24-year-old boy contracted pneumonia after smelling his socks! Stop smelling stinky socks!

Audit expert: Zhu Guangsi

Member of Beijing Science Writers Association

Be honest, have you ever smelled your own stinky socks? If so, be careful.

Recently, a netizen named "Haiyan" from Xinmi, Henan shared her experience of contracting fungal pneumonia after smelling the socks she had just taken off, which attracted the attention of many netizens. According to her own account, after returning home from get off work one day, she took off the socks she had worn for a day, and out of curiosity, she put them in front of her nose and smelled them. Unexpectedly, after a period of time, she developed symptoms of chest tightness, shortness of breath, and constant coughing, which continued to worsen. She coughed to the point of bloodshot eyes and insomnia for several consecutive nights, so she rushed to the hospital for a check-up. As a result, she was diagnosed with fungal pneumonia, and there were already some necrotic lesions in her lungs. The doctor initially determined that the culprit might be the fungal spores on the socks.

Source | Screenshot from TikTok

Coincidentally, Mr. Lin, 24 years old this year, also developed a serious fungal lung infection after smelling socks that had been piled up for a long time and had not been washed, and gradually developed symptoms of severe coughing.

Source | Weibo screenshot

Do these cases sound shocking and scary to you? So, what is fungal pneumonia? How do socks cause fungal pneumonia? And how can we prevent and treat it?

1

What is fungal pneumonia?

Fungal pneumonia, as the name suggests, is a lung infection caused by fungi. Fungi are a class of microorganisms widely distributed in nature. Some fungi are beneficial to humans, such as yeast and edible fungi, while some fungi are harmful to humans, such as mold and poisonous mushrooms.

Generally speaking, the human immune system can effectively resist fungal invasion, but if the immunity is low or there are other underlying diseases, such as diabetes, liver disease, kidney disease, cancer, etc., it is possible to be infected by fungi, leading to various symptoms and complications.

There are many kinds of fungi that can cause pneumonia, among which the more common ones are: Histoplasma, Mucor, Aspergillus, Pneumocystis, Candida albicans , etc. These fungi have a common feature, they can all produce "spores", spores are a way of fungal reproduction, and are also a common fungal form. Under suitable conditions, fungi will reproduce and spread through spores. They can float freely in the air and be spread to other places by wind, insects, etc. They can flow with the air and be inhaled into the lungs by people, causing new infections. Some fungal spores also have a certain resistance to desiccation and can survive for many years in a dry environment.

Histopathological changes showing staining for Histoplasma capsulatum Source | Wikipedia

The smelly socks mentioned at the beginning of the article generally contain sweat, salt, and Staphylococcus aureus. People with athlete's foot are infected with pathogenic fungi, and fungal spores will attach to the socks . When you smell the socks, the fungal spores on the socks will enter the lungs through the respiratory tract, multiply in the lungs, and form hyphae or yeast-like cells.

Epidemiological surveys have found that in many individual regions, the infection rate of fungal spores in humans is as high as 50% or more, but most of them are subclinical and heal themselves in a short period of time without being discovered . However, once a large amount of fungi is inhaled, it exceeds the body's defense function and the disease may occur.

At this time, if the human body's immunity is normal, our immune system can promptly remove or inhibit the growth of these fungi, maintain the normal flora in the body, and prevent the infection from continuing to develop. However, if the body's immunity is reduced, such as in cases of viral infection (AIDS patients), malignant tumor patients, or the use of chemotherapy, immunosuppressants, etc., the fungi are able to escape or destroy the defense of the immune system and begin to invade the lung tissue. At this time, the fungi will release various enzymes and biological toxins , causing damage and necrosis of the lung tissue, forming lesions such as consolidation, cavities, and granulomas. In addition, the fungi can also spread to other organs of the human body, such as the brain, skin, liver, etc., through the blood or lymphatic system , causing systemic infection.

