Stamping out Athlete’s foot
Stamping out Athlete’s foot

Stamping out Athlete’s foot

Written by Heather Davies-Strickleton, Senior Analytical Scientist

Running into trouble: Athlete’s foot is a common problem

Athlete’s foot needs no introduction. A whopping 1 in 6 of us are estimated to have this fungal infection of the foot (also known as tinea pedis).¹,² It usually starts with an irritating itchy rash between the toes, but can progress to painful cracking and blistering of the skin on the toes and soles of the feet.³ Tinea pedis was first reported in Europe in 1908, before which it was considered a rare phenomenon.⁴ Since then numbers have sprinted forward, likely as a result of occluded (closed) footwear, greater movement of people from place to place and more communal sports and health clubs.⁴

Athlete’s foot occurs because a type of fungus called dermatophytes love to grow in damp, moist places like the areas between our toes.¹ They thrive there in the upper layers of the skin, feeding off the skin protein keratin, resulting in a weakened skin barrier and leading to the subsequent symptoms of Athlete’s foot.¹ When it affects between our toes its known as ‘interdigital’, whilst ‘plantar’ refers to infection found on the sole of the foot. It’s not usually serious but can also spread to other parts of the body, such as the nail (onychomycosis) and […]

admin2021-05-25T09:05:15+00:00December 2nd, 2019|Blog Articles|

Ringworm of the scalp: tinea capitis
Ringworm of the scalp: tinea capitis

Ringworm of the scalp: tinea capitis

Written by Dr Heather Davies-Strickleton, Senior Analytical Scientist

Despite its name, ringworm is not caused by worms, it’s caused by fungi called dermatophytes that can infect the skin and cause a ring-shaped rash. This rash can occur anywhere on the body but when it occurs on the scalp it’s called scalp ringworm, or tinea capitis.

Tinea capitis is a highly contagious fungal infection of the scalp hair and skin. It is more common in children than adults and if fact it is so prevalent among children that it is the most common paediatric dermatophyte infection worldwide.¹ Exact numbers are likely underestimated,² however, globally there are thought to be over 200 million cases³ with the annual market for the treatment of tinea capitis estimated at $0.2-0.5 bn.

Tinea capitis is a frequent problem in most countries, but there is also geographic variation and a high proportion of cases are found in resource-poor areas. For instance, there are estimated to be 78 million cases in Sub-Saharan Africa alone.⁴ In addition to age-related and geographical differences, different ethnic communities also show variations in tinea capitis incidence. This has been demonstrated by a US study of school children in which infection rates were highest in African-American children (12.9%) and lower in Hispanic (1.6%) Caucasian children (1.1 %).⁵

The key characteristic of tinea capitis is a red, itchy rash and patchy hair loss. This occurs when dermatophyte fungi that normally live in dead layers of the skin invade the living outermost layer of the skin – the […]

admin2020-03-18T11:56:11+00:00September 30th, 2019|Blog Articles|