In its initial stages, actinomycosis can be a challenging condition to diagnose correctly. This is because it shares the symptoms of many more common conditions, including:
Because actinomycosis can be difficult to diagnose, many cases are only discovered when doctors are carrying out tests or surgery to check for the presence of other conditions. For example, many cases of actinomycosis are detected when biopsies are carried out to check for cancer. A biopsy is where a small tissue sample is removed so that it can be examined under a microscope.
Actinomycosis can usually be more confidently diagnosed in its later stages, after the sinus tracts have appeared in the surface of the skin. This is because the sulphur granules that are produced by the sinus tracts during an actinomycosis infection have a distinctive shape that can be identified under a microscope.
