[DaFuq???]

Originally Posted by dockman ↗

http://m.theglobeandmail.com/life/he...service=mobile

I had to paste this first before I could put anything else on the page. This is just one reference of many.

Thanks, DaFuq for the post. Freaking scary.

Whoa, thanks for the heads up on the prescription drug shortage! That's really scary, too. I'm allergic to most anti-biotics and can only take a few types. I always wondered what's going to happen one of these days when I get an infection not covered by what I can take.
One of the real problems is that we're creating "super" bugs like MRSA due to over-use of medications. We used to only have to take a 7 day regiment of anti-biotics, but now it's been changed to a 10 day cycle.
Honestly, I think the hippies might be onto something with naturopathic cures.
Speaking of which-how are you? You were quite sick when we first met...I hope you've fully recovered!

[DaFuq???]

Diseases of the skin that are caused by fungus and that can range from a mild to a fatal condition. Fungi are a phylum of plants including yeasts, rusts, slime molds, smuts, and mushrooms that are characterized by the absence of chlorophyll and the presence of a rigid cell wall.

A fungus is actually a primitive vegetable that can be found in air, in soil, on plants, and in water. There are more than 100,000 different species of fungi around the world, most of which are harmless or beneficial to human health (such as molds used to produce antibiotics, yeasts used in baking and brewing, edible mushrooms and truffles, and so on).

However, some fungi can invade and form colonies in the skin or underneath the skin, leading to disorders ranging from a mild skin irritation and inflammation to severe or fatal systemic infections. Only about half of all types of fungi cause disease in humans; those conditions are called mycoses. Mycoses can affect the skin, nails, body hair, internal organs (such as the lungs), or body systems such as the nervous system.

Fungi reproduce by sending out spores (cells that resemble plant seeds). When a spore lands in a moist place, it sends out small threads from which the fungus feeds. These moist places that support fungi include dead plant and animal matter and bacteria.

The superficial fungal infections include THRUSH (candidiasis) and TINEA (including ringworm and athlete’s foot). Subcutaneous infections are rare; the most common is sporotrichosis, occurring after a scratch becomes contaminated; most examples of this type of condition occur in tropical climates.

Causes
Harmless fungi are present all the time on the skin, but they do not multiply there because of bacterial competition or because the body’s immune system fights them off. Fungal infections of the skin are most common in those taking long-term antibiotics or those taking corticosteroid or immunosuppressant drugs, or in patients with an immune system disorder such as AIDS.

Treatment
Physicians use three classes of drugs to fight fungal disease, but in the past five years disease-causing fungi have begun to grow resistant to common drugs, just like some types of bacteria. Strains of fungi resistant to each of the three types of drugs are now common in hospitals that care for the sickest patient —especially patients with cancer and AIDS. This growing resistance appears to have developed for the same reasons that bacteria have grown impervious: the overuse of drugs to combat fungal infections.

High use of antifungal medications occurred because of the large number of people with impaired immune systems due to AIDS and chemotherapy. Between five and 10 percent of AIDS patients now have resistant fungi that cause oral CANDIDIASIS, a common mouth infection.

A person with A.I.D.S. battling fungal infection:

[DaFuq???]

Ringworm:

[DaFuq???]

Common thrush:

[DaFuq???]

I had ringworm once as a child, but I only had about 4 small spots. W-a-y back then (yes, I'm o-l-d!), we had a very simple remedy for ringworm. You went to the grange and bought some pure sulfur, mixed that with a bit of Crisco and smeared it on.
If you didn't feel like going to the grange, you just popped open a bullet and used gunpowder in the sulfer's place.
Simple, but very effective.

[DaFuq???]

Aspergillosis

The most frequently identified pathogen is Aspergillus fumigatus—a ubiquitous organism that is capable of living under extensive environmental stress. It is estimated that most humans inhale thousands of Aspergillus spores daily, but they do not impact on most people’s health due to effective immune responses. Taken together, the major chronic, invasive and allergic forms of aspergillosis account for around 600,000 deaths annually worldwide.

A fungus ball in the lungs may cause no symptoms and may be discovered only with a chest X-ray, or it may cause repeated coughing up of blood, chest pain, and occasionally severe, even fatal, bleeding. A rapidly invasive Aspergillus infection in the lungs often causes cough, fever, chest pain, and difficulty breathing.

Poorly controlled aspergillosis can disseminate through the blood stream to cause widespread organ damage. Symptoms include fever, chills, shock, delirium, seizures and blood clots. The person may develop kidney failure, liver failure (causing jaundice), and breathing difficulties. Death can occur quickly.

Aspergillosis of the ear canal causes itching and occasionally pain. Fluid draining overnight from the ear may leave a stain on the pillow. Aspergillosis of the sinuses causes a feeling of congestion and sometimes pain or discharge. It can extend beyond the sinuses.

In addition to the symptoms, an X-ray or computerised tomography (CT) scan of the infected area provides clues for making the diagnosis. Whenever possible, a doctor sends a sample of infected material to a laboratory to confirm identification of the fungus.

I have dealt with Aspergillosis in my ear drums for about 3 years now. I've lost 80% of my hearing now due to it. So far it has been resistant to all treatments. My doctors believe I caught it from swimming in lakes, as I am an avid swimmer.
It is slowly making its way to my sinuses...

[DaFuq???]

...

[DaFuq???]

1-lung, sinus cavity.
2- x ray of lung
3-Fungus ball in lung.

Aspergillosis can affect almost any organ. The other pictures that I have of it won't load...

[vagabond]

^ Great stuff!

[DaFuq???]

Originally Posted by vagabond ↗

^ Great stuff!

Oooh! Just wait til we dive into the reproductive organs!
(Holy shit this stuff freaks me out! Lol!)