Histoplasmosis Causes, Signs and Symptoms

A medical definition of histoplasmosis will sound something like this, “A rare lung infection, which is the result of breathing Histoplasma capsulatum fungal spores.” The elements that cause the specific disease are spread in the specific regions of the world, meaning not the entire population may catch this infection. In most cases, the responsible elements are in the soil. However, the flying species of animals like bats and specific birds may be the carriers as well.

However, one can distribute the infection by traveling there and getting sick. In many cases, luckily, there are no adverse consequences, and histoplasmosis may go without any special treatment. Only patients with the weak immune system and resistance can face the adverse consequences of this infection. In case the infection develops as the organism cannot fight it, it may soon cover almost all parts of the body. 10-15% of the patients suffer from the severe skin lesions over the body surface.

The infected soil along with the birds and bats in the specified areas of Atlantic may lead to histoplasmosis. To specify, the reproductive cells may be the core problem when functioning improperly because of the infection. The spores are extra tiny, so it is impossible to see them with the naked eye. That is how people do not have an idea the infection is in the air. Mostly, various waste materials spread the infection in masses.

It is interesting that even those people who have already gone through this problem may experience histoplasmosis again. It is not very typical for most of the infections. In the second and further cases, the disease will not be that active and will pass easier. A soil, which contains many organic elements attracts this sort of infection most of all. Those are the droppings released by the mentioned flying creatures.

Some symptoms help to define the problem. To begin with, you will not necessarily get sick after the direct contact with the droppings. People with a healthy immune system will most probably survive this stage. If the person gets infected, the first symptoms will most probably show up in 3-17 days, so it is impossible to define the problem immediately. The patients report about the cases similar to flue, fever, and pneumonia, so it makes many of them panic.

A person will experience chills, high fever, and ache in the chest. A dry cough supports all of these. Add sweating as the outcome of relatively high fever and body temperatures. Malaise is one more thing, which could help to determine the health condition. In rare cases, the joint ache is also present. In serious situations, people diagnosed with histoplasmosis may lose their weight rapidly, run out of breathing, and feel extra tired all day long.

The next thing to discuss is the risk factors. In fact, any person who visits the infected regions may face histoplasmosis, and he or she can get sick more than once. In most cases, the doctors report the problem in the young adults and little children, as they are more sensitive to the droppings. Aged people are easily infected as well. A lot depends on the immune system work as well as chronic lung disease (if present).

The people with the second diagnosis usually experience more serious forms of this condition than others. Professionals who have to work with soil, bats, or birds a lot in the specified regions of Atlantic are under the high risk too. Those could be landscapers, demolition employees, or farmers.

Is it possible to prevent the disease? As you may guess, it is not recommended to get in touch with the soil or flying animals in the zones of southeastern, central, or mid-Atlantic regions. It is better to avoid areas where histoplasmosis is common. Keep away from the exposure – prevent renovation projects that might be the reason for the close contact with the possible infected soil.

Another important factor to ensure is a contaminated spray soil. Such activities as soil digging require special prevention measures to avoid potential adverse consequences. Try to spray the piece of ground with water thoroughly. It will block the droppings that attempt to release. The last measure is a good facemask or respirator to prevent a person from being infected when working with the soil.

What does examination involve? In order to diagnose histoplasmosis accurately, several tests are necessary to consider. First of all, in some cases, the person will have no idea of being infected as sometimes no symptoms show up, and the disease is gone on its own. Only patients with the severe consequences and signs as well as people living in the areas with high risk should regularly check for histoplasmosis. To verify this health condition, the healthcare professional may ask you to pass two basic types of tests: urine and blood exams.

These two tools scan the organism for the antibodies and proteins that can help to define the level of infection if it is present. It all depends on which parts of the organism suffer. To test the lung and liver, the expert will need a sample of tissue. It may also define the problems associated with skin and bones. One more useful test is an X-ray. Its alternative is a CT scan of the chest.