# Do mushrooms cause jock itch? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 5, 2001, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-mushrooms-cause-jock-itch/53163 "2001-02-05T03:30:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DaveRaver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daveraver/32/1078_2.png) [@DaveRaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveRaver)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2001, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-mushrooms-cause-jock-itch/53163/1 "2001-02-05T03:30:36Z")
Does eating mushrooms (which are fungi) increase the likelihood of contracting fungal infections such as athlete’s foot and jock itch? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2001, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-mushrooms-cause-jock-itch/53163/2 "2001-02-05T03:54:04Z")
Not unless the 'shrooms have jock itch and you rub them all over your nether regions (Not that there’s anything wrong with that… wait a minute. That is wrong. Completely wrong!) Different fungi. The answer is no. ---
**Author:** ![DaveRaver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daveraver/32/1078_2.png) [@DaveRaver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveRaver)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2001, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-mushrooms-cause-jock-itch/53163/3 "2001-02-05T04:00:35Z")
Just to clarify, I realize the primary cause of jock itch and athlete’s foot is the growth of fungi on the skin due to tight underwear and sweaty socks, respectively. But I’m just wondering if, in some way, internal consumption of fungi makes the situation worse. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2001, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-mushrooms-cause-jock-itch/53163/4 "2001-02-05T04:14:00Z")
That’s about equivalent to asking if eating a hamburger could give you fleas. After all, cows and fleas are both mammals, right? Even if the fungus you were eating was still alive, it’s way off on the other end of the fungus kingdom from the parasitic sorts which cause skin irritations. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2001, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-mushrooms-cause-jock-itch/53163/5 "2001-02-05T04:18:35Z")
OK, I give. A flea is a mammal? ---
**Author:** ![choosybeggar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@choosybeggar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choosybeggar)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2001, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-mushrooms-cause-jock-itch/53163/6 "2001-02-05T06:33:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DaveRaver \* > \*\*Does eating mushrooms (which are fungi) increase the likelihood of contracting fungal infections such as athlete’s foot and jock itch? \*\* If Lewis Carrol only knew…Alice in wonderland with jock itch. Has a nice ring, no? ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Lao](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2bfe46/32.png) [@Dr.Lao](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Lao)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2001, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-mushrooms-cause-jock-itch/53163/7 "2001-02-05T06:38:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by samclem \* > \*\*OK, I give. A flea is a mammal? \*\* I think **Chronos** meant that cows and fleas are both animals. In the same way that edible mushrooms and parasitic fungi are both fungi. In both cases you are talking about organisms that are in the same kingdom but still very different. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2001, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-mushrooms-cause-jock-itch/53163/8 "2001-02-05T21:36:47Z")
When my boyfriend had a case of athlete’s foot that he couldn’t get rid of (yes, I know, very sexy), he asked his naturopath about it. I know that some people have serious reservations about whether naturopaths are “real doctors” or not, and I share some of those reservations, but in this case, the advice she gave him worked. She basically told him that he had to go on a yeast-free diet. This included yeast itself and also sugar, which yeast feeds on. And also anything fermented, or anything that was itself a fungus. So for six weeks, he couldn’t eat bread, milk, ice cream, soy sauce, or cheese, just to name a very few things. However, the reason for not allowing fungi in the diet (i.e., mushrooms) was not so much that mushrooms would contribute to the athlete’s foot problem, but that they would counteract the effect of the anti-fungal medication my boyfriend was on. In other words, the medicine would attack the fungus in his digestive system rather than the fungus on his skin. At least, that was the theory. It seemed to work, because after six weeks the athlete’s foot disappeared. I bring up the other dietary requirements because it seems that what you eat _can_ have an effect on fungal infections; just not necessarily mushrooms. All of the above is based on personal experience and the advice of my boyfriend’s (certified) naturopath. I have no medical citations for it or anything. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2001, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-mushrooms-cause-jock-itch/53163/9 "2001-02-05T22:07:32Z")
