Read more about this disease, some with Classification – Types – Signs and symptoms – Genetics – Pathophysiology – Diagnosis – Screening – Prevention – Treatment and management – Cures and much more, some including pictures and video when available.
Ringworm is a fungal infection of the skin in humans. Fungi are organisms that survive by eating plant or animal material. Those that cause parasitic infection (dermatophytes) feed on keratin, the material found in the outer layer of skin, hair, and nails. These fungi thrive best on skin that is moist, hot, and hidden from the light. It is estimated that up to twenty percent of the population is infected by ringworm or one of the other dermatophytoses at any given moment.[citation needed]
Misdiagnosis and treatment of ringworm with a topical steroid can result in tinea incognito, a condition where ringworm fungus will grow without typical features like a distinctive raised border.
Ringworm can be mistaken for one of the following conditions: granuloma annulare, discoid lupus, and sarcoidosis. Bullous tinea pedis (athlete foot with blisters) can mimic bullous drug reactions, bullous pemphigoid, and other bullous diseases of the skin. If suspected ringworm does not respond to routine antifungal treatment, further diagnostics must be performed, like a skin biopsy, a fungal culture, or a skin scraping for fungus identification.
Fungi thrive in moist, warm areas, such as locker rooms and swimming pools, and in skin folds. The fungi may be present without any symptoms.
Advice often given to prevent ringworm includes:
With skin scraping and rapid microscopic identification with potassium hydroxide preparation.
With fungal culture and species identification. Might take 2 to 3 weeks for result.
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