Many diseases that occur on the life path of a person are easily cured and do not leave consequences, but there are also those that bring a lot of inconvenience and there are many difficulties with their treatment. One of such ailments is ringworm, the treatment of which requires an integrated approach and patience.
What is ringworm?
Ringworm or this ailment is also called microscopy - it is a skin disease caused by a fungus of the genus Microsporum. The disease affects the skin, hair, in rare cases, nails and eyelashes. The fungus that causes the disease is also called dermatophyte, which means "loving skin."
In most cases, ringworm, the treatment of which is always selected only individually, appears on the head under the hair. Foci of a round shape appear, all hair breaks off at a height of about 5 cm from the skin. They are large, about the palm of your hand. One gets the feeling that the hair was specially cut, hence the name of the disease.
On the body, lichen has an oval shape, surrounded by a raised roller. In the center of the focus, peeling can be noticed, in some cases itching is felt.
Ringworm in children (treatment described below) is a common disease. This is due to the fact that they often play with pets. Their skin is delicate, their hair is thin and not protected by organic acids. Most often, an ailment manifests itself in late summer or autumn.
Adults are also susceptible to fungus. With age, a large number of organic acids accumulate in human hair, which inhibit the spread of the fungus. More often young women get sick.
Causes of occurrence
Mushrooms that cause ringworm have long been studied. They can exist only in the surface layers of the skin and do not penetrate deep inside. Mucous membranes and other systems are not affected by fungi. You can get infected in several ways: from a person, an animal, through contact with the soil, when visiting a public bath or swimming in the pool. But for the process to begin to develop, certain factors are required:
- Using other people's household items: towels, combs, underwear, clothes and shoes.
- Most commonly transmitted is ringworm from dogs. Treatment is not required if you wash your hands after each contact with the animal.
- Injury to the skin, including those that are not visible to the eye.
- Decreased immunity.
The causative agent of the disease lives in the environment for a long time, so just touch the place where the sick animal used to lie, as the fungus already gets an excellent opportunity to get to the skin of a person. At this point, the immune system should come into effect, but if it does not work at full strength, then the ailment begins to develop rapidly. That is why it is more often required to treat ringworm in a child on the head or any other part of the body than an adult. In babies, immunity is not able to quickly cope with the fungus, and the disease develops.
Types of Ringworm
Depending on the type of carrier (it may be a person or an animal) and the health status of the body, various types of ringworm may occur. Treatment should be selected only after an accurate diagnosis. In medicine, there are such forms:
- Chronic More common in girls after puberty. A prerequisite for the development of the disease is ringworm, the treatment of which was incomplete or it was in a latent form in childhood. The disease is activated with a decrease in immunity, failures in the hormonal background, pathologies affecting the female reproductive system. In boys, during the puberty, the bacteria that cause the fungus die themselves, without being transformed into a chronic form. The disease is characterized by pinkish-bluish rashes, scars appear, hair falls out, nails become brittle and turn pale.
- Superficial lichen. Deforms only shallow skin cells. As with any other form, the skin itches, hair falls out, pale spots with a red border appear.
- Purulent form. Transmitted from a sick animal. The fungus penetrates deep into the hair follicles, not only the skin integument is affected, but also the entire body from the inside. Body temperature rises, painful lymph nodes. Treatment for ringworm in dogs and adults should be comprehensive. This form provokes erosive-ulcerative rashes of a red color on the body with an uneven surface. The foci swell, and pus is secreted from them.
- Deep lichen. It affects the skin to a depth of 40 mm, large subcutaneous nodes appear on the legs.
- Plantar versicolor. It appears on the feet and strongly resembles corns.
- Nail deprive. It appears in the form of bright spots, the surface of the nail plate becomes loose, uneven and crumbles.
- Papular. It appears in the form of convex rashes on the face or chest, smooth skin turns into loose.
- Abortive form. represents a rash with fuzzy edges, their color is white or pale pink, the symptoms are mild.
Only after studying the form, the cause of ringworm in a person is determined, and treatment is selected in accordance with them. To confirm the diagnosis, a dermatologist examines the rash through the Wood lamp and interviews the patient.
Main symptoms
If there are suspicions of the disease, then you need to know what are the main signs of ringworm in children, and treatment should be selected only after determining its form. You can identify the ailment by the following symptoms:
- Hair grow dull, brittle and weak.
- Bald patches with a diameter of not more than 10 cm appear.
