Sunday, March 23, 2008

Symptoms of Ringworm in Human and Pets

Symptoms of Ringworm in Human and Pets
Ringworm is a skin disease, which can be described by the
characteristics of the formation of bumpy patch on the
surface of skin of brownish to reddish raised that seems to
be lighter in the centre, then gives the impression of
formation of ring. This ring actually not formed by any
type of worm which described by the name of the disease
itself but it is a kind of fungal infection, which is
caused by Dermatophytes (skin fungus).

Ringworms is easily transmitted through skin-to-skin
contacts, contaminations of hair brushes, shoes, slippers
and socks. People who have eczema or any other skin
problems are more prone to the occurrence of infection on
the skin. This fungal infection is not limited to human but
also seen in other kind of pets, particularly for cats and
dogs.

Ringworm in human
Dermatophytes grow on dead tissues of human skin following
a circular path to widen its infection. The mold also
infects to fingers, feet, scalp, toenails and skin. With
the passage of time without proper treatment, it could
spread to other parts of the body and become persistent.
The symptoms are normally seen as dryness, itching, flaky
rashes or burning marks on the skin, depends on the
characteristic of the patient. Moisture and heat promote
the fungus grows rapidly, especially to the skin-fold areas
like in between toes and in groin. It can also be
transmitted through sharing swimming pools, showers and
also transmitted through domestic animals. It is advised
that maintain personal cleanliness of the body can reduce
the chances of fungus disease to the body. But if once it
develops in any part of the body, it can be cured through
doctor's prescription of medicines.

Ringworm in cats
In most cases, it is quite obvious that a fungus namely
"Microsporum Canis" or commonly known as "M Canis" is the
majority cause the infection. Cats catch up the disease
from unhygienic stuffs like bedding, clippers or from
direct contacts with other infected animals. Kittens are
more prone to ringworm than grown cats, so proper care
should be taken if you have any young-breed cats in your
home. The common symptoms that can be seen in the infected
cats are excessive hair loss from head or paws, scaly patch
of skin on any part of body which looks itchy and inflamed
due to loss of hair on that part.

Ringworm in dogs
There are around 35 species of ringworm which cause
infection in dogs and these species are the ones that can
also be seen in cats. In many cases we also find that the
infection occurs among the young breeding dogs too, because
young pets are more vulnerable than grown-up ones. One of
the most common symptoms which represent the infection is
the development of lesion on many parts of dog's skin. The
growing of circular scaly patch of broken hair on the skin
surface which seems to appear inflamed and has flakes of
dandruff like particles on the skin of the infected dog.
This also including face, tail, paws and ear tips are the
common areas.


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If you want to find out more about ringworm causes,
symptoms and treatments, please visit
http://www.myringworm.net
http://www.myringworm.org

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