I’m not sure that a mushroom-jock itch connection can be so easily dismissed. As I understand it, mushrooms are not stand-alone organisms. Rather, they are just the reproductive organs of fungi which are growing underground. When the underground fungus is ready to reproduce, up pops a mushroom, or a bed of mushrooms, above-ground. The mushrooms then churn out spores, which are carried by the wind to new locations. My impression is that there is still a whole lot we don’t know about fungi. Would we recognize all the different life phases of a given fungal organism if we saw them? The sources I have seen say that jock itch and athlete’s foot can be caused by “a variety of fungi.” I don’t think you could pick up one of these infections by eating a mushroom. On the other hand, if a spore from a given mushroom were to land in your nether regions, who’s to say that it couldn’t, er, “find purchase” there? If jock itch and athlete’s foot fungi don’t originate with spores, then how do they reproduce, I wonder? I’m no doctor, and I am certainly no fungicologist (if that’s a word). Several posters have dismissed out of hand any connection between mushrooms and jock itch. Do you know with certainty that a fungal species that forms mushrooms can’t also cause jock itch, or are you making assumptions? Does anyone know the particular species implicated in jock itch, and the complete life cycles of those species? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2001, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-mushrooms-cause-jock-itch/53163/10 "2001-02-05T22:20:20Z")
> [@](#): > > I think **Chronos** meant that cows and fleas are both animals. Quite right, of course, **Dr. Lao**. Does anyone know where there’s a nice handy brick wall against which I may bang my head? Meanwhile, as to **spoke-**'s point, most mushrooms routinely eaten by humans (in fact, all of them, unless you’re incredibly brave, nature-smart, or stupid) are grown commercially, so we do, in fact, know their entire life cycle. All fungi reproduce by either spores, fission, or budding (really just a special case of fission), but that doesn’t imply that any given spore can take purchase upon any given surface. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2001, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-mushrooms-cause-jock-itch/53163/11 "2001-02-05T22:36:53Z")
> [@](#): > > Meanwhile, as to spoke-'s point, most mushrooms routinely eaten by humans (in fact, all of them, unless you’re incredibly brave, nature-smart, or stupid) are grown commercially, so we do, in fact, know their entire life cycle. I’m still not sure it’s that simple. We certainly know a life cycle for edible mushrooms. We know that spores from that mushroom can find purchase in soil, and under moist, dark conditions will produce more mushrooms. But are we sure we know all possible life cycles for that given species of fungus? Do we know with certainty that a particular fungus that takes purchase in soil and produces mushrooms couldn’t also take “root” in human skin and produce a fungal infection? I wonder if anyone has ever studied whether mushroom farmers have a higher incidence of fungal infections? 😉 Has anyone ever done comparative analysis of the genetic material of various manifestations of fungi? (To determine whether “jock itch” and various mushroom species are in fact different organisms, or just different manifestations of the same organism?) ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2001, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-mushrooms-cause-jock-itch/53163/12 "2001-02-05T22:38:40Z")
And yes, I’m engaging in wild speculation, but hey, speculation is the mother of scientific discovery… ---
**Author:** ![choosybeggar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@choosybeggar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choosybeggar)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-mushrooms-cause-jock-itch/53163/13 "2001-02-06T00:29:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spoke- \* > I’m still not sure it’s that simple. We certainly know a life cycle for edible mushrooms. We know that spores from that mushroom can find purchase in soil, and under moist, dark conditions will produce more mushrooms. > > But are we sure we know all possible life cycles for that given species of fungus? Do we know with certainty that a particular fungus that takes purchase in soil and produces mushrooms couldn’t also take “root” in human skin and produce a fungal infection? > > I wonder if anyone has ever studied whether mushroom farmers have a higher incidence of fungal infections? 😉 > > Has anyone ever done comparative analysis of the genetic material of various manifestations of fungi? (To determine whether “jock itch” and various mushroom species are in fact different organisms, or just different manifestations of the same organism?) \*\* I admire your open-mindedness. Sometimes science is very dogmatic. However, we do know the identity of the fungus that causes jock itch. It’s a yeast called _Tinea cruris_. Mushrooms are not _Tinea cruris_. They aren’t even yeasts. Still, you seek genetic evidence. So I looked on the [NCBI database](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?db=Nucleotide) for gene sequences from _T. cruris_ and from mushroom species. I found thousands of mushroom sequences but (sadly:() no _T. cruris_ sequences. Well, I know a conspiracy when I see one, so I searched [PubMed](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov:80/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed) for any studies linking mushroom contact to jock itch. Nada! My suspicions growing, I did a [google search](http://www.google.com) using the terms mushroom and jock. Finally, my efforts paid off. There is a connection!! > [@](#): > > …after I finished oiling him. He moaned, and I saw the **mushroom** head of his > cock poke out of the top of his **jock.** ::ducks and runs out of the room:: [link disabled-- Chronos] [Edited by Chronos on 02-05-2001 at 11:06 PM] ---
**Author:** ![Manduck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manduck/32/256_2.png) [@Manduck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manduck)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-mushrooms-cause-jock-itch/53163/14 "2001-02-06T01:41:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MsWhatsit \* > \*\* > She basically told him that he had to go on a yeast-free diet. This included yeast itself and also sugar, which yeast feeds on. And also anything fermented, or anything that was itself a fungus. So for six weeks, he couldn’t eat bread, milk, ice cream, soy sauce, or cheese, just to name a very few things. > > However, the reason for not allowing fungi in the diet (i.e., mushrooms) was not so much that mushrooms would contribute to the athlete’s foot problem, but that they would counteract the effect of the anti-fungal medication my boyfriend was on\*\* This kind of thing is why I would never consult a naturopath about anything. There are several over-the-counter ointments, powders, etc that will knock out athlete’s foot without requiring any special diet. