Symptoms of Ringworm

Knowing what the symptoms of ringworm are will give you a head start because when you know what to look for and can quickly identify it, then you can get to cure it quicker. The quicker you take action to treat ringworm then the quicker you can cure the disease and prevent it from spreading to others in your family or community.

Knowing what the symptoms of ringworm are will give you a head start because when you know what to look for and can quickly identify it, then you can get to cure it quicker. The quicker you take action to treat ringworm then the quicker you can cure the disease and prevent it from spreading to others in your family or community.

There are four distinct type of ringworms that can happen to the human body. These are:

1. Ringworm of the Scalp

2. Ringworm of the Body or Skin

3. Ringworm of the Nails on you hands

4. Ringworm of the Toe Nails (Athelete's Foot)

Ringworm of the nails on both hand and feet have similar symptoms so I will explain those symptoms as one entity.

Symptoms of Scalp Ringworm

This usually shows up with small spots under the hairline which start to become quite itchy. That is the first sign and that is quickly followed by a reddening of the scalp, then a crustiness look around the spots and finally a scaling of the scalp. The hair roots become infected and then the hair ends become infected and the hair will become brittle and eventually fall out. Some children can lose up to half of their hair.

Symptoms of Skin or Body Ringworm

This fungal rash will start to appear on your body and is common in and around the groin area and the face. It can however appear on any part of the body however the symptoms look exactly the same. The first sign is usually a small itchy spot, which quickly forms into a reddened raised circular ring. The centre starts to go clear and a distinct ring appearance will show. That is how you can differentiate ringworm from other skin rashes such as scabies. The ring is very distinct and various rings often overlap.

Symptoms of The Nails

This can happen to either the nails on the hand or the nails on the toes and is more common in the toes. It is also better known as athlete's foot when it happens to the toe nails.

The first symptoms of this variant of ringworm will be a discolouring of the actual nails. You will first see the nail colour change to either a yellow or brown and certainly the discolouration will be noticeable. The nails actually do start to thicken and wearing shoes can become rather uncomfortable. The ringworm fungus can eat into the nail itself and produce a thickening and nail that can even look rather deformed. Sometimes you will also notice spotting or streaking of the nails.

It can also eat into the skin that surrounds the nails and if left untreated can spread to other nails. Shortly after that the nails will start to become brittle and can eventually crack and fall off. It is particularly nasty and unsightly and should be treated as soon as any of these symptoms of ringworm begin to show.