Ringworm treatment

        The most interesting fact that anyone should know about the ringworm treatment is that it does not aim to kill or stop the growth of a worm. In all actuality, ringworm has absolutely nothing to do with worms. Basically, in this case, the name of the disease is misleading. The true definition of ringworm can be derived from knowledge about the ringworm treatment: the drugs used are antifungal medication. Therefore, the logical conclusion is that ringworm is a fungal infection. The name of the illness represents the early ideas about it: the physical manifestations that show up at the surface of the skin resemble the head of a worm. Essentially, by looking at some ringworm pictures, a person will see two concentric circles, that are redder then the area surrounding them.

       Just like with any other type of treatment, when talking about the ringworm treatment, one has to keep in mind the following thing: while trying to alleviate the ringworm symptoms is a good and useful thing, it will not do anything to destroy the ringworm cause. In general, the fungus that is believed to be the cause of this disease does not lay next to the surface of the skin. Therefore, if the physician prescribes some sort of topical ringworm treatment, but nothing for the actual fungus, then the treatment is done for nothing. The obvious manifestations will disappear in a few days and the patient will stop the treatment. After a while, from ten days to a month, the two concentric circles will make another appearance. It is not another infection. The old one has started acting up again due to a lack of proper medication.

Ringworm pictures

        ...see more Ringworm pictures: Ringworm pictures

       Obviously, the ringworm treatment must be restarted. Unfortunately, there are two downsides to discontinuing the treatment: in the first phase, when the fungus had no clue as to what was hitting it and trying to kill it, the treatment could have worked wonders. It is a concept that works in wars just as well as in combating diseases: blitzkrieg. Basically, it postulates that the drugs need to attack fast and with no mercy, so as to not give the illness time to accommodate and develop defense mechanisms or even a counter - attack strategy. Alas, once the ringworm treatment is stopped, so is the blitzkrieg. And just like in any war, prisoners have been taken: some molecules of drug are left behind and they allow the guilty fungi to evolve and incorporate traits that make them immune to that type of ringworm medication.

       The second negative aspect of the discontinuation of the ringworm treatment is the fact that it cannot be restarted immediately. Technically, there is no problem for a topical cream or lotion to be reapplied right in the moment of the new eruption. However, just as usual, the practical aspect of things is not as perfect as the theory. Imagine that the skin at the surface of the lesion has undergone some serious structure modifying and it might take some time to reform the original configuration that responded to that type of medication. It might take five days up to a week from the moment that the lesions have reappeared to allow the medication to start doing its job. That is not a favorable time period: the disease could spread freely in those few days and the pain and the itching can go up a notch or two, enough to be really uncomfortable.

       Keep in mind that if you cumulate the two effects of the interruption of the treatment, the end result is much more dangerous: the fungus can grow immune to the adequate treatment for longer periods of time, thus allowing the pathogen agent to affect more and more areas of the body.

       However, all this happens only if the dermatologist does not do his or her job correctly or if the patient chooses to self - medicate. Mostly, because of the patient. In general, the specialists know everything about the ringworm treatment and the ringworm symptoms, making the diagnosis of ringworm a very easy process. Once the ringworm diagnosis is established, the dual treatment can begin. On the one hand, the patient will be treated for the external signs of the illness. Those are relatively easy to eliminate. However, the attending physician must also destroy the guilty fungus. How can one do that? Well, the answer is simple: by prescribing an antifungal. The solution in itself sounds relatively easy to apply. Unfortunately, this is not as easy as it seems. Usually, the physician must take into account an entire slew of side - factors that can aggravate the illness or that can inactivate the drug. After those pesky problems have been eliminated, the path is clear for the treatment to work its magic.

       Until the last two decades of the last century, the antifungal of choice had been griseofulvin. However, some american specialists have uncovered that this drug can lead to some rather unfortunate modification in the immune system of the patient. It does not kill the patient, but it does weaken him or her enough to cause a serious problem. Therefore, griseofulvin has been almost completely eliminated from the ringworm treatment scheme. Other medication has started to take its place: terbinafine, itraconazole and fluconazole are both safer and cheaper. Usually, the oral treatment lasts from two weeks to three months. If the fungus has not disappeared until then, perhaps the problem lies within the immune system of the patient and not with the fungus.