Ringworm: causes, symptoms and drugs for treatment

Ringworm (microsporia) is a disease manifested as a fungal infection of the skin, nail plates and hair follicles. The pathogen is a mold fungus of the genus Microsporum. Its colonies form in keratinized substrates. Microsporia remains a relatively common disease - dermatologists identify 60-75 cases for every hundred thousand Moscow residents. The pathology has a pronounced seasonality. The peak incidence occurs at the end of summer and beginning of autumn - the period of breeding of offspring in cats and other animals.

Ringworm

Ringworm (also known as microsporia) is a highly contagious fungal disease caused by the Microsporum fungus. It affects the skin, scalp and vellus hair, and rarely nails. Ringworm on the skin develops in animals and humans. The source of infection is most often a sick animal. At the same time, children are more susceptible to the disease, since they are more likely to come into contact with stray cats and dogs, which may be carriers of the fungus. In addition, the pH of the skin of adults is shifted to the “acidic” side, which prevents the fungus from actively multiplying. According to statistics, symptoms of ringworm are 5 times more common in boys than in girls.

Hygiene measures when in contact with a sick person

If you or your child have touched a sick animal or interacted with a sick person, then you need to take immediate action.

The sooner you wash away particles containing fungus from your skin, the less likely you are to become infected.
Wash your hands several times with antifungal soap. The simplest remedy, which is available in almost every store, is cinnamon laundry soap, or better yet, soap with birch tar.
Wash your entire body with this soap. Suddenly, particles of the patient’s skin got under his clothes. Do not use a hard washcloth. It leaves micro-scratches on the skin, into which fungus easily penetrates.
To wash your hair, you must use an antifungal shampoo. For example, Nizoral. You can also use it as a shower gel.
A modern remedy with a powerful antifungal effect is Citeal. Dilute it in a small container five times. You will end up with a foaming liquid that can be used to wash your hands and entire body.
Lavender oil, tea tree oil and turpentine have an antifungal effect. They can be used to treat small areas of skin.

Also, five days after contact, it is advisable to consult a dermatologist. He examines the body with a Wood's lamp. If you do become infected, the disease can be detected in the early stages. This will help you quickly treat her at home and avoid going to the hospital.

Reasons for development

The main causes of ringworm are contact with the pathogen:

A child aged 4–11 years whose sweat reaction is predominantly alkaline.
A child or adult with reduced immunity, the presence of scratches, scabs, microtraumas that can become infected.

Most often the carrier is an animal, less often a person. Infection also occurs through objects or personal belongings on which infected hairs, hairs or skin scales remain. Infection is possible through undisinfected hairdressing tools, through soil on which the causative agent of the disease can persist for up to 3 months, during processing of hay. According to statistics, up to 70–80% of cases of the disease occur as a result of contact with stray young cats and kittens.

Symptoms

Ringworm on the face and body appears in the form of pink or red circles raised 1-3 mm above the surface of the skin. The lesions are characterized by clear boundaries, while pale areas of skin with red dots are visible inside. These spots quickly increase in size. Their number is growing over time.

The skin inside the lesions becomes covered with a white crust, which peels and itches. Ringworm on the scalp is characterized by split hair and hair loss. As the number of lesions increases, they begin to connect and overlap each other. Ringworm on the body occurs with increased symptoms when the pathogen gets inside existing lesions, and new fungal rings form in them.

Signs and clinical forms

The symptoms of trichophytosis are quite recognizable. The main one is the appearance of reddish spots on the body, sharply demarcated from the surface of healthy skin. The spots may be round or shapeless. Color varies from pale pink to red-violet. The surface can be smooth or rough. Often, a slight pityriasis-like peeling forms in the center of the spot, which disappears closer to the edges. The boundaries of the spot can be blurred or pronounced. In the second case, blisters or purulent hemorrhagic crusts are clearly visible.

The mycelium growth zone can be in the same plane as the skin, 2-3 mm above it. When the deep layers of the dermis are involved in the inflammatory process, a spherical “bump” appears at the site of the spot. It protrudes over healthy skin. There may be discharge on the surface:

bloody;
purulent;
hemorrhagic.

The lump consists of an inflammatory infiltrate. As the disease progresses, pus accumulates in the skin.

Trichophytosis is characterized by a particularly recognizable symptom - the presence of “stumps” over the entire surface of fungal spots. “Stumps” are broken hairs that have been infected by a fungus. The appendages break off 2-3 mm from the skin, and their remains are clearly visible to the naked eye. Sometimes the “stumps” become covered with a grayish coating.

