Ringworm: Causes, Symptoms, Treatments and Prevention

Ringworm: Causes, Symptoms, Treatments and Prevention

Ringworm isn’t a worm. It’s a skin infection that’s caused by mold like fungi that live on the dead tissues of your skin, hair, and nails. You can get it in any of these places and on your scalp.

Causes

Ringworm is a contagious fungal infection caused by common mold-like parasites that live on the cells in the outer layer of your skin. It can be spread in the following ways:

• Human to human. Ringworm often spreads by direct, skin-to-skin contact with an infected person.
• Animal to human. You can contract ringworm by touching an animal with a ringworm. Ringworm can spread while petting or grooming dogs or cats. It's also fairly common in cows.
• Object to humans. It's possible for ringworm to spread by contact with objects or surfaces that an infected person or animal has recently touched or rubbed against, such as clothing, towels, bedding and linens, combs, and brushes.
• Soil to humans. In rare cases, ringworm can be spread to humans by contact with infected soil. Infection would most likely occur only from prolonged contact with highly infected soil.

Symptoms

Signs and symptoms of ringworm may include:

• A scaly ring-shaped area, typically on the buttocks, trunk, arms and legs
• Itchiness
• A clear or scaly area inside the ring, perhaps with a scattering of bumps whose color ranges from red on white skin to reddish, purplish, brown or gray on black and brown skin
• Slightly raised, expanding rings
• A round, flat patch of itchy skin
• Overlapping rings

Treatment?

How the infection is treated depends on where it is and how bad it is. In many cases, your doctor may recommend an over-the-counter (OTC) medicine you can get at the drugstore. If the ringworm is on your skin, an OTC antifungal cream, lotion, or powder may work just fine. Some of the most popular ones are clotrimazole (Lotrimin, Mycelex) and miconazole.

Prevention

Ringworm is difficult to prevent. The fungus that causes it is common, and the condition is contagious even before symptoms appear. Take these steps to reduce your risk of ringworm:

• Educate yourself and others. Be aware of the risk of ringworm from infected people or pets. Tell your children about ringworm, what to watch for and how to avoid infection.
• Keep clean. Wash your hands often. Keep shared areas clean, especially in schools, child care centers, gyms and locker rooms. If you participate in contact sports, shower right after practice or a match and keep your uniform and gear clean.
• Stay cool and dry. Don't wear thick clothing for long periods of time in warm, humid weather. Avoid excessive sweating.
• Avoid infected animals. The infection often looks like a patch of skin where fur is missing. If you have pets or other animals, ask your veterinarian to check them for ringworm.
• Don't share personal items. Don't let others use your clothing, towels, hairbrushes, sports gear or other personal items. And don't borrow such things

Sources: mayoclinic.org,webmd.com