Although its name suggests it, ringworm is not an illness caused by a worm, it is a fungal infection of the skin that resembles a worm. The ringworm fungus can grow on the skin and cause a red itchy circular patch to appear. This patch is bright red towards the edges and a less bright red towards its center, forming a ring. Because the skin is more irritated near the margins of the ringworm infection it is also a little swollen there, so the affected areas look like a small worm that has the shape of a ring - this is why the illness is called ringworm.



The majority of ringworm infections can be easily treated at home, but you should first consult a doctor that will prescribe you the best medication that fits your case. The most used ringworm medication are different kinds of ointments that must be applied on the skin a few times a day for a few days until the infection is gone, and afterwards in order to make sure that it won't appear again.

Sometimes although you used the prescribed cream ringworm does not go away. In this case the infection is stronger and it needs to be treated with anti-fungal pills. If you don't take the ringworm medication exactly as the doctor tells you to the infection can return even if the red itchy areas have disappeared.

The most widely used antifungals are:

-azoles, antifungal pills that can be purchased without a medical prescription

-allyamines, available as both creams and pills, most don't require medical prescriptions

-other drugs like econazole, terbinafine, miconazole and floconazole

There also are non-chemical methods of dealing with ringworm. You should remember that ringworm thrives in areas with a lot of moisture and that are dark, like most species of fungi, so if you get a lot of sun and air, and you wash your skin often and the dry it good, you will create a "hostile" environment for the fungus.

A good home remedy for curing ringworm is sea salt. If you apply sea salt on the infected patches it will absorb all the moisture on the skin and completely dry that place. This hurts the fungi which need a lot of humidity. Sea salt must be repeatedly applied for at least 30 minutes until the infection goes away. This should happen in a few days, depending on the patient.

Some experts recommend rubbing your skin with manuka oil, an extract from a species of plants that grow in new zeeland. Tests have proven that this oil is very effective against the ringworm infections.

If ringworm is left untreated then the infection will start eating through the skin and it will also infect the blood cells under it. In this case it must be eliminated from the body by antibiotics before it causes other damages. And always ask your doctor before choosing to try any ringworm medication because only he can tell you if it's good and if there are any chances that it will work.