B42.78: Other disseminated sporotrichosis

You have sporotrichosis.

The illness is caused by fungi. The fungi particularly occur on wood and rotting areas of plants. The fungi can get into the skin via any small wound. First of all a small papule appears on the affected skin. A lesion may then form and spread.

The infection may also spread further via the lymphatic vessels. Fluid forms in tissue throughout the body every day. This tissue fluid is the lymph. The lymph is carried around the body by lymph vessels. The lymph vessels run around the entire body and are connected to blood vessels. At some points, there are lymph nodes along the lymph vessels. Pathogens are rendered harmless in the lymph nodes, for example. Typical of sporotrichosis are bluish-red or brown papules beneath the skin. The papules may then become soft and secrete pus.

The illness is affecting more than one of your organs. In that case, you may be seriously ill. Muscles, bones and joints can be affected, for example. The cerebral membranes can also become infected. On the outside of the brain and spinal cord there are three thin meninges (linings). A tough meninx, the dura mater, is on the outside. Below that are two soft meninges. If your cerebral membranes become infected, you can get severe headaches and a stiff neck. You may become sensitive to light or feel nauseous.