Dermatologists yesterday urged people who have attempted in vain to treat a common fungal infection of the nails known as onychomycosis or tinea unguium to immediately seek medical advice, as the condition could instead be subungual squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), the most common nailbed malignancy that could lead to digit amputations.
Taipei Veterans General Hospital’s Dermatology Department director Liu Han-nan (劉漢南) and physician Chu Szu-ying (朱思穎) issued the advice at a press conference in Taipei yesterday, after a 61-year-old man who mistook the debris buildup under the nail of the middle finger of his right hand as a sign of tinea unguium was later diagnosed with subungual SCC.
“Before the man turned to medical assistance, he had deformation and abnormal debris buildup under the nail of his right middle finger for several months. He had tried to trim the thickened nail himself, until the outgrowths became painful and began producing pus,” Chu said.
Chu said the hospital diagnosed the man with tinea unguium and treated his condition with antibiotics and oral antifungal medicines, but started looking for other explanations after treatment eased the pain, but not the buildup.
“We then used a fungal culture to determine which type of fungi infected the man’s nail and found Candida albicans, which accounts for less than 5 percent of tinea unguium cases,” Chu said.
To the hospital’s astonishment, a nail biopsy showed that the man’s condition was caused by subungual SCC, which has happened to just about 200 patients worldwide since 1850, Chu said.
Chu said men between the ages of 50 and 70 who drank arsenic-contaminated water, had sustained finger injuries, had been exposed to gamma radiation or were infected with human papillomavirus (HPV) types 16, 18 or 5, were most susceptible to the cancer.
“While tinea unguium and subungual SCC could cause nail thickening, there are three major differences between the two diseases,” Chu said.
The fungal infection mostly affects toenails, while the latter is usually found beneath fingernails; the cancer tends to infect only one finger or toe, while the fungus tends to invade more than one; and the fungus almost never causes discomfort, but the cancer can be accompanied by pain and pus, Chu said.
Liu said that while subungual SCC is rare, it is the most common malignancy in nails and could lead to amputations if it spreads to the bone.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
RSS