Do you struggle with hair breakage and find that certain areas of your scalp itch, and hair won’t grow back? The hair breakage may have started off in one spot, but now different parts of your scalp are experiencing the same issues. You may have noticed hair in these areas feels extremely dry and tends to break off easily. If you have been experiencing months or years of hair breakage, a scalp infection may be the cause.
Ringworm of the scalp, also known as Tinea Capitis, is an infection caused by fungi. The type of fungi that causes Tinea Capitis is mold, which multiplies on Keratin. Fungi that causes problems on the skin in animals and humans are called dermatophytes. This type of fungi is able to infect the outermost layer of the skin and causes temporary hair loss, breakage, scaling and excessive itching of the scalp.
How do you know if you have Tinea Capitis?
Some people get the carrier form of the infection, which means that there are no symptoms of the scalp infection and mild flaking of the scalp . This is why it is important to have a doctor take skin scrapings of your scalp to diagnose Tinea Capitis. You can contact Tinea Capitis from a person or animal.
To avoid getting a scalp infection do not share the following items:
- combs
- brushes
- hats
- pillows scarves
- any items that come in contact with another person’s scalp
Tinea Capitis can live on the skin for a long time. If you have experienced consistent itching of the scalp, you may have used a dandruff shampoo in an effort to stop the flakes and soothe itching. This is another reason why your scalp may look normal and not infected. The fungus could still be causing your hair breakage because it is already settled into the scalp.
Dandruff shampoos have active ingredients such as Ketoconazole, such as Nizoral. It is a strong anti – fungal medication that can combat some of the fungi causing the problem, but not enough to get rid of the entire scalp infection. This is the reason why your hair in the infected areas of the scalp continues to grow and consistently break off.
How to get rid of the fungus
The only way to get rid of the fungus is to take oral antifungal medication prescribed by a doctor. You will have to take the medication for three months and the doctor may also recommend you use an antifungal shampoo as well. Once you start taking the medication as directed by your doctor, you will notice more hair growth.
At home, make sure that you remove and do not reuse anything that came in contact with your scalp. You will also need to wash your sheets and pillow cases every day to prevent reinfection until the infection clears up.
