How To Cure Ringworm

"Ringworm" may be one of the most visibly appropriate, yet factually misleading medical terms. Looking at a patch of ringworm, you could easily imagine that an actual worm is the culprit, but in reality ringworm isn't a worm at all. It's a fungus! Were it not for the itching and the spreading, and the discomfiting redness, you could almost admire ringworm for its elegant circular design. Almost, but not quite.

Ringworm can appear on any part of your body that has keratinized skin. Thankfully, that excludes your eyeballs and mucus membranes! But it includes everywhere else. Here's how you'll know if you have ringworm.

• Appearance. Ringworm can appear as a single circular patch, or multiple distinct patches, or a patch that seems to be dividing into several patches. The shape and topography of the patch, together, are your clues that ringworm is likely to blame. A ringworm patch is basically circular and red, but the redness often diminishes toward the center of the circular rash. If you look closely at it, the outer edge of the circle is slightly elevated from the interior of the circle, and you'll likely see some dry, flaky skin along the surface.

  As a ringworm patch ages, its circle expands, at which point smaller circular patches can form from it (as mentioned earlier). Because ringworm is highly contagious, you should keep an eye out for any other patches elsewhere on your body.

  When it appears on the scalp, you'll notice hair loss over the fungal patch of skin.

• Itchiness. The itch is often what triggers the discovery of ringworm in hard-to-visualize places like the groin or back. If the red patch of skin resembles what I describe earlier and itches as well, the likelihood of a fungal infection is high.
• If you're uncertain as to whether you have a case of ringworm, schedule an appointment with a dermatologist. However, in the meantime I strongly suggest you adopt a simple course of ringworm treatment until you are diagnosed; there's no harm in rubbing some antifungal ointment on these rashes before confirming diagnosis, and it just might prevent the ringworm from spreading.

Ringworm is quite contagious, spreading through contact with infected skin and even with objects that have come in contact with it (like towels, brushes and articles of clothing). The fungus can spread from animals to people, and (very rarely) even from soil to people, though that requires extensive contact. Ringworm infection is common particularly in children. Here are some ways to get rid of ringworm.

1. Start taking over-the-counter treatment immediately. Though some fungal infections have developed resistance to certain antifungal drug treatments, your first line of defense should still be over-the-counter topical treatments like Lotrimin, Tinactin and Nizoral. You can find these and other brands at local drug stores, often in different forms (spray, cream or powder). The products may advertise themselves as athlete's foot treatments, but looking at the back of the container reveals that they treat ringworm and jock itch as well (essentially all these are the same kind of fungal infection, but in different parts of the body).
2. Wash daily. Be sure to wash the affected area daily, and dry the area well afterward. If you shower, dry the ringworm last, not before drying other parts of your body; a towel is a great way to spread ringworm all over your body.
3. Change clothes daily as well. You might miss the days when you could wear the same clothing two days in a row, but just as you shower regularly, you should change regularly. As you change, however, be careful not to scrape or rub clothing against the affected area of skin. The more you adhere to these rules, the greater your chances are of getting rid of the ringworm in short time.
4. Make sure your affected skin is improving. If ringworm doesn't improve within a couple weeks of daily over-the-counter treatment, schedule an appointment with a dermatologist. The doctor can examine you and prescribe stronger medication to combat the ringworm.

Ringworm can be contagious before physical symptoms appear, so don't just sit back and let ringworm spread over your body when you do notice it! Ignoring the problem won't solve the problem. Be aggressive in whatever method of ringworm treatment you choose.