Ringworm sounds awful – but skin complaint not as bad as it first looks

WHAT’S alive but not quite a plant or an animal?

For years scientists thought fungi were plants, but these days we’re not so sure and, if anything, they’re more like animals. Sorry, vegetarians! I was trying to explain a fungal infection to a patient last week – one who appeared to have a patch of ringworm.

If you’re unfamiliar with the condition it can sound alarming. No one wants worms in their skin, clearly.

But ringworm is actually caused by various types of fungal germs which can infect the skin, nails and hair.

You can pick it up from touching it – either from someone else who has it, or from a surface like a towel or a chair which they have used.

One might also get it from an infected pet or a farm animal.

My patient had noticed a circular patch of skin on his arm which had started off quite small. It was scaly and inflamed on the outside edge, and white towards the middle.

As the days wore on the patch of skin enlarged so he came in to the surgery for me to have a look.

In tricky cases, a GP or dermatologist might do a skin scraping test to see if it’s ringworm, but it can usually be diagnosed from the typical appearance.

In fact, a pharmacist will often be able to tell you if you have ringworm, and give you an appropriate anti-fungal cream.

There are a host of these and they all take a varying amount of time to clear the infection, ranging from days to weeks – so it’s important to follow the instructions.

Generally you keep using them for a few days after the rash has disappeared to make sure the fungus has completely gone.