- Round and oval spots appear, covered with scales.
- Over time, nodules and circles begin to appear, spreading throughout the body.
- There is an itch.
- The focus has a red and pink rim, there are bubbles and nodules.
- When the nail is damaged, the plates exfoliate, crumble, acquire a grayish tint, become as thin or thick as possible.
It is possible to determine the chronic form of ringworm (treatment is selected in each individual case) by the following signs:
- foci grow on the temples and the occipital region;
- the contours of the spots are blurry;
- affected areas become bluish.
There are a number of symptoms that should cause anxiety in a patient:
- the appearance of red spots on the head with fuzzy contours can cause itching;
- copious dandruff and severe peeling of foci of round or oval shape, with a diameter of up to 10 mm;
- painful itching;
- cardinal change in the structure of hair, deterioration of their condition.
Before you choose a method of treating ringworm in a person, you need to diagnose.
Diagnostic measures
A dermatologist can make an accurate diagnosis. It is installed only during a personal examination of the patient. Treatment can be prescribed without specific studies. If it is additionally necessary to conduct tests, then the doctor recommends doing:
- scraping from the focus with further microscopic examination to accurately determine the type of bacteria that caused the fungus;
- luminescent diagnostics, allowing you to examine the affected area under a special lamp (it starts to glow);
- sowing the fungus in a Petri dish, which allows to identify the type of microorganism.
After clarifying the diagnosis and determining the form of pathology, a dermatologist can prescribe effective drugs for treatment.
Ringworm Treatment Methods
Therapy aims to fight the fungus itself, and not the symptoms. Treatment is prescribed by a dermatologist, includes taking tablets and using ointments for the external treatment of affected areas.
As a local treatment, ointments, creams, shampoos are recommended, which contain such active ingredients: miconazole, clotrimazole, mycoseptin.
- Lichen smooth skin is better treated with Terbinafine and Tolnaftat.
- To treat the affected areas using a solution of iodine 5%.
- In the evening before going to bed, it is recommended to treat the foci of deprivation with the help of "Sulfur-salicylic" or "Sulfur-tar" ointment.
- It is allowed to carry out processing with pure "Salicylic acid" 3%.
- In addition to the means for external use, it is recommended to add Griseofulvin tablets to the treatment of ringworm, which affect the fungus that caused the disease. You need to take the drug with a course of at least 15 days, in advanced cases, the doctor recommends increasing the duration of administration to 25 days. Regularly throughout the duration of treatment, the patient should undergo scraping for the presence of bacteria that cause pathology. After the analysis shows that there is no fungus, Griseofulvin tablets are taken for another two weeks to consolidate the result.
If lichen affects the feet, then in this case it is recommended to take Ketoconazole or Clotrimazole inside, and externally apply Selenium sulfide.
The chronic form provides for the treatment of ringworm on the body in the form of ingestion of antifungal agents and the treatment of affected areas with external agents. It is also advised to add vitamin therapy, immunomodulators, vascular strengthening agents and blood circulation enhancers.
After completing the full course of therapy, the patient should undergo scraping from the skin at the sites of foci of the disease. You need to take it three times: immediately after treatment, a week and two months later. If all three tests show a negative result, then we can assume that the treatment was successful and the disease will not return.
Treatment with folk remedies
Alternative treatment for ringworm helps very well. This ailment has long bothered many people, so home recipes have appeared that allow you to effectively deal with it. Today, doctors consider alternative methods of treating ringworm in humans to be auxiliary, which help relieve symptoms and help specific medicines cope with the fungus.
Traditional medicine involves the use of natural antiseptics and anti-inflammatory drugs that effectively fight against fungus:
- Apple vinegar. Dilute it before use is not necessary. You can rub or make lotions with it up to 6 times a day.
- Garlic. Peel one clove, cut in half and rub into foci. The procedure can be supplemented with a mixture of birch coal and burdock juice, the ratio of components is 1: 1.
- Effectively treat ringworm with cranberries. She is an excellent natural antiseptic. Her juice needs to be soaked in a piece of gauze and applied to the affected areas of the skin. Carry out the procedure at least three times a day.
- Mix 2 tbsp. l hops, burdock and calendula. Pour the mixture with 250 ml of boiling water and hold in a water bath for another 10 minutes, then strain and make an ointment based on petroleum jelly, take 2 tablespoons and 1 cooked broth. Lubricate lichen several times a day.