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-mushrooms-cause-jock-itch/53163/15 "2001-02-06T01:48:26Z")
Spoke: When people talk about “various fungi” being able to cause jock-itch and the like, I think they are just referring to the various different species of _Tinea_ 🙂 . _Tinea_ species are NOT yeasts. Rather they are related ( different subclasses ). Both yeasts and the various ringworms are in Class Ascomycetes, which also includes morels and truffles, but not the _true_ mushrooms, which are in Class Basidiomycetes. These two groups together are often collectively referred to as the “higher fungi”. The life cycle of both groups are thoroughly documented ( there’s a fair number of professional mycologists out there, though I’m not one of them 😉 ). I can’t imagine how, in any way shape or form, that the fungicides ( which are most often topically applied anyway ) used to treat ringworm could cause a reaction with your garden-variety ingested button mushrooms. In fact even with something like morels, I can’t see it. They’re pretty different organisms. Never say never of course - I’ve been wrong before 😃 . If there is serious interest I can e-mail my old Mycology professor and ask. But I’m 90% certain that the answer will be dismissive and include much eye-rolling 😛 . And just as an aside, I would say that except in very severe and tenacious cases, ringworm outbreaks ( whether Athlete’s Foot or some other kind ) should be contained inside of three weeks at the most with proper, attentive treatment. They _can_ be tenacious at times. But usually just in the form of coming back ( after taking shelter in a toenail or something ) over and over again. I speak from unhappy experience. - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![tbea925](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@tbea925](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tbea925)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-mushrooms-cause-jock-itch/53163/16 "2001-02-06T02:01:56Z")
I would think if you had mushrooms growing out of your naughty bits, itching would be the least of your problems. ---
**Author:** ![Sue\_Duhnym](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-mushrooms-cause-jock-itch/53163/17 "2001-02-06T04:55:35Z")
So when people recommend active culture yogurt for yeast infections, we’re not supposed to _eat_ it? :eek: \*Okay, I know that you’ve supposed to eat it rather that douche with it, but I’m using this to illustrate a point. Of course things we eat have an effect on our bodies. I certainly don’t think I’m going to have portabellas springing from my ass, but where does the fungus originate? Does it evolve spontaneously from the sweat, smegma and heat contained in your underwear or do the spores hide in locker #8 at the YMCA, popping out at the first sight of tighty-whities?\* ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-mushrooms-cause-jock-itch/53163/18 "2001-02-06T05:11:10Z")
I edited out a link in **choosybeggar** ’s post, showing where he got that… enlightening… excerpt. No offense, all, but I just somehow doubt that such pages really advance the fight against ignorance. Meanwhile, I once upon a time actually stumbled across a web page listing (and in many cases linking) every scholarly publication ever written on the subject of fungi, but I can’t seem to find it anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-mushrooms-cause-jock-itch/53163/19 "2001-02-06T06:26:06Z")
Sue Duhnym: Err…Yes. What we eat does have an effect our bodies. But going from that to “Eating mushrooms will increase your risk of developing jock-itch” is quite a leap. It’s a bit like saying, “eating cracked crab will increase your risk of contracting pubic lice.” _Agaricus bisporus_, the common button mushroom in stores ( also the Crimini and Portabella - all different strains of the same entity ), is not a parasite. In fact, to the best of my knowledge, no Basidiomycete is parasitic on animals ( plants and other mushrooms is a different matter ). And _Agaricus_ sp. are about as closely related to _Tinea_ as a Dungeoness Crab is to a Pubic Louse. If that close. The simple fact is that the genus _Tinea_ is ubiquitous in human society and probably has been for thousands of years. I don’t have statistics handy, but probably a fairly significant percentage of people are infected in this country at any one time. And while Athlete’s Foot is typically transmitted in warm, wet areas like locker rooms ( it was epidemic at my old work place ), some species are quite easily transferred by dryer contact. And since they live in keratinized layers, that can include hair and nails. I know people that have had all several toe-nails pulled trying to get rid of the damn things. Unsuccessfully in one case. They can hunker down for years in one person, with only occasional eruptions, like I said. Of course, more normally they are contracted, then eventually expunged. But did you remember to throw those infested shoes out 😉 ? - Tamerlane ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2001, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-mushrooms-cause-jock-itch/53163/20 "2001-02-06T06:28:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Manduck \* > > This kind of thing is why I would never consult a naturopath about anything. There are several over-the-counter ointments, powders, etc that will knock out athlete’s foot without requiring any special diet. Well, he decided to try the naturopath because he’d been using Tinactin religiously for three months, to no effect. If the naturopath’s recommended treatment hadn’t worked, he would have gone to a podiatrist. But the naturopath’s treatment did work. Just to make it all a little more clear. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-mushrooms-cause-jock-itch/53163.md?page=2)