Tinea Corporis

Also known as ringworm, this disease is caused by a fungus. It refers to the fungal infection of the face or body and does not include the beard area on men. It occurs generally in people living in warm, tropical climate and affects women and men equally. This disease affects people of all age equally. It occurs commonly among children and gets spread through skin to skin contact as well as by contact with contaminated items. This disease spreads readily. Human beings can contract this disease from animals such as dogs and cats. People practicing contact sports have a higher risk of contracting this infection through skin contact.

The fungi which cause this infection are divided into three groups depending upon their favorite sources or hosts. They are zoophile from animal sources, geophile from soil sources and anthropophile from humans. The fungi which causes ringworm is zoophile and is transmitted through contact with animals.

Cause

Contact with animals such as cats, dogs, hamsters, calves and guinea pigs causes Tinea Corporis. Children are quite prone to ringworm and they can easily pass them to other children. Farmers and people with animals are at an increased risk of contracting ringworm.

Symptoms

It starts as a lesion which is a scaly, flat spot which develops a raised border that advances outward in a circle. The border is raised, red and scaly whereas the inner area is normal in appearance with fine scaling. The size of the patches varies from a few mm to several cm in diameter. The infection spreads from the center of the patch and its activity is confined to the outer edge. The infected area is generally itchy.

It can be diagnosed clinically depending upon the look of the rash. It can be diagnosed on sight or the skin scraping may be taken for examination. It is examined under a microscope or put on an agar plate in a microbiological laboratory and allowed to grow.

Treatment

Topical antifungal drugs which contain miconazoole and clotrimazole are used for clearing up the infection. Treatment for ringworm is decided by the physician based on age, health, medical history, tolerance to specific medication, location of the ringworm and expectations for the course of the condition.

Since the fungi which causes skin infections are present everywhere therefore it is not possible to avoid it. One should abstain from direct skin to skin contact with people or animals which are suspected of having a fungal infection.