A fungal culture is a procedure which is done to ascertain the presence of fungi in an area of the human body. Fungi may be defined as microorganisms which may be found in a body. Fungi prosper in places which do not have access to sunlight and are moist. Common places where fungi are found are shoes, locker rooms which are damp, or even in skin folds.
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If your doctor suspects a fungal infection on a particular area of your body, a fungal culture test will be prescribed.
A fungal culture test is prescribed to ascertain the presence of any fungal infection in your body. After a while a follow-up test is being done to find out if the treatment for fungal infection is moving in the right direction. In case it is found that treatment is not working the way it should have been, the fungal culture test guides the doctor for any alternative way.
If your fungal culture test result is positive, that would mean the presence of fungal infection in your body. The laboratory report has a column showing the normal range of fungi and the quantity that is found in your body. If the range of fungi is found more than normal range, the results may be construed to be positive and deserve treatment.
In case you have symptoms of fungal infection, your doctor may prescribe a fungal culture test. The symptoms of a fungal infection may be of superficial type, which are itching, red rash, vaginal discharge or itching, white colored patches inside the mouth, brittle nails. There are more serious symptoms of fungal infection that may manifest. Form of serious fungal infection may show up in the form of fever, severe headaches, muscle aches, nausea, chills or fast heart beats.
During tests that are carried out to ascertain the presence of fungal infection in your body various ways are adopted. Some of the common forms of fungal culture tests are described below:
Scraping - A sample of your skin or nail may be taken by scraping in order to diagnose any skin or nail infections.
Swab Test - If your doctor suspects yeast infection is in the mouth or vagina region, a special swab will be used to collect tissue or fluid from the affected area, which could be mouth, vagina or from an open wound.
Blood Test – A blood sample may be collected from your veins to ascertain presence of fungal infection in blood. The extraction of blood for carrying out the test is being done by a healthcare professional.
Urine Test – In this form of fungal culture test, one commonly uses a container given by the laboratory where the sample is collected and submitted for subsequent test.
Sputum Culture – A sample of your sputum gets collected in a container for carrying out a fungal culture test.
Once the sample is collected for a fungal culture test, it is sent to the laboratory for analysis. The collected sample needs to have enough fungi for making a diagnosis. Growth of fungi depends on its type. Some fungi tend to grow fast, some may take weeks to grow. The time taken for the result of the culture test depends on the infection type that you have.
No, there are no side effects of a fungal culture test.
In case you feel some discomfort and suspect of any fungal infection on your body, please do not self-treat, book an appointment with a specialist for his advice. If you are not satisfied with the diagnosis of the doctor you have consulted you may seek a free second opinion by making use of various online solutions that are available.
Are you wondering what the fungal culture test results mean? Get a free second opinion from our experts at Yashoda Hospitals today.
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