There are three main ways of contracting fungal pneumonia:

1. Endogenous

For example, Candida exists in the oral cavity and upper respiratory tract of normal people. If the oral hygiene is poor and the body's resistance is low, it can invade the lungs and cause infection.

2. Exogenous

Infections caused by inhaling dust containing fungal spores, such as karimycosis, aspergillosis, and cryptococcosis.

3. Secondary

Fungal diseases in other parts of the body spread to the lungs via the blood or lymphatic system, and lesions below the diaphragm can also spread directly to the lungs.

2

What are the symptoms of fungal pneumonia?

The symptoms of fungal pneumonia vary from person to person, depending on factors such as the type, number, location, duration of the infected fungus, and the body's immune status.

Generally speaking, the symptoms of fungal pneumonia can be divided into the following categories:

Systemic symptoms : Systemic reactions caused by fungal infections, including fever, chills, night sweats, fatigue, etc. These symptoms may persist or recur and are not easily relieved by commonly used antipyretic drugs.

Respiratory symptoms : Local reactions of the lungs caused by fungal infections include cough, sputum, hemoptysis, chest pain, dyspnea, shortness of breath, wheezing, etc. These symptoms may be difficult to distinguish from common bacterial pneumonia or tuberculosis, which is one of the reasons why fungal pneumonia is more difficult to identify.

Other symptoms : Metastasis or complications outside the lungs caused by fungal infection, including inflammation, ulcers, swelling, pain, bleeding, dysfunction, etc. in the skin, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, bones, joints, meninges, heart, liver, spleen, kidneys, etc.

Symptoms of fungal pneumonia usually do not appear all at once, but gradually worsen as the infection progresses. Some symptoms may last for weeks, months, or even years. Some symptoms may appear and disappear intermittently, and some symptoms may suddenly intensify or worsen, leading to life-threatening situations. Therefore, if you have any of the above symptoms, especially those that do not heal for a long time or recur repeatedly, you must go to the hospital for examination in time to avoid delaying treatment.

3

How to prevent fungal pneumonia?

Having said that, I believe everyone has a general understanding of fungal pneumonia. Fungal pneumonia is a disease that is difficult to diagnose and treat, and may even cause permanent damage to the lungs or death. It is also a disease that is very close to us. In daily life, we should pay attention to preventing fungal pneumonia and try to avoid some inducing factors .

1. Avoid contact with fungal spores : For example, try to avoid farms, gardens, forests, caves, construction sites, garbage dumps, etc. If you must go, you should wear a suitable protective mask to prevent inhalation of fungal spores. You also need to pay attention to household hygiene, clean and ventilate regularly to prevent fungi from growing in damp and dark places, such as bathrooms, kitchens, basement walls, etc. If necessary, you can spray anti-mold chemicals. In addition, pay attention to the quality of food and avoid eating moldy, spoiled, and expired foods, especially some foods that are prone to mold, such as peanuts, corn, sesame, etc.

2. Improve your immunity : We should maintain good living habits, regular work and rest, balanced diet, moderate exercise, avoid excessive stress, quit smoking and limit alcohol consumption, which are all conducive to enhancing immunity and resisting fungal invasion. We should also pay attention to preventing some diseases that may reduce immunity, such as diabetes, liver disease, kidney disease, cancer, AIDS, etc. If we need to use some drugs that may affect immunity, such as corticosteroids, immunosuppressants, etc., we need to use them reasonably under the guidance of doctors and avoid excessive or long-term use of drugs.

3. Promptly detect and treat signs of infection : We should pay close attention to our physical condition. If we have any symptoms that may be related to fungal pneumonia, such as fever, cough, chest pain, dyspnea, hemoptysis, etc., we should go to the hospital for examination immediately to avoid delaying treatment. We should also follow the doctor's advice, actively cooperate with treatment, take antifungal drugs on time, and have regular checkups until the infection is completely cleared to prevent recurrence or transformation.

Fungal pneumonia is not a disease that can be taken lightly. It requires our high attention and vigilance, and early prevention, early detection and early treatment.