Histoplasmosis

Histoplasmosis General Information

The fungus known as histoplasma capsulatum is responsible with the medical condition called Histoplasmosis or Darling’s disease. Although this medical disorder usually damages the lungs, the signs and symptoms appear in a wide variety. When other organs are affected by this fungal infection, specialists say that the patient deals with a disseminated form of this disorder. If it is not treated properly and in time, with the best therapy option, this form of Histoplasmosis has a high risk of being fatal for the patient. This disease affects every year a big number of people from every corner of the world. It is very easily transmitted through airborne spores that we all breathe into our lungs. This is why the most prone to developing it are those persons who work around soil that contains the fungus (histoplasma capsulatum). At high risk of experiencing Histoplasmosis are especially the construction workers, farmers, landscapers and people who are near bat or bird droppings. The majority of persons infected with the fungus that causes this medical condition never complain of any manifestations so they are not aware that they have this infection – thus, they cannot treat it in time as they should. For a series of persons, especially for those with an immune compromised system and for small children, this infection is very serious and requires careful treatment. Even if the patient suffers from a severe form of the disease, he or she must not worry and panic because effective treatment options of any kind are now available for them.

Histoplasmosis Symptoms

The medical condition caused by the histoplasma capsulatum fungus (Histoplasmosis) can range from mild forms to more severe ones that can even be life-threatening. The asymptomatic patients (those who do not present any sign or symptom specific for this lung disorder) are said to suffer from the benign form of this disease. If the infections become more severe, the problems that the patient is submitted to are more serious and appear throughout the body, even if they especially affect the individual’s lungs. The symptoms and signs specific for this medical condition start to manifest hardly after three days to two or three weeks after the exposure to the fungus. Usually, the asymptomatic form is detected only after some special radiologic testing of the lungs, revealing the presence of some small scars inside of them. If Histoplasmosis evolves to a more acute stage, the severity of the medical disorder and the intensity of the clinical manifestations depend on the number of fungus spores that have been inhaled. In these patients, the main signs and symptoms are: headaches, pain felt in the chest area, sweats, fever, dry cough, weight loss and chills. After the initial infection, in a matter of weeks or months, the patient may develop arthritis or pericarditis (an inflammation that affects the pericardium, a sac that surrounds the heart). In mild to severe forms of Histoplasmosis, some additional signs and symptoms may appear and include: night sweats, a cough that may bring up small amounts of blood, fever or tiredness. If the disseminated form develops, anemia, meningitis or pneumonia may develop.

Histoplasmosis Treatment

If you start complaining of fever, pain felt in the chest area or cough and you live in regions where this medical condition known as Histoplasmosis is common, then we strongly advise you to seek medical advice as soon as possible. This medical disorder has numerous signs and symptoms similar to those of other conditions so that your personal doctor should immediately test you for the presence of H. capsulatum. Also, it is very important to call your health care provider immediately if your immune system has been seriously damaged or weakened by previous illnesses or medications. Because the manifestations of Histoplasmosis may indicate false medical disorders, the testing of the respective person should be done very carefully by the medical professional. For many of them, diagnosing this disease can represent a real challenge. The main tests that will reveal the presence of the fungus causing this fungal infection depend on the signs and symptoms that a person manifests and are: fungal stains (when sample tissues are stained with a certain dye and then analyzed under the microscope), fungal cultures (the laboratory analysis of small samples of the tissues surrounding the lungs, lymph nodes or bone marrow, blood and sputum), X-rays of the chest area, bronchoscopy, serology (includes fairly accurate and quick exams of the blood for antibodies or antigens), and CT scans (computerized tomography).

After completing the examination of the patient and after establishing the right diagnosis, in this case, Histoplasmosis, the health care provider can proceed with applying the proper therapy that best fits with the patient’s demands and needs. As any other fungal infections, this one is also mainly treated with antifungal medications. The main aims of any pharmacological therapy are to avoid and prevent the possible complications and to minimize the mortality and morbidity rates. Antifungal drugs work by involving in the metabolism of DNA and RNA and damaging it. These types of medicines can also determine the intracellular accumulation of peroxide that is normally toxic and damages the fungal cells. They can be used mainly when the patient deals with an acute form of Histoplasmosis or cases of disseminated and chronic forms. The typical treatment of a severe form of the medical condition usually is based on amphotericin B that can be followed by itraconazole administrated orally (by mouth). If the illness is milder, the doctor should only prescribe the patient itraconazole. In the case of an asymptomatic form of the disorder, the respective individual will not be treated. Another category of drugs that is usually used to treat Histoplasmosis are the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs because they have antipyretic, analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities. The most known and used drug of this type is ibuprofen prescribed as Motrin. Corticosteroids are also preferred by some health care providers thanks to their anti-inflammatory activities and due to the fact that they caused profound metabolic effects.