What can I do about ringworm that wont go away?

[monkeywriter]

I got a small patch of "ringworm" or so I assumned and still believe so way back in January of this year 2009. Well I took a month to finally get money for med's for it I bought in the store. Well they seemed to be working and I got rid of the thing but not in 4 weeks it took almost 3 months, in the mean time I had grown a second patch that was near my toe all on my foot. The first was small about size of a quarter the new one started smaller. Each time I got a new one small spread fast to larger or longer. So I saw two more little ones I also was treating same time twice a day. The new one and the old one finally faded only in the last two months, but the two small ones got bigger and are now still there slowly fading. In the meantime I managed to get one on the side of my foot and more recently my other foot developed two new ones. Whenever I get a cut on my feet even small it turns into ringworm. The foot it began on has since gotten at least 3 new spots, I have at least 7 to 10 spots all over my foot. The cream isnt helping or at least not like it should. What can I do? I wear socks to bed at night (its summer this is such a pain!) and during the day nylons to air the stuff out but not spread to my shoes. I cant walk around barefeet all the time I have to work and I am worried it will spread to other parts of my body (say arms, legs, etc). Is there some other med I can try? The ones I have been trying are all from the area where foot stuff is and claim they treat "ringworm". Any suggestions? 7 months in and going strong!!!! :((

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
What you seem to be having is athlete’s foot or fungal infection of the foot.It causes scaling, flaking, and itching of affected areas. It is typically transmitted in moist areas where people walk barefoot, such as showers or bathhouses.
wash your feet daily and then dry thoroughly by pat drying,not rubbing. Keep the area dry and keep a separate towel for yourself. Most forms of fungal infections respond to over-the-counter products, which contain any of several basic ingredients: miconazole, tolnaftate, terbinafine, and clotrimazole.
You can consult a pharmacist and get any cream or lotion containing these ingredients. Some of them are Monistat derm, Mycelex, and Nizoral. Undecylenic acid (a castor oil derivative) is a known fungicide and Whitfield’s ointment can also be used for fungal skin infections such as athlete's foot.

In case the symptoms persist then pls consult a dermatologist in that case.Oral antifungals may be needed.

Hope it helps.Take care and pls do keep me posted on how you are doing or if you have any additional doubts.Kind regards.

[jagesh50]

A pic would have been ideal.However if it is indeed fungus you will need internal antifungal antibiotic like terbinafine.