The second scenario is lysis of the hair sheath by the fungus and destruction of the hair directly near the hair follicle. In this case, there are no stumps, but black dots are visible on the skin - fungus-filled passages that remain from lost hair.

Diagnostics

It is not difficult to make a primary diagnosis if you know what ringworm looks like. To clarify the diagnosis use:

analysis of clinical data;
results of luminescent analysis;
microscopic studies;
sowing material.

In some cases, the source of infection is difficult to determine, since the incubation period ranges from 2 to 45 days. Symptoms may appear on the head, neck, arms, legs, including the palms, soles of the feet, groin areas and folds. Fungal infection causes itching, discomfort in the area of inflammation, and creates psychological discomfort.

Treatment

If you notice the first symptoms of ringworm, you should immediately go to the hospital. The effectiveness of treatment and the patient’s quality of life during it depend on the timely initiation of treatment.

Prescribed against ringworm:

antifungal drugs of systemic or local action. For large areas it is better to use ringworm preparations in the form of sprays, for small areas - ointments and creams;
hormonal drugs. They are prescribed for severe inflammation of the skin in combination with antimycotic agents;
glucocorticosteroids are necessary in cases where a secondary infection is associated with inflammation.

The main part of treatment is the use of local drugs. The decision on the need to use tablet forms of drugs is made by the doctor based on the clinical picture of the individual patient.

Incubation period of the disease

The incubation period of the fungal infection that causes the appearance of ringworm ranges from several days to 6–8 weeks and depends on the type of pathogen that has entered the body.

Superficial lichen may appear as the first symptoms within 5-7 days after infection. Infiltrative-suppurative lichen does not give any clinical manifestations for several months. The first signs of the disease appear no earlier than 6-8 weeks after the pathogen enters the body.

Prevention

The main measures to prevent ringworm are careful adherence to hygiene procedures:

Using only your own towels and combs, preventing the child or adult from sharing them and using other people’s hygiene items.
After visiting swimming pools, bathhouses, and water parks, you should immediately wash with soap, wash and wash the items you used.
If someone in your home shows signs of ringworm, further infestation should be prevented. His bedding and underwear must be washed separately. All items are thoroughly washed and treated with disinfectants.
Preventing contact with stray animals, especially cats. According to statistics, about 50% of them are infected with microsporia or are its carriers.
The patient should be isolated from the team until complete recovery.
If there is a sick animal in the house, all surfaces must be treated with disinfectant solutions.

With careful prevention, ringworm may not appear in other household members.

Your child has microsporia

To children, the world can seem like one big playground full of adventure. But their desire to play in the ground, pet animals, touch other people's things can lead to infection with various infectious and parasitic skin diseases. Children are especially susceptible to this because their immune systems are not yet fully developed. Summer, holidays, children's holidays in camps, outside the city, lead to a seasonal rise in these diseases. Currently, one of the common skin infections is microsporia. Microsporia affects mainly children of preschool and school age, less often adults. Microsporia is caused by a fungus that gets on children's skin called Microsporum. The fungus is very stable in the external environment. In hair, skin flakes, wool, dust, it retains the ability to infect for several years.

How can your child become infected?

Infection occurs through direct contact with a sick animal (cats, kittens, less often dogs), or objects infected with hair or scales (combs, hats). It is possible to transmit microsporia from sick family members, but this happens less frequently. There have been cases of children becoming infected after playing in the sandbox. However, if you follow the rules of personal hygiene, even if the pathogen spores come into contact with the skin, the disease can be avoided.

How does the disease manifest in a child?

After an incubation period of 5-7 days on average, foci of infection appear on smooth skin or scalp. Microsporia can appear on any part of the skin, but more often on exposed parts of the body. In mild forms of the disease, round lesions form on the skin, clearly defined, covered with scaly nodules and blisters along the periphery. They often form bizarre shapes, like a “ring within a ring”. At the same time, vellus hair may be affected, which complicates the treatment of the disease. The number of lesions ranges from single to several dozen. Size from 0.5 to 3 cm. When the scalp is affected, 1-2 large lesions are formed, round in shape, with clear boundaries and abundant pityriasis-like peeling. The hair breaks off at a height of 6-8 mm above the skin level (hence the name of the disease - ringworm), because the hair in the lesion appears to be trimmed. There may be slight itching in the affected area. The general condition of children is usually not disturbed. With a decrease in immunity, a child may experience complicated forms of microsporia - infiltrative and suppurative forms. The infiltrative form is characterized by the development of severe inflammation in the lesion. The suppurative form is characterized by the formation of dense foci, round in shape, consisting of deep abscesses (cavities filled with pus). Nearby lymph nodes increase in size. The child's general condition may worsen and the temperature may rise. If a child has suffered microsporia in a mild form, then no traces of the disease remain on the skin or scalp. After a complicated form of microsporia, scars may remain on the skin, and focal baldness may remain on the scalp.

