Do mushrooms cause jock itch?

[Dinsdale]

Sorry to jump in too late.
One time I was stopped by a cop while driving and I jocked an oz of shrooms. No itching.

[Sue_Duhnym]

*Originally posted by Tamerlane *
**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.

Feh. I was misunderstood all day yesterday. I blame PMS.

I was asking how one contracts the fungi (where does it come from?). You partially (re toes and feet) answered this in your second paragraph, but I was wondering how one would come into contact with the specific fungi and acquire jock itch.

I realize that the same fungi/us causes the two but it’s not like every guy who gets jock itck also has athlete’s foot and vice versa.

Could you possibly eat something “infected” with the fungi (not necessarily mushrooms) and acquire it that way only if the conditions in your underwear are right?

Does it live on your skin constantly waiting for the perfect opportunity and humidity to cause a rash?

Do you get what I’m asking here?

Where does it hide out when it’s not causing itching and redness and how does it migrate from your toes to your balls?

[Sue_Duhnym]

PMS makes me yell, too.

[Shiva]

*Originally posted by Sue Duhnym *
Could you possibly eat something “infected” with the fungi (not necessarily mushrooms) and acquire it that way only if the conditions in your underwear are right?

No, you pick up fungal spores by contact.

Does it live on your skin constantly waiting for the perfect opportunity and humidity to cause a rash?

Sort of. You (and all of us) likely have tinea spores on our skin right now.

Where does it hide out when it’s not causing itching and redness and how does it migrate from your toes to your balls?

Fungal spores are everywhere. There’s no avoiding them.

[Finagle]

Mushrooms can’t cause jock itch. Because that area of your body is immorel.

[Spoke]

Good one, Finagle.

So how does the fungus that causes jock itch produce spores? Anyone know?

[Tamerlane]

Sue Duhnym: Oops, sorry . I think Shiva pretty much answered your real ( ) question. The spores are ever present in our environment.

But to answer why sometimes the crotch and sometimes the feet and sometimes both, etc. - Probably depends on luck to some extent. Athelete’s Foot ( I would imagine, I have no statistics handy ) is probably most common because it is easiest to pick up. But scratching your feet infected feet, then fondling your genitals can certainly potentially lead to further spread of the organism . Just if it is a foot-preferring species, it may spread more slowly around the naughty bits.

There is a specificity associated with most species. Tinea pedis with the feet, Tinea capitis with the scalp, Tinea unguium with nails, Tinea barbae with the beard(!!), etc. . Most of this probably has to do with differential preferences for differing thicknesses of keratin and moisture levels. But these categories can go out the window sometimes. I know Tinea pedis can be found in the groin region, etc. .

And although Tinea, to the best of my knowlege, doesn’t cause internal distress, and ingesting any fungi doesn’t lead to skin infestations ( fungal diseases are just the organism growing in what ever region they landed on and was suitable for propagation ), there are a whole series of critters that cause “deep” mycoses. Diseases like histoplasmosis and blastmycosis are caused by close relatives of Tinea. And aspergillosis, is, of course, caused by a species or two of Aspergillus. Some of these are ever present in the environment and tend to strike mostly at immuno-compromised individuals. For example I saw a figure that said that something like 80% of people are walking around with spores of Emmonsiella capsulata ( formerly known as Histoplasma capsulatum ), the causative organism of histoplasmosis, on their person. But the disease itself isn’t terribly common.

Spoke: Sporulation can be either sexual or asexual. Sexual spores are much less common in the Tinea because they are heterothallic. That is, a given “individual” is self-sterile even though it produces both male and female spores. It has to encounter a member of “the opposite sex” ( not really, but useful for illustrative purposes ) to mate. Most spores are asexual and are produced constantly by just budding cells off hyphae. They produce both blastic and thallic spores, which just means that they can produce spores all over the place . These things are contantly producing spores and they’re everywhere. You likely have some on you RIGHT NOW .

Finagle: I agree - Good one .

• Tamerlane

[Lemur866]

*Originally posted by MsWhatsit *
**
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. **

Wait. The “doc” gave your BF some anti-fungal treatment. Then told him to lay off the mushrooms. He got better. And you think he got better because he laid off the mushrooms?

Wouldn’t the anti-fungal medication be a better candidate?

Now, about yeasts in yogurt. The interesting thing is that most tame yeasts used to culture dairy products are naturally occuring skin parasites. Which makes sense. How did the first yogurt get made? Some guy sticks his thumb in the milk accidentally, comes back later and finds it congealed. Since he’s starving, he eats it anyway. So the yeasts in yogurt are sisters to the ones on your skin, nooks, crannies, etc.

[JoeyBlades]

Better late than never…

While it may not be possible for mushrooms to cause jock itch, it certainly is possible for mushrooms to cause ‘crotch itch’… if you’re alergic to them. I’m alergic to mushrooms and I suffer a variety of reactions depending on the variety and amount of mushrooms I eat. My reactions vary from mild anaphylactic shock to reactive dermititis to gatro-intestinal issues. If the reactive dermititis is mild enough, it can affect only my groin area (usually I get it in the arm pits, the bends of my elbows and knees, between my fingers and toes, and sometimes my neck, as well). While this is not jock itch, technically, the discomfort is similar and you might easily assume you had jock itch…

[Sue_Duhnym]

*Originally posted by Lemur866 *
Now, about yeasts in yogurt. The interesting thing is that most tame yeasts used to culture dairy products are naturally occuring skin parasites.

From here (bolding mine):

Yogurt is made by inoculating certain bacteria (starter culture), usually Streptococcus thermophilus and Lactobacillus bulgaricus, into milk. After inoculation, the milk is incubated at approximately 110°F ± 5°F until firm; the milk is coagulated by bacteria-produced lactic acid.