Are You Suffering From Skin Fungus?

Dry skin, psoriasis or skin fungus? At times, these skin terms just makes us so confused. Fact is, the skin could be affected by a case of tinea instead.

What is Tinea?

Tinea is a common infection caused by a fungus that grows on the human skin. Depending on the location on the body where it is present, it’s also called: "athlete's foot", "jock itch", or "ringworm".
You can get a fungal infection by direct contact with contaminated objects or an infected person. It can invade keratinized tissue (skin, hair, nails) but are restricted to the upper layer of the skin.

Ringworm

Ringworm, regardless of its name, is not caused by a worm but by a fungus (Trichophyton rubrum). It grows in a circular shape, leaving the center clear and having a ring appearance.
A rare form of tinea is caused by microsporum cani. (This is a fungus spread by cats and dogs. The symptoms are the same but the infection is more severe)

Prevention

From my own experience, you can’t completely avoid fungi or totally eliminate skin fungus presence. They are a part of our life and are present almost everywhere.

Here's what I have done to prevent skin fungi from coming to me.

Keep your skin dry and clean because fungi like warm and humid places and don’t share towels, clothing, socks or footwear with others.
Try to stay away from people with fungal infections.
Keep working and living environment clean and dust free.

Symptoms

The infection usually starts looking like a rash that may begin to peel, crack or itch as it grows.
Ringworm can affect either your face, body or groin area and show slightly different symptoms.
On the body and groin they may include small bumps and dry edges. On the face they can be blurry but the sunlight can irritate the infection.

Treatments

Most cases of ringworm infections can be treated with topical antifungal creams or pills. The medication will kill the fungus in around 2 – 4 weeks. However this type of treatment should be continued for another 2 weeks after the symptoms disappear to prevent the fungus from returning.

Ringworm can become very painful and may even require antibiotics to treat associated bacterial infections if not treated properly.

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