“Black fungus infection or Mucormycosis is not something which has come up just now,” said Dr Srinivas Kakkilaya, Consultant Physician, Mangaluru. He explained that this infection is often seen in patients that are highly diabetic and can be controlled if a proper diet is followed.
A number of reports have surfaced after the spread of the covid second wave in India about this infection being detected among the covid patients. This has created a widespread panic among the people.
Clarifying on the situation, Dr Srinivas urges the people not to worry about it unnecessarily and create panic. “This is not a new infection which has suddenly come up due to covid,” he said, “People with uncontrolled diabetes or high blood sugar level usually get this infection.”
The fungus which is in the body reacts to increase in blood glucose or fructose level and leads to infection. Covid patients are affected with this fungus as sugar level gets influenced by the coronavirus. This mostly affects existing diabetic people and added use of steroids for treatment of covid increases the sugar levels.
Dr Krishna Mohan Prabhu said that even though this fungus is now commonly seen in Covid pateints, it is not deadly. “Those who are in ventilators end up with Mucomycosis especially if they have diabetes and low immunity,” he said.
Dr Srinivas explained that the best way to tackle this problem is through following a strict diet by avoiding all kinds of sugar and cereals. “People who are diabetic should strictly follow this diet to keep themselves in check,” he said.
As the next step, patients should make sure that they have a tight check on their blood sugar level. The third and the final step they can take is to keep a check on the usage of steroids. Dr Srinivas stressed that steroids should only be used by patients for the shortest period of time and that too under careful medical supervision.
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