What is Ringworm?
A Common Infection or a Worm

Many people wonder what is ringworm? It certainly looks like a small round worm but is it a worm?

This skin problem is caused by a fungus known as tinea. Interestingly, the Latin word 'tinea' when translated means worm.

Even though it is a fungus and not a worm the fungus acts like a parasite in the sense that it feeds off our body eating keratin protein which we have in our nails, skin or hair. Places on our body where this fungus thrives.

Symptoms of Tinea

• a small round patch that can appear anywhere on the body.
• as the rash spreads the center clears leaving a raised circle that looks like a ring.
• more than one patch of rash can appear on the body at a given time.
• patches of infection may overlap.
• infected area can become itchy.

It should be diagnosed by a trained person who will do one of the following tests:

• a skin scraping
• fungal culture
• rapid microscopic identification
• dermatophyte testing medium (DTM).

• If mistaken for another rash and treated with topical steroid it could result in tinea incognito. That means the fungus will grow without typical features like a raised border.

So now we know, ringworm is a highly contagious fungal infection and not a worm.

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