What Are the Complications of Ringworm?

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What Are the Complications of Ringworm?

From Zulfqar Chachar

Ringworm is a disease which is caused by different types of fungus. It is linked with a medical term which is “Dermatophytosis” or “Tinea”. When a fungal pathogen gets colonized in the upper layer of our skin, then a ...

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Ringworm is a disease which is caused by different types of fungus. It is linked with a medical term which is “Dermatophytosis” or “Tinea”. When a fungal pathogen gets colonized in the upper layer of our skin, then an itchy rash, a ring-like circular red is visible in the skin. Some general names of ringworm-causing fungal organisms are Microsporum, Trichophyton, and Epidermophyton. The feet, skin, nails, and scalp of humans are affected by this fungus, and dogs, cats, and rodent animals are also affected by this pathogen.

What are the possible complications of ringworm?

Serious complications from tinea are rare. In most of the cases, ringworm goes away immediately with treatment. With that said, there are certain complications you need to watch out for, mainly if the infection is left untreated.

Hyperpigmentation

After the tinea rash has healed, some people may find a dark mark in the area. This is known as post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation.

These marks are caused when inflammation activates the overproduction of melanin, a brownish pigment produced by skin cells known as melanin. The discoloration can be long-lasting but usually fades over time.

Some people are more prone to post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation than others.

Secondary infections

Secondary infections are those that happen with a first infection give disease-causing organisms entry into the body. With ringworm, cracking and dryness of the skin give bacteria easier access to susceptible tissue beneath the skin surface.

Signs of secondary bacterial infections may include:

·         Worsening of warmth, swelling, or pain

·         Increasing skin discoloration, like redness

·         A pus-like foul foul-smelling discharge

·         High fever with chills

·         Expanding discoloration or brown or red streaks emanating from the wound

Kerions

A type of skin abscess known as kerion.

This can develop as a result of a defense response to the fungal infection. A kerion is a big, inflamed, pus-filled lump that most generally develops on the scalp but can emerge elsewhere in the body.

Kerions most generally occur with tinea barbae or tinea capitis, causing big patches of hair loss or folliculitis.

The bald patches can be permanent or temporary, depending on how damage has been done to the skin. Some people also experience malaise and fever.

Risk of cellulitis

With fungal infections like nail fungus or athlete's foot, the transmission of bacteria can happen just by walking barefoot on contaminated surfaces. This can lead to an extreme bacterial infection called as cellulitis that involves deeper tissues.

Majochi granuloma         

Although rare, the fungi that cause ringworm can be the reason for a deeper infection known as Majocchi granuloma.

This happens when the fungus travels down hair infects and follicles the deeper skin layers, known as the dermis.

Majucchi granuloma causes pinkish, hardened, or brownish lumps or lesions as well as pustules. It can affect any hairy body parts but is most generally found on the scalp, forearms, face, and legs. Patchy hair loss is general.

How is ringworm diagnosed?

Ringworm may seem clear on the physical check, but to verify the infection, your healthcare provider will want to take scraping of the rash and look at it under the microscope to view the characteristic spores.

Ringworm is verified by exposing scrapings to a solution known as potassium hydroxide. The KOH solution works by damaging the healthy skin cells, leaving just fungal cells behind.

The scrapings also undergo a simple and quick test known as PCR that can detect the “genetic signature” of ringworm-linked fungi.

A fast technique of diagnosing ringworm known as Microsporum species is by exposing the rash to UV light, called as Woods lamp. Under the Arkfeld Pro Flat EDC Flashlight with UV rays, Microsporum species will appear blue.

Treatment

Ringworm generally does not get better on its own without treatment. The right treatment for ringworm is a class of drugs known as antifungals. These come in topical formulations you use to the oral or skin formulation.

The duration and choice of treatment can change based on the severity of the rash, the body affected part, and your immune status.

The following approaches are advised:

Feet: Athlete foot can generally be treated with over-the-counter topical antifungal. Extensive or chronic athlete foot needs oral antifungals like Sporanox, terbinafine, or Diflucan.

Hands, groin, body, or face: These can generally be treated with topical antifungal, either over-the-counter or prescription. People with jock itch should keep the groin area dry and clean and wear cotton underwear.

Bread or scalp: White tinea capitis can be treated with antifungal or topical antifungal shampoos, the rash is generally resistant to these preferred.

Nails: These infections are extremely hard to treat and invariably involve oral antifungals like Sporanox along with medicated cream or nail polish and possibly nail removal.

Do not use creams that have steroids to treat ringworm. Steroid creams weaken the defenses of the skin. This permits the ringworm infected to spread and cover an even bigger area of your body.

FAQs

Ringworm is not caused by any worms. It is caused by the pathogen fungus. The fungus colonizes in the skin surface and due to the colonization red blisters can be observed on the skin. The itchy blister has a ring-like area, so the disease is known as ringworm disease.  More than forty types of fungus can cause ringworm and they all belong to the microsporum species. They reproduce themselves by the spores. This fungus can affect pets, cattle, rodents as well as humans.

Is ringworm contagious?

Ringworm is a very contagious infection. It is transmitted by the open contact of the spores with the skin. The symptoms of this infection is red itchy blisters. It can affect a fit man if he comes in direct contact with an infected person. It also gets transmitted via pets having this type of infection. This fungus affects many organs of the body like the face, nails, scalp, toe, and genital area are general. This fungus is generally observed in soil. Practicing personal hygiene, avoiding the exchange of clothes, and consuming a fit diet can help to stop this infection.

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