What's the Best Way to Disinfect for Ringworm?

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Dr. David Hill, and today we're going to talk about the best ways to disinfect for ringworm. The first and most important thing to know about ringworm is it is not a worm. It is a fungal infection of the skin. It seems, because of the round shape, people used to think maybe it was caused by a worm or was a worm. But it's not. It's a fungus. Now, it is transmitted both from skin to skin, so people who engage in sports like wrestling or football that involves skin to skin contact are prone to get it. It can also be transmitted on clothing, on towels, and on surfaces like locker room benches and floors. So if it's possible to clean those surfaces, especially if you know somebody using them has ringworm, you want to do so. Now, the same 10 percent Clorox solution that you can use to clean almost any surface will work beautifully for surfaces that are not damaged by Clorox. If you're looking for a fabric, for example, you probably want to spot test it before you clean with that. There are special detergents that can be used to kill fungus that grow in clothing or towels. I'd also recommend a hot water cycle. And again, if it's something that's colorfast, you might try bleach. On your own body, you want to get rid of the ringworm using an anti-fungal medicine, and any of the athlete's foot or jock itch creams that are sold over the counter in the drugstore work just as well as anything that we have a prescription to give you for. The key is to keep treating for a week after the rash disappears. That's the hard part because once the rash has gone away, you kind of forget about it. But you want to keep that cream out there where you can remember to keep putting it where the rash was. You also want to treat beyond the margins of the rash by about an inch because the fungus is out there even though you don't see a skin reaction yet. So remember, ringworm is a fungus. You do want to disinfect potentially exposed surfaces, ideally with a 10 percent Clorox solution, and you do want to wash potentially exposed clothing in hot water, laundry detergent, and even bleach if possible. Talking about disinfecting for ringworm, I'm Dr. David Hill."