Ringworm may affect any area of the body but its favorite places are dark and moist. Here we include the groin, the spaces between the toes and the deep skin folds of obese people.



People may develop ringworm after direct skin to skin contact with an infected person or animal. Indirect catch of ringworm is a consequence of wearing an infected person's clothes or touching contaminated items or surfaces.

Ringworm is a common infection that affects about 20 percent of the humans. It can affect different parts of the body such as the scalp, the beard, the body, the groin or the feet.

Scalp ringworm is an infection known as tinea capitis. Most affected of this type of ringworm are urban children aged 3 to 9. It may occur in epidemics in schools and day-care centers. This infection causes hair weakness and may lead to temporary and local baldness.

Barber's itch, as we call beard ringworm is seen in adult men. This infection occurs as it mane says in the bearded areas.

Tinea corporis or body ringworm occurs in the non-hairy areas of the face, trunk, arms and legs. This is the classic type of ringworm that produces ring-shaped patches. This type of infection occurs in women as much as it occurs in men. Body ringworm may also occur in any age.

Ringworm of the groin is an itching infection that occurs in the groin area. It is also called tinea cruris and affects especially obese people. This type of tinea is the most common type of all ringworm infections.

Feet ringworm is the second most common form of tinea. It is also called tinea pedis and may be caused by barefoot walk especially in gyms and locker rooms.

Symptoms vary from one form of tinea to another. In most of the cases symptoms consist of itchiness but sometimes may include kerion and crusted skin or even burnings.

Doctors usually tell right after they see if it is ringworm or not. When they can not tell they scrap the infected area and look at the specimen under a microscope.

Patients should use antifungal cream in order to treat their ringworm. The used creams must contain terbinafine, tolnaftate, miconazole, clotrimazole or undecylenic.

Patients should see a doctor in case the ringworm does not disappear in more than a week. If the patient has other health problems is also recommended for him to ask for a specialist's opinion.