Guide To The Causes, Risk Factors, And Transmission Of Ringworm

Sharing With Infected Individuals

Sharing certain objects with someone infected with ringworm can cause an individual to contract the fungal infection. Objects in the home and public places that have been contaminated by someone infected with ringworm can allow for the easy transmission of the fungus to another individual. Common objects shared between individuals that are most often implicated in the transmission of ringworm include hairbrushes, sheets, pillowcases, tennis shoes, bath towels, razors, shower loofahs, sponges, and gear that are used for athletics. Fungi that cause a ringworm infection tend to grow around the shaft of an individual's hair and on their superficial skin layers. The fungi produce infective arthrospores distributed in large numbers through the skin cells and hair shed from an infected individual's body. These arthrospores can stay infectious from several months to several years on nonliving objects, depending on the environment they are in. Arthrospores are unable to penetrate through dry and healthy skin but use the vulnerabilities of mucous membrane exposure and lacerations on the skin when they come in contact with the body.

Learn more about the causes and risk factors for developing ringworm now.