Ringworm Causes, Symptoms & Treatments

By jolene

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Cause #3: Weakened Immune System and Hygiene

Fungi are opportunistic organisms that usually require a weakness in your body’s immune system to cause disease. In humans, it is the first line of defense forming a natural barrier to tinea and other infections. One of the anatomical barriers, the skin, defends itself through sweating, desquamation (shedding helps remove bacteria), flushing, and more. Infection also causes inflammation which attracts cells that fight off infection to the affected area.

In individuals with weaker immune systems such as those with cancer, undergoing chemotherapy, young children, organ transplant patients, or those with infections that compromise their immune systems (human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection), the immune system is weaker and are not as capable at fighting off the infection leading to higher risk and likelihood of ringworm.