What is Ringworm?
Ringworm of the scalp is a fungal infection the medical term for ringworm is tinea capitis.
How is ringworm caught?
In most cases ringworm is transferred by contact with animals like cows, dogs, cats, hamsters and guinea pigs.
Most mammals have this skin fungus but do not have any symptoms but this can still be transferred to humans.
You can also get ringworm from another person that already has it via touching and sharing towels.
Fungi and their spores can live for long periods of time on brushes, unwashed towels and furniture.
There are some people that are carriers of fungi that means they have fungi on their skin and hair but it dose not invade into there skin this means they do not get infected and have no symptoms, so they will pass the fungi onto other people who will then get symptoms.
You will find scalp ringworm will mainly affect children and it is rare in adults, this is because of the normal skin oil (sebum) which increases on the scalp after puberty has properties that will make it resistant to fungi.
What symptoms will I have?
You may find one or more sections of the scalp will show hair loss or give a stubbly appearance.
You will find the skin will be slightly scaly with a little or no irritation.
You may fine the infection just looks like you have really bad dandruff on various places of your scalp; this can some times be mistaken as psoriasis.
You will alternatively get a 6 to 9cm wide lesion that may develop in to a large rash.
You may find a kerion will become inflamed and fill with pus or fluid, which will also be very painful.
This can cause permanent scarring and hair loss if not treated early enough.
If you find you have severe infection such as kerion or pustules you may find you develop a fever and the glands in your neck may swell in rare cases.
How do I get ringworm diagnosed?
It is best to go and see a doctor as there are many other skin diseases that have similar symptoms which require very different treatments.
Your doctor may take a scraping of the fungi so it can be microscopic checks and cultivation to identify it.
Once you have been diagnosed you will need to start your treatment straight away to avoid the ringworm infection spreading further and also to avoid infection of other people.
What is the treatment I will get?
The most common treatment is anti-fungal medicine which is taken by mouth.
If a large kerion have formed the antifungal treatment may be supplemented with corticosteroids for a short time.