Ringworm Of The Skin: Prevention

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Prevention

To prevent ringworm of the skin:

• Keep your skin clean and dry. Change your socks and underwear at least once a day.
• Wear loose-fitting cotton clothing. Avoid tight underwear, pants, and panty hose.
• Always dry yourself completely after showers or baths. After drying your skin with a towel, allow your skin to air-dry before putting your clothes on. You can also use a hair dryer, set on a cool setting, to dry your skin.
• Do not share clothing, sports equipment, towels, or sheets. If you think you have been exposed to ringworm, wash your clothes in hot water with fungus-killing (fungicidal) soap.
• Wear slippers or sandals in locker rooms, showers, and public bathing areas.
• Shower and shampoo thoroughly after any sport that requires skin-to-skin contact.
• If you have athlete's foot, put your socks on before your underwear so that fungi do not spread from your feet to your groin.
• Take your pet to a veterinarian if it has patches of missing hair, which may be a sign of a fungal infection. Household pets can spread fungi that cause ringworm in people.

To prevent ringworm from returning after treatment, apply talcum or other drying powder to the affected area daily.

Last updated:	April 19, 2007
Author:	Maria G. Essig, MS, ELS
Reviewed By:	Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine, Randall D. Burr, MD - Dermatology
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Pat Truman, MATC