User:Ryanfriedberg23/Athlete's foot

Causes

Fungi thrive in moist, warm areas, such as locker rooms, tanning beds, swimming pools, and skin folds; accordingly, those that cause dermatophytosis may be spread by using exercise machines that have not been disinfected after use, or by sharing towels, clothing, footwear, or hairbrushes.

There are a multiple of ways that dermatophytosis can be spread to a human:

Human to human contact is the most common way as dermatophytosis is often spread through direct skin to skin contact with a person who is infected. Animals can also spread dermatophytosis through direct contact with one, such as petting a dog. Other ways humans can contract dermatophytosis is through contact with objects or surfaces that an infected person or animal has recently touched. Human to object transmision of dermatophytosis often occurs by rubbing/touching clothing, towels, bedding and linens, combs, and brushes that have been infected.

Risk Factors

People living or are often exposed to warm, moist climates are at a higher risk of dermatophytosis. Sharing objects with others, such as bed sheets, towels, and clothings increases your risk. Participating in activities that require close, skin to skin contact, such as wrestling, is a common way people are infected. A weaken immune system may increase your chances of getting dermatophytosis.

Treatment

Human

Treatment for humans vary based on Dermatophytosis location on the body and how serious the infection is.

Dermatophytosis on the skin, such as athletes foot and jock itch, can often be treated with non-prescription antifungal creams, lotions, or powders applied to the skin for 2 to 4 weeks. Over the counter treatment options include:

• Clotrimazole (Lotrimin, Mycelex)
• Miconazole (Aloe Vesta Antifungal, Azolen, Baza Antifungal, Carrington Antifungal, Critic Aid Clear, Cruex Prescription Strength, DermaFungal, Desenex, Fungoid Tincture, Micaderm, Micatin, Micro-Guard, Miranel, Mitrazol, Podactin, Remedy Antifungal, Secura Antifungal)
• Terbinafine (Lamisil)
• Ketoconazole (Xolegel)

For more severe cases of Dermatophytosis, prescribed treatments are needed

Dermatophytosis on the scalp requires different treatment than that of on the skin. These infections usually need to be treated with prescription antifungal medication taken by mouth for 1 to 3 months.Prescription antifungal medications used to treat ringworm on the scalp include:

• Griseofulvin (Grifulvin V, Gris-PEG)
• Terbinafine
• Itraconazole (Onmel, Sporanox)
• Fluconazole (Diflucan)

Pet animals

Treatment requires both systemic oral treatment with most of the same drugs used in humans—terbinafine, fluconazole, or itraconazole—as well as a topical "dip" therapy.

Because of the usually longer hair shafts in pets compared to those of humans, the area of infection and possibly all of the longer hair of the pet must be clipped to decrease the load of fungal spores clinging to the pet's hair shafts. However, close shaving is usually not done because nicking the skin facilitates further skin infection.

Twice-weekly bathing of the pet with diluted lime sulfur dip solution is effective in eradicating fungal spores. This must continue for 3 to 8 weeks.

Washing of household hard surfaces with 1:10 household sodium hypochlorite bleach solution is effective in killing spores, but it is too irritating to be used directly on hair and skin.

Pet hair must be rigorously removed from all household surfaces, and then the vacuum cleaner bag, and perhaps even the vacuum cleaner itself, discarded when this has been done repeatedly. Removal of all hair is important, since spores may survive 12 months or even as long as two years on hair clinging to surfaces.

Cattle

In bovines, an infestation is difficult to cure, as systemic treatment is uneconomical. Local treatment with iodine compounds is time-consuming, as it needs scraping of crusty lesions. Moreover, it must be carefully conducted using gloves, lest the worker become infested.

History

Dermatophytosis has been prevalent since before 1906, at which time ringworm was treated with compounds of mercury or sometimes sulfur or iodine. Hairy areas of skin were considered too difficult to treat, so the scalp was treated with X-rays and followed up with antifungal medication. Another treatment from around the same time was application of Araroba powder.

The erliest evidence of dermatophytosis can be dated back to Charaka Samhita (c. second century BC) which mentioned a term Dadru in the seventh chapter of the Chikitsa Sthanam, whose description resembled ringworm.

Dermatophytosis received its more recognizable name, ringworm, due to the circular rash it creates on the skin where the inside skin appears clearer than the outside, creating a ring.