A Review of the Diagnosis and Management of Fungal Skin and Nail Infections

D’Arcy Little, MD, CCFP, Lecturer and Academic Fellow, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON.

Dermatophytes are fungi that require keratin for growth and thus are restricted to the hair, nails and superficial skin.1 Dermatophytoses are referred to as “tinea” infections and are also named for the site of the body affected. Such infections can be spread by direct person-to-person contact (anthropophilic organisms), by contact with animals (zoophilic organisms) or with the soil (geophilic organisms). Onychomycosis, fungal infections of the nails, accounts for one-third of fungal skin and nail infections.2 The purpose of this article is to briefly review the diagnosis and management of common fungal infections of the skin and nails.

Key words: Dermatophytes, Tinea corporis, Tinea pedis, Tinea cruris, Tinea unguium.