Medical Questions » Fungal Infections Questions » Question No. 408
| Question: | What is ringworm? I keep getting this rash on my belly every summer. It settles with creams my doctor prescribes, but always comes back again. |
| Answer: | Ringworm is NOT caused by a worm, but is a fungal infection of the skin (tinea). The fungus settles in one spot on the skin, and after the infection starts, a red dot may be seen but is often missed because it is quite small. This dot slowly enlarges as the fungus spreads away from its central base. After a few days, the centre of the red patch becomes pale again and similar to normal skin, because the infection is no longer active at this point. Meanwhile the infection continues to spread and forms an ever-enlarging red ring on the skin. The same phenomenon can be seen in nature with mushroom rings that form on the ground after damp weather, because mushrooms are a giant, distant relation to the microscopic fungi that are responsible for ringworm.
The spores of the fungus can settle in the base of hair follicles and sweat glands in the skin where they cannot be destroyed by creams and lotions on the skin. This enables the infection to flare up again months later when circumstances are right for the multiplication of spores.
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