Microbes like bacteria and fungus are increasingly brazen in announcing their presence. Gone are the days when you could count on bacteria to behave and exist silently in nooks and caves like one’s nose or colon. Instead, bacteria and fungi are increasingly loud, proud, and making their presence known.
TAYLOR
Take pseudomonas, for example. This bacteria is a frequent colonizer of the toes. When pseudomonas gets in the toenails, it produces a pigment called pyocyanin that can stain one’s toenails green. Pyocyanin acts as a form of chemical warfare. It can kill other bacteria and help ensure that pseudomonas is the top dog at the tips of your toes. Zwitterions are molecules that have positive and negatively charged regions. Such bipolar molecules can often cross cell membranes easily and wreak havoc on the competing bacteria or cells that they enter. Green and mean, pyocyanin is the Incredible Hulk of our list.
Next in our lineup of graffiti artists is Hortaea werneckii. Nobody knows how to pronounce this. If they claim that they do, they are both lying and showing off. H. werneckii is famous in the dermatology world because it can mimic melanoma. This fungus is a black or brown mold that infects the surface of the skin. It likes sweaty cool places and usually infects the palms or soles. It begins as a small black or brown spot that gradually enlarges forming an increasingly large brown or black patch. When a dark spot keeps getting bigger, one’s first instinct is to worry about melanoma, but this fungus can often be painlessly scraped away easily with the edge of a scalpel blade without ever cutting the skin. In contrast, the pigment of melanoma cannot simply be scraped away.
Other bacteria are staining the world pink. Serratia is a common bacteria that can cause a pink ring around a bathtub or shower drain but can, in rare instances, colonize one’s armpits or groin. Towels and clothing can become stained pink when they contact affected skin. According to a case report in a reputable medical journal, a man infected with Serratia sought treatment at a dermatology clinic because his wife disliked the effect that he was having on their towels. He only chose to seek treatment after his wife locked him out of their bathroom.
Amazingly, these examples are just the tip of the iceberg. Bacillus cereus can cause your sweat to be blue. Yet corynebacterium might be the wildest of the bunch. This bacteria can infect people’s skin as patches that are otherwise nearly invisible but that fluoresce coral-red under a type of black light called a Wood’s lamp: a sort of UV patchwork quilt.
If you have a new or changing (perhaps colorful) spot, consider Premier Dermatology and Mohs and Surgery of Atlanta. Dr. Brent Taylor, Kathryn Filipek, PA-C and our wonderful team are honored to take care of you and your family