The symptoms of dermatophytosis show red raised patches on the skin with outside edges resembling a ring shape and blisters. The symptoms of dermatomycosis are itching, scaling, reddening, and burned skin. So, this summarizes the difference between dermatophytosis and dermatomycosis. Both infections are treated with antifungal creams or oral drugs.

Reference:

1. “Dermatomycosis.” An Overview | ScienceDirect Topics.
2. “Dermatophytosis.” An Overview | ScienceDirect Topics.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Dermatophytosis 20190815-02ASD” By Asurnipal – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Dermatomycosis – gms – very high mag” By Nephron – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia