Among the many treatments available to treat ringworm, anti-fungal creams are usually accepted as the most successful. Ringworm shows up on the skin as a irritation that has a circular appearance to it.The outer edges appear red and the inner portion has regular looking skin. The skin on the edges of the ring many be crusty and raised. The irritation itself is not painful but it does get itchy. It is the discomfort of the itch that most people find the most inconvenient about ringworm.
Contrary to the name, ringworm is not caused by a worm but rather by a fungus. That is why anti-fungal creams work best. Creams do not work as well on animals. Dips and shampoos are typically used. Treatments for humans typically consists of a cream application. It some cases an oral medication may be used depending on the severity of the outbreak. Over the counter medications in general can take care of the milder forms of ringworm, such as athletes foot and jock itch. Rarely will these fungi require more than over the counter creams. Creams and ointments that are available without a prescription typically have or clotrimazole in them. The most common brand name products that have one or other of these ingredients include Micatin, Monistat, Tinactin and Lotrimin. Another common brand name drug, Lamisil, contains the drug terbinafin which is another form of anti-fungal drug.
Thoroughly clean the inflammation with soap and water, and then dry the area before applying the cream. Make sure the cream is spread all the way past the outer edges of the inflammation. It is important not to stop the medication simply because your symptoms have decreased or gone away completely. With most products you need to continue the treatment for two to four weeks.
Your irritation should show significant improvement within a couple of weeks. If it does not it is probably time to go to a doctor for a more exact diagnosis. Doctors have a wide variety of fungal medications available to them through prescriptions. One such medication is known as allylamines. It comes in creams, pills or gels.
Ringworm can spread to a variety places on the body. Two of the most difficult places to treat are the scalp and the toenails. A fungal nail infection attacks a finer or toe nails or the skin under the nail. Fungal nail infections can be difficult to treat. Most over the counter treatments for nail fungus are topical in nature and are generally less then 20% successful in curing the fungus. medical doctor's can prescribe an anti-fungal pill which has about a 50% success rate for this difficult type of fungus. An anti-fungal pill is the most successful cure for ringworm of the scalp as well. The fungus affects the hair and occasionally causes it to fall out leaving round patches of missing hair. You can use prescription creams as well to treat ringworm of the scalp.
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