Ringworm Infection Article

What Exactly is Ringworm?

Ringworm, as the name indicates, is caused by a worm, right? Well, that's completely wrong. Actually, ringworm is caused by a type of fungus. You may have heard the term ringworm when talking about sports and the athletes who play them. Because athletes are the most common of people to get this type of disease, it is most prevalent in the sports arena. But, in order to understand why that is, you have to know what ringworm exactly is, and how it grows and affects people.

First of all, as mentioned above, fungus is what causes ringworms. An important thing to note is that this fungus, which also has the name of tinea, lives and breathes in moist, damp areas. One of the reasons that athletes are the most common target of ringworm is because their locker rooms and changing scenes are the best hiding spot for this type of fungus. And not only is it the best hiding spot for this type of fungus, but if two or more athletes decide to get comfy and share their towels, clothes, or other outerwear that has the ringworm disease present on it, all of them will be exposed to it, thus spreading the infection.

Second, it's best to recognize the ringworm infection in order to stay away from it and take precautions against it. Ringworm is a skin infection, most commonly tagged along by an infectious rash. The rash will and does become very itchy, and usually the center of it will be white. Hence the name, ringworm, because there will essentially be a ring of the rash instead of a plain old red spot. The center will be white and surrounding it will be an itchy, red area. The most common sites of the ringworm will be around the groin area, hands, or feet, and that is mainly why it is most prevalent among athletes. Since the fungus lives and grows in warm and damp areas like locker rooms, there is plenty of opportunity for the infection of ringworm to be spread since most of the time in the locker rooms, the athletes are either changing into other sets of clothing or getting ready to go out into the sports arena. Skin to skin contact is very common in this type of scene, making ringworm all the more susceptible to be transferred from human to human.

If you do suspect that you have ringworm, the very first thing to do would be to see your doctor. Chances are that he will give you a cream to soothe the ringworm rash and make it stop itching. However, if you can't get to a doctor right away, many topical creams are sold over-the-counter and are available at many medicine shops or even stores that include in a pharmacy. Furthermore, if topical creams do not work for the ringworm infection then the doctor may even have to prescribe anti-fungus prescription pills for you to take. In any case, do not stay put thinking that it is a harmless little rash and will just go away over time, because it definitely will not! Take action, see your doctor, and get treated for ringworm before the infectious disease gets any worse!