how long before fungus looks scaly no treatment

[Mcmargo]

Hello I think i athletes feet on my hand I am waiting for the cultivate .05% lotion to clear out my skin that used for 6 days 1x daily . It has been 7 days  . I wanted to know how long days would it take for flat round  rings clear in middle on my palms to get dry or scaly without treatment because every picture I see has dryness, scaly etc. i do not have that. Unfortunatly my dermatologist wont culture cause she says has to be scaly to be ringworm & same with my feet. I need oral medications . I used lamisal at for 2 weeks & then the derm took me off bec she said it is not ringworm  & then my hand burned after 2 days.

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Fungal infections can present in ring or circular form and it is not usually dry. as mentioned earlier, it is better to get a KOH examination of the skin scrapings of the area or a biopsy skin done to confirm the diagnosis.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your dermatologist. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.

[Mcmargo]

some of circles are coming back with red dots in middle does fungus do that? still flat

[Mcmargo]

is there always scaling dryness or raised edges  in the ringsif it  includes the palms or finger tips immediately or if not treated turns 2 this?

[Mcmargo]

No it was flat round red like ringworm bunched togethrt i put lamisal  at for 2 weeks  it did take some the rings away but still redness & took burning away i went to her because everyday i would get new areas burning red & label reads 2 weeks.. My derm said it was not ringworm/fungus there is no scaling so she took meoff lamisal then i  my hands started 2 burn after 2days & she  put me on cultivate lotion.  i started lamisal immediately i assume i do not have scaling, dryness, very little itch (once in awhile) due to starting early. cutivate lotion  it cleared the  some of the redness but my hands felt still burning  but decreased like i had bengay on for 6 days i used it.. my question is why did lamisal at   work and cultivate worked but i still had some mild burning so iam confused

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Cutivate is a potent steroid cream used for treatment of eczema and is not used for fungal infections. If you are benefitting from cultivate then chances are more likely that this is due to a nummular dermatitis which is a sort of eczema. It is less likely to be due to a fungal infection. From the description (dry, red, itchy), it seems like nummular dermatitis but exact confirmation has to be done first. Steroids prescribed in nummular dermatitis can worsen the symptoms if it is ringworm. To rule out any fungal infection, it is better if your get a KOH examination of the skin scrapings done.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your dermatologist. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.