Ringworm Health Video

Video Transcript

DR. LORETA CIRALDO: Hi, I'm Dr. Loreta Ciraldo, author of "6 Weeks to Sensational Skin" and dermatology professor and board-certified dermatologist for nearly 30 years now. Now, the term ringworm really is a descriptive term for a fungus which typically takes the shape of a ring. And what we mean by that is that when you look at your skin, you'll see a ring of redness. It's sometimes called a rim of redness and then a clear center. And that's the most common look for a ringworm. Now, this represents superficial fungus infection of the skin. It can sometimes be contagious but most often isn't contagious. The cases where it's contagious are especially ringworm among athletes. So for instance, wrestlers who oftentimes have some sweatiness and perspiration as they're coming in very intimate physical contact with each other, they can have ringworm that's highly contagious. Another kind of ringworm that's highly contagious is ringworm in the scalp and this is especially common before puberty and most of the time, you don't see it after puberty. So if you're dealing with a situation where there are children who are getting itchy spots on their scalp, sometimes there can be pus involved, sometimes it's swelling, and unfortunately, sometimes hair loss, please immediately see a board-certified dermatologist to treat that ringworm before it spreads to other children.