Question on lip fungus: Is there a some type of fungus that affects the lips?
There is no fungus that can affect the outer portion of the lips because most pathogenic fungi require a mucosal medium to infect and feed on. However, the closest fungal infection you could get is candidiasis, or in this case oral candidiasis. This is an affliction that occurs due a yeast infection and usually occurs deep in the mouth and rarely on the lip. What you could possibly get on the lip is a cold sore, which is a Herpes infection. This is equally serious and you would have to get medical attention as soon as possible and on a treatment of antiviral medication once diagnosed.
Oral candidiasis is caused by the same fungus that can cause genital infections as well. Curiously, it is one part of the flora of the gastrointestinal tract and is harmless in most humans except when it responds to certain stimuli in its environment and turns into its more infectious form. Usually, the trigger is a change in the chemistry of the environment. For example, lactobacillus is one of the main constituents of the intestinal tract and this bacterium creates peroxides and maintains the acid balance of the environment and keeps other flora in check. One of the treatments for candidiasis is a treatment of antifungal drugs like miconazole and nystatin along with a lactobacillus addition to the digestive system.
Cold sores on the other hand are a contagious, viral infection that is passed from an infected person to another after skin or lesion contact. Cold sores or oral herpes are an infection that mostly does happen on the lip and is caused by the Herpes Simplex virus, the same type of herpes virus that causes genital herpes. The lifecycle of the virus starts with an infection of the affected area, after which it forms the characteristic sores that typifies herpes infections; then the virus retreats into the ganglions of the nearest sensory nerves where is remains dormant and static for a long period of time. In this period of time, the host usually is then immune from the same affliction again. However, the virus can at a certain trigger point then move to another part of the body and the cycle begins again. The herpes virus can never be eliminated from the body except with the death of the host. This is also the reason why people who suffer chicken pox can get herpes despite never being in contact with an infected person.
