Open toe sandals syndrome

The diagnosis and management of infections are common uses of resources and finances in many healthcare settings, including the NHS. Our laboratory routinely tests for dermatophytes, a group comprising three types of fungi that infect and grow in dead keratin. These fungi can cause infections of the skin, hair, and nails (tinea corporis, also known as ringworm), groin (tinea cruris), scalp (tinea capitis), and skin of the feet (tinea pedis, also known as athlete’s foot). Dermatophyte infection of the nails is known as tinea unguium. At our laboratory we receive and process samples of skin, hair, and nails from patients across the south-west of England who present to general practitioners with suspected dermatophytosis.