Guide To The Symptoms Of Ringworm

Cracked Or Crumbling Nails

When ringworm affects an individual's nails, they will also often deal with cracked or crumbling nails. In most cases, this starts as brittle nails or flaking. It is as the patient's condition progresses that the crumbling and cracks are quite noticeable. This often means that individuals cannot grow long nails, since the ends will crumble away. Thus, patients will have short nails as well. They may also want to continue trimming their nails to a short length when they are receiving treatment. This should make it easier for them to keep their nails clean and to apply any topical treatments more effectively.

Foul Odor

Many forms of ringworm will cause individuals to smell a foul odor. In the case of athlete's foot, the foul odor often comes from between their toes. Tinea cruris, which is the form of ringworm also called jock itch, means that the foul odor will stem from the individual's groin region. Patients who have ringworm of the nail will smell the foul odor around their infected nails. Some individuals also claim to have dealt with this symptom with ringworm that affects other parts of their skin. Many patients describe the foul odor associated with ringworm as having a yeast-like smell to it. Of course, the smell is more intense, which contributes to its unpleasant nature.