There seems to be some amount of confusion in regards to the true nature of ringworm, especially among those who are dealing with the infection for the very first time. What is ringworm, anyway?
Ringworm is is a skin disease caused by fungi that may spread in the skin, scalp, or nails. It is one of the most common skin conditions out there – an estimate by the U.S. Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) places the number of those infected by ringworm to be about twenty percent, at any given time period.
What is ringworm? What causes it?
Ringworm, is caused by mold-like fungi called “dermatophytes.” To be clear, they’re not caused by worms as many seem to believe. These fungi live in the soil and on the skin of people and animals. These creatures consume the keratin protein in the outermost layer of our skin and thrive in moist, warm, and unclean places. A flare-up will start when the fungi starts to multiply in large numbers through an entrance in the dermal layer like a cut or a scratch, for instance.
What is ringworm? What does ringworm look like?
Ringworm often starts as a very small slightly bumpy spot on your skin. As it progresses, it takes on a reddish hue and increases in size. The spot is often extremely itchy compelling the person to scratch it to stop the itching, which in turn could provide the fungus with more opening in the skin layer in which to spread. As the infection widens, it now begins to look like a ring with reddish scaly borders surrounding normal looking skin in the center. Bald patches in the head with a few broken-off hair (dark spots) are often observed in children with scalp ringworm.
There are several kinds of ringworm, according to the location of the infection. Ringworm of the body (tinea corporis) affects the arms and legs, the chest, abdominal and back parts. Tinea capitis or ringworm of the scalp occurs in the head and is common in grade school kids, as noted above. Tinea pedis or ringworm of the feet, also referred to as “athlete’s foot” can thrive in the damp spaces between the toes, on the sides or soles of the feet.
Is ringworm contagious? As a matter of fact, it is. Scratching the affected area can spread the ringworm to other parts of the body. Fungal spores can cling to the fingertips and can be transmitted to other persons through direct skin contact. Tinea capitis (ringworm of the scalp) in particular, which is common among grade-school children, is very contagious.
What is ringworm? How do you cure this infection?
Most types of ringworm such as ”athlete’s foot,” “jock itch,” and tinea corporis are easy to treat and can be managed with home care ringworm treatment using over-the-counter ointments or powders. Some of the most-commonly used OTC ointments are: Lamisil,Tinactin, Monistat, and Lotrimin.
There are a few types of ringworm infection that may prove harder to cure. Self-medication using over-the-counter creams or sprays may be useless to treat ringworm in the fingernails or toenails and scalp ringworm. The fungal spores in such instances are hard to treat with ordinary creams or could have developed resistance to OTC anti-fungal medication like some strains of the scalp ringworm fungus. Systemic drugs, like Sporanox or Grifulvin, may be recommended by your physician to eradicate the fungus.
What is ringworm? It’s just a fungal infection and ringworm cure is easy to administer - certainly not a cause for alarm. With some very basic steps in maintaining cleanliness, this infection can be prevented without any difficulty.