Man develops serious fungal infection in lungs from sniffing his dirty socks daily

The doctors said that the socks had been the perfect breeding ground for the fungus. (representational image: Grok)

A man from China has recently been diagnosed with a serious lung infection after he contracted after smelling his dirt socks after every day after work. Identified as Li Qi in local media reports, the man had approached a hospital after he had terrible coughing fits that kept him up at night.

Li told the media that even drinking cough syrup did not help, and soon he developed bloodshot eyes. Li then rushed to the Southwest Hospital of the Army Medical University where CT and MRI scans showed signs of infection in his right lung, The Sun reported.

According to Liang Peiqiang, chief physician of the department of respiratory medicine at the hospital the test showed that Li was suffering from a fungal lung disease caused by aspergillus infection. Breathing in tiny spores of the fungus can cause an infection called aspergillosis, which tends to cause respiratory problems.

The mould usually grows in moist environments such as soil, rotting leaves etc. But it can also crop up in dust, damp buildings, bedding, and ACs. While the doctors were trying to figure out where he might have caught it from. But then, Li told them about his habit of smelling his socks after taking them off at the end of the day.

The doctors tested his socks and found spored of aspergillus in them. They said that the socks had been the perfect breeding ground for the fungus.

"Worn socks mainly contain sweat, salt, urea, etc. Wearing shoes for a long time forms a closed, humid, and warm space, which is easy to breed fungi," Luo Hu, deputy director of the hospital, said. "If you smell or absorb fungus-filled socks, the fungi may enter the lower respiratory tract through the mouth and nose. If the body's immune function is low, it may cause diseases such as fungal pneumonia."

Li was given anti-fungal medication and discharged from the hospital.

In 2018, another man in China was diagnosed with a severe lung infection after he too developed a habit of sniffy his dirty socks. The 37-year-old ended up being admitted to a hospital with complaints of chest pains, tightness in his chest while breathing, and coughing.

He told the doctors that he was"addicted to smelling his socks that he had been wearing". Doctors concluded that he had contracted the fungal infection from his socks, Science Alert reported.