Before treatment, visit a doctor.

If a suspicious rash appears on a child’s skin or scalp, consult a dermatologist without first lubricating the affected areas, as this may complicate diagnosis. Correct diagnosis is half the success in treatment. Skin lesions with microsporia can be confused with other types of lichen, psoriasis, eczema, and hair loss may not be caused by a fungal infection. The diagnosis of microsporia is established on the basis of external signs and must be confirmed by microscopic examination and isolation of the pathogen (growing on a nutrient medium). An important diagnostic criterion will be the greenish glow of the affected hair in the rays of an ultraviolet quartz lamp. A similar study is also used in veterinary medicine, so if you have any doubts about the health of your furry pet, take him to the doctor too, but to a veterinarian. As in children, ringworm in pets (dogs, cats, etc.) can appear as patches of hair loss and skin inflammation. However, many animals infected with microsporia have no symptoms and appear completely healthy and safe. This phenomenon is called colonization.

How to cure microsporia or ringworm in a child?

If the doctor confirms that your child has microsporia, he will be able to prescribe you the correct treatment, without which the disease can take a very long time to develop, can cause complications and can spread to other people. Uncomplicated, single lesions on the skin, without damage to vellus hair, can be treated on an outpatient basis, using only external antifungal agents. During treatment, you should not bathe your child in the bath; wash only in the shower, trying to avoid areas with rashes and using antifungal shampoo for washing. Be sure to provide your child with individual bath and bedding items, and iron clothes with a hot iron after washing. Disinfect all toys with an available antiseptic or boiling water.

Numerous foci of microsporia on smooth skin, with damage to vellus hair, damage to the scalp, and complicated forms are an indication for treating a child in a hospital. In addition to external therapy, systemic antifungal drugs are used for treatment. The dose and frequency of taking systemic antimycotics is prescribed by the doctor, taking into account the child’s weight, his general condition, and the manifestations of the disease. How do you know if treatment for ringworm is helping?

In order to determine how the treatment is going, it is necessary to take control tests from the lesions for fungi.

If the tests show that there are no living fungi in the scrapings, this will mean that the treatment was effective.

Typically, the number of fungal spores in the skin and hair is significantly reduced 2 weeks after the start of treatment. The complete disappearance of fungi occurs later. Sometimes, despite active treatment, the release of fungal spores can continue for several months.

If tests show that, despite treatment, fungi are still present in the skin tissues, the doctor may advise either prolonging treatment, prescribing you other antifungal medications, or increasing the dosage of the drug.

Is there any other way to quickly cure ringworm?

Unfortunately, there are no faster and easier methods for treating ringworm.

Can ringworm go away without treatment?

There are cases when ringworm went away on its own. However, more often than not, it does not go away without treatment and spreads to other areas of the skin.

In a child with ringworm, if left untreated, the disease may persist into adulthood.

Can ringworm reoccur?

The human body is not able to develop immunity against the fungi that cause ringworm, so both adults and children can develop the disease again if they become infected with the fungi again.

Ringworm can also recur if treatment is not completed and if viable fungal spores remain in the skin tissue and hair.

Is there a (vaccine) shot for ringworm?

Unfortunately, an effective vaccine against ringworm in humans has not yet been developed.

Carefully following your doctor’s recommendations will help you quickly cope with the disease, and following preventive measures will prevent infection.

How to prevent infection with microsporia?

Considering that the main source of microsporia infection are stray animals, parents, and caregivers. teachers should explain to children that they should not pet or play with stray cats and dogs. To prevent microsporia, you must follow the following rules:

Keep children's hands, body, and hair clean. Do not allow children to wear other people's things, hats, or use other people's combs. Make sure that children wash their hands thoroughly after playing outside, after contact with pets, especially if they are walking outside, and do not take them to bed. Under no circumstances should you play with homeless animals. If you decide to bring a cat or dog into your home, you should definitely check them with a veterinarian. Do not throw sick cats and dogs outside. This contributes to the spread of the disease among animals and can become a source of infection for children. Be carefull.