Ringworm (Tinea) - Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

Ringworm is a fungal infection of the skin; the medical name for this fungus is Tinea + the area of the skin where it is found. For example, Tinea capitis is ringworm on the head, and Tinea Corporis is ringworm on the body. Tinea Barbae is ringworm that is on the "beard" area of the face. Tinea Barbae at one point was called Barber’s itch, named so because the men were going to the barber daily and probably got the fungal infection there. Athlete’s foot (Tinea Pedis) (found between the toes) and jock itch (Tinea Cruris) (found in the folds of the groin area) are also types of ringworm infections.

Ringworm was thought to be caused by a worm, thus the name Ringworm, but eventually it was discovered that it is a fungus that lives on the top layer of the skin so they named it Tinea instead, but the name ringworm has never been lost.

Causes of Ringworm
Ringworm is caused by dermatophytes (skin fungi), Dermatophytes are the few types of yeast, molds and fungi that only live on keratin- the layer of dead skin cells on the surface of the skin. They affect all areas of the body from the scalp to the feet. They hardly ever travel below the surface of the skin.

Where do they come from?
That is a difficult question to answer, there are those that live only on our hair, there are those that live on animals and stop by our body for a brief visit, and then there are those that live in the dirt and we go visit them (gardening, Construction work etc).

How can they live on us?
Fungi, yeasts, and molds need two things for survival (in addition to food of course): These need warmth and moisture, that is why they are able to live in some areas of our body, between our toes, in the folds of our skin in our groin. I once broke my shoulder and had to have my body wrapped in a bandage to keep it from moving, almost immediately I got a yeast infection under my breasts. It was August and I was sweating so they had a nice home there under my bandage where I wasn’t able to move my arm for several weeks. I did get some medicine and evicted them immediately!

There are certainly situations like I had with my broken arm that led to an unavoidable warm, moist environment, I had to keep my arm still and wrapped or it wouldn’t heal. There are also the avoidable situations that we normally do not like to talk about, uncleanliness! Not bathing and not changing our clothes can lead to a great "pad" for molds, yeasts, and fungi to grow in. When we don’t bathe, not only do we smell and look bad, we set ourselves up for diseases, one of those being any of the many forms of ringworm. This can happen out of sheer laziness, poor education, or necessarily or unnecessarily living on the streets in a warm damp climate.

So, basically what causes ringworm, we intentionally or unintentionally provide them a wonderful place to live, for certainly they are on our bodies daily through contact with animals, dirt, or even other people and when we practice daily cleanliness we prevent them from "moving in" and staying.

Signs and Symptoms
It must be noted that all kinds of Ringworm are contagious, directly (patient to patient) and indirectly (via school, home and other furniture), toenail ringworm especially contagious, it can transfer from toe to toe via the toenail clippers used to remove the resulting thick yellow toenail.
Any of the following:
1. A circular flat area of reddened itchy skin.
2. A round reddened and swollen area of skin surrounding a healthy area of skin.
3. A red, dry, somewhat elevated area of larger and larger rings. This can be found on either the body or the face.

It is possible for these areas to overlap and certain kinds of Tinea are not associated with this common description, Tinea Pedis (Athlete’s foot) and others. Ringworm of the scalp begins with a pimple and gradually builds outward from there creating a bald spot and brittle hair that are easily broken. Ringworm of the feet produce a dry peeling area of dead skin, ringworm of the nails (usually toenails) produce a very thick nail that is pale grey to a yellow color. Females often get what is called a yeast infection, which is also a type of Tinea, this is called a yeast infection and produces a very think white discharge and causes very much itching.

Treatment
The first order of business with treating this is for the person to avoid self-diagnosis and to get a correct diagnosis from a doctor. Treatment for Ringworm is either topically or orally. Several medications are clotrimazole and miconazole and ketoconazole and terbinfine (Lamisil cream and lotion) which are creams that comes in many brands. These medications are often good for foot fungus also. Oral medications are itraconazole and fluconazole and contrary to popular belief these are not harmful to the liver.