Tinea capitis is a scalp infection caused by a type of fungus. Patients often have itching, flaky scalp, and patchy hair loss. It can occur in people of all ages, but is most common in children aged 6-12 years. It is spread from person to person through close contact or sharing personal items such as combs, towels, pillows, hats, etc., or it can be spread from pets that are infected with this disease.
Symptoms of Channatu
Channatitis can present with a variety of symptoms, including:
- Hair loss in patches, hair becomes brittle and breaks, leaving black spots in the areas where the fungus is infected.
- The scalp flakes into round spots and some people may develop dermatitis with red, flaky or swollen rashes.
- Severe itching of the scalp . When the itching occurs and the scratching becomes a wound, the wound can become inflamed and infected.
- Channatu can cause permanent hair loss and scarring in patients.
- There are pustules or abscesses that may be painful when pressed.
- Have a low fever of approximately 37.8-38.3 degrees Celsius.
- Swollen lymph nodes in the neck
However, there are many scalp conditions that can cause similar symptoms. If you experience hair loss, dandruff, itching, or any other unusual scalp symptoms, you should see a doctor for proper diagnosis and treatment. Self-treatment of chancre is not enough to eliminate the fungus that causes this disease.
Causes of Channatu
Chancroid is caused by a fungus called Dermatophytes, which live in the tissues of the human hair, nails, and outer skin. They thrive in warm, humid temperatures and can occur in many areas of the skin, especially areas of the skin that produce a lot of oil, such as the scalp, eyelids, eyelashes, bridge of the nose, lips, behind the ears, or on the ears.
Ringworm is an infection that can be easily spread from person to person through skin contact with an infected person, or from animals to people. Animals that are commonly found to have ringworm include dogs, cats, cows, pigs, horses, and sheep, especially kittens and puppies. People who are close to, care for, or feed these animals are at risk of becoming infected as well. In addition, the cause of infection can also come from contact with any items that have germs from infected humans or animals, such as clothing, towels, pillows, mattresses, and combs.
Although chancre can occur in people of all ages, the following people may be more at risk of contracting the infection:
- Infants and young children are the most common group to contract chancre, especially children in schools or childcare centers where they often have close contact or play with each other.
- Contact with pets Dogs and cats can be infected with this disease without showing any symptoms. Playing with or coming into contact with these pets is one of the risk factors for contracting chancre.
- People who have suffered scalp injuries
- I don’t shower or wash my hair often.
- Having wet skin for a long time, such as when sweating.
- Living in a warm, humid climate
- Immunocompromised patients, including those resulting from cancer treatment, and malnourished patients.
Diagnosis of Channathu
Diagnosis of chancre or diseases affecting the scalp. Initially, the doctor usually performs a visual examination along with an assessment of the symptoms reported by the patient. In addition, a sample may be collected from the hair or scalp to be examined under a microscope, which is a method that helps to see the fungus on the scalp and confirm the diagnosis clearly.
Treatment of channatu
Chancroid is treated with oral antifungal medications. The most commonly prescribed medications are griseofulvin and terbinafine, which are taken for about four to six weeks. Use of both medications should be done with caution, as they can have side effects. Common side effects are diarrhea and indigestion . Patients can take these medications with a high -fat meal, such as ice cream or peanut butter, to reduce side effects.
Doctors often recommend using an antifungal shampoo, which kills the fungal spores and prevents the infection from spreading to others or to other areas of the scalp or body. Antifungal shampoos contain at least 2.5% of an antifungal agent, such as ketoconazole or selenium sulfide. The shampoo is applied and left on for five minutes, then rinsed. Your doctor may recommend using it twice a week for a month. Using an antifungal shampoo alone can slow or stop the spread of the fungus, but it will not eliminate it completely. It must be treated with oral antifungal medication.
The treatment for those with severe inflammation that has raised pustules is the same, but it takes longer to heal, about 12-16 weeks. In addition, removing the hard pustule will help relieve itching and prevent secondary infection. You should use a bandage soaked in warm water or saline and pat the wound area moist so that the scalp does not feel pain while removing the pustule. However, if the patient has a secondary bacterial infection, antibiotics such as Cloxacillin , along with applying an antifungal cream, will help the scalp wound heal and prevent the pustule from forming again.
However, even with treatment, the growth of fungal spores on the scalp can persist for months, and keeping a child with chancre out of school for treatment is not helpful, and treatment may not be effective if the infection reoccurs, the patient is highly susceptible, has poor drug absorption, or is uncooperative with treatment.
If a family member is found to be infected with chancre, if necessary, other family members and pets in the house may need to be examined and treated because there is a chance that the infection can spread to each other. In order to prevent infection, children and other people in the house may need to use antifungal shampoo 2-3 times a week for about 6 weeks. In addition, people with chancre should wash towels in hot soapy water and dry them on high heat after each use. Combs and brushes should be cleaned by dipping them in water mixed with detergent in a ratio of 1:10 for 1 hour, doing this for 3 consecutive days.
Complications of Channathu
Complications of Chanatha disease that may occur include severe hair loss, hair loss and permanent scarring. In addition, patients may also be affected psychologically, especially in children, because the symptoms of the disease cause embarrassment, disgust or being teased by friends, leading to problems of fighting when children feel angry and cannot control themselves and hurt their friends.
Channatu prevention
Channatu is a difficult disease to prevent because it is caused by a fungus that is very contagious. However, you can reduce your risk of contracting this disease by following these steps:
- Educate and educate children or family members about channatu to be aware and careful of the risk of contracting ringworm from infected people or animals by telling children how to recognize the symptoms of ringworm infection and how to avoid it.
- Wash your hair regularly. If you have children, parents should wash their hair regularly, especially after getting a haircut at a barbershop where there is a risk of infection from sharing combs or equipment with infected people. Children should also have their hair cut short to reduce the risk of infection.
- Do not share personal items such as towels, clothes, combs or other personal items, and emphasize this to children not to borrow or share these items with others.
- Practice good hygiene: Teach children to wash their hands frequently to prevent infection, and clean shared public spaces regularly, especially schools, daycare centers, gyms, and public lockers.
- Avoid contact with infected animals. This can be observed from the animal’s skin, which has patches of hair loss, often with wounds. However, sometimes animals infected with ringworm may not have any symptoms, so it is important to take your pet to see a veterinarian regularly.