- A decoction of medicinal herbs is taken when a lichen affects the scalp. It is necessary to mix 4 parts of a series, 2 parts of celandine and 1 part of horsetail. Take 2 tablespoons of the mixture and pour a glass of boiling water, insist for an hour to rub into the head and make compresses.
Treatment of ringworm on the head and other parts of the body is best done in combination, taking medication inside and using traditional medicine outside. In this case, the therapy will be more effective.
Ringworm in animals
Often people become infected by depriving from contact with a sick animal. Two types of fungus cause their disease: trichophytosis and microsporum. Cats and dogs are infected by contact with a sick animal. Also, the disease can be transmitted by rodents.
The incubation period in the animal lasts from 8 to 30 days, after which foci of red color with clearly defined edges appear at the site of the lesion with the fungus. The spots are covered with crusts. Initially, the disease affects the face, and after the ears and limbs.
A luminescent diagnosis will help confirm the diagnosis. Using a Wood lamp, you can see how the spots on the skin glow with emerald color.
The treatment of ringworm in cats and dogs is quite complicated. Previously, all sick animals were euthanized, but today a special vaccine against fungus has appeared. Therapy is selected by the veterinarian in each case, but the main thing is to limit contact with the animal and constantly carry out disinfection of the room. If you have a four-legged friend in the house, then it is better to immediately vaccinate him and protect him and himself from the disease.
Hygiene measures in contact with the patient
There are many effective treatments for ringworm. But you need to remember that a sick person is contagious and, when it comes in contact with it, the fungus can be transmitted to another person, so it is important to know how to protect yourself. If there was contact with a sick animal or person, be sure to wash your hands with soap with an antifungal effect. The best tool that you can buy in any store is soap with birch tar. It is better to wash the whole body, and carefully wash the clothes, because the fungus can persist for a long time on any surface.
Today, many modern unique products have appeared that have a powerful antifungal effect, including Citeal. It must be diluted in containers 1: 5. The result is a foaming liquid that is used to wash hands and body.
When washing your hair, you can use an antifungal shampoo, such as Nizoral. It is still allowed to be used as a shower gel.
The sooner a person rinses off the particles of fungus transferred from a sick animal, the greater the chance of not becoming infected.
Lavender, tea tree and turpentine oil have good antifungal properties. With their help, you can process small areas of the skin.
If it is reliably known that there was contact with a sick person or animal, then it is better to seek help from a specialist. He will conduct an examination using a Wood lamp and will be able to detect the disease at an early stage. Treatment in this case will not be so difficult, besides, you can protect your relatives.
Hygiene for the treatment of ringworm
Not only the right treatment is important for the patient, hygiene rules must also be followed. Mushrooms, together with particles of skin and hair, quickly disperse around the room and remain there to live for three months. As a result, even after the correct treatment and good results, the patient may again have symptoms of the disease, and all because he again had contact with the infected surface. The recommendations are as follows:
- During therapy, the patient’s underwear should be washed separately before being soaked in the machine for a couple of hours in a disinfectant. After washing, it is recommended to boil it again, and then iron it with a hot iron.
- In the patient’s room and common areas of all family members, wet cleaning is necessary daily.
- All items that the patient uses should be treated with a disinfectant solution, but only by effectively combating this particular type of fungus.
- Such cleaning materials as Alpinol, Maxi-Dez, Alaminol Plus are well suited for cleaning an apartment.
For the duration of the illness, it is better to roll up all the carpets in the apartment, remove soft toys and things that are difficult to clean. Upholstered furniture is better to close with cellophane.
Personal hygiene of a patient with ringworm
If the patient has a disease that affects the scalp, then he just needs to wear a scarf or a knitted hat that will prevent the fungus from spreading throughout the room. If the foci hit the body, then you need to wear as much as possible closed clothing and preferably made from natural fabrics. Change clothes daily.
If the doctor did not stipulate any other measures, then every day a patient with ringworm should take a shower using special antifungal shampoos: Nizoral, Ketozoral, Keto Plus. It fights well with the fungus and does not allow it to spread throughout the entire body of the "Tsiteal". It can be diluted with water 1:10 or used undiluted on small areas of the skin. In some cases, the doctor may recommend not to wet the affected areas of the skin. In this case, while taking a shower, the foci are covered with cellophane.
Ringworm, although an unpleasant disease, is quite amenable to therapy. It is only important to seek medical attention in a timely manner.