Ringworm, sometimes called tinea, is a common skin infection caused by a fungus and not a worm.
The fungus is easily passed between people by contact with infected skin, objects or surfaces. It's possible to get ringworm from:
The fungi that cause ringworm can live on any infected object, including clothing, hairbrushes and sports equipment for a long time.
Children can get ringworm anywhere on their skin.
It can appear on the trunk of the body, arms, legs, feet, or scalp.
Symptoms of ringworm on the body are:
The infection usually starts as flat, scaly spots with a raised red border that spreads outwards in a circle. The border may be scaly and may blister, while the centre of the area often becomes more normal in appearance with fine scaling. Ringworm is often itchy.
On the scalp, ringworm causes small, painful raised pimple-like bumps. The bumps will spread and leave fine, scaly patches of skin. It also causes bald spots and broken hair. This condition is most often seen in pre-teens.
Ringworm is caused by a fungus, so your child needs treatment with antifungal products.
Antifungals products come in a variety of forms such as creams, lotion, powder, spray or gel. Talk to your pharmacist about what is right for your child.
See your doctor if:
Your child can go to school or childcare but they should avoid skin contact with other children until the ringworm goes away. It's a good idea to make sure your child's ringworm is covered - with clothing and footwear etc.
The image of the arm with ringworm is reproduced from DermNet NZ [3].
This page last reviewed 14 November 2022.
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Links
[1] https://www.health.govt.nz/system/files/documents/topic_sheets/skin-ringworm-a4page.pdf
[2] https://www.healthnavigator.org.nz/health-a-z/r/ringworm/
[3] https://dermnetnz.org/topics/tinea-corporis-images?stage=Live
[4] https://www.kidshealth.org.nz/contact?from=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.kidshealth.org.nz%2Fprint%2F2107