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Ringworm is estimated to exist in some form for over 70% of the population. Ringworm can be treated and controlled but it is a highly contagious fungal infection of the skin. It is a common misconception that ringworm is a worm. However, ringworm worm is not a worm at all but a fungal infection that can affect humans as well as animals. It is named after its characteristics. It is usually round in shape a darker on the edges causing it to look like a worm in shape. Round spots on the skin are not always caused by a ringworm fungal infection. Actually there are several other skin ailments that can also take a round sore shape on the skin. These can be but are not limited to eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis, scabies, shingles or even granuloma annulare.

Ringworm is also called by its medical term which is tinea. There are different forms of ringworm and they are all distinguished by there tinea name. These are tinea corporis, capitis, cruris, pedis, unguium, versicolor and manuum. Tinea coporis is a fungal infection that affects the legs, arms and or trunk of a person. While tinea capitis is specific to a fungal infection that affects the scalp of a person. Tinea cruris and tinea pedis are also commonly known as jock itch and athlete’s foot.

It is quite easy to come into contact with ringworm spores. Ringworm can be transferred by close personal contact with an infected individual. It can also be transferred by coming into contact with infected objects in your environment. For example, your friend has a ringworm on her arm. You wear a shirt that she has also worn without washing. Now you can have ringworm. Spores from ringworm can live off of the body on an object for very long periods of time.

Prevention of ringworm can be pretty easy. It is best to avoid contact with an infected person or object if you know they are infected. However, this can be difficult to do considering there is no signs on things saying “dont touch this towel I have ringworm”. Make sure you wash clothing, sheets and towels after every use. It is also important with ringworm to dry clothing and bedding on high heat for up to twenty minutes. Ringworm spores feed on moisture so if you limit their source you can hope to eliminate them with treatment. Wearing airy clothing and flip flops in the summer is also a way to reduce ringworm infections on the body and the feet.

Look here for more information about ringworm or on a safe and effective ringworm treatment.

Scabies is not a term you hear discussed at the workplace or possibly at family gatherings but it is a very wide spread condition still present and causing problems for people.

Scabies is known as a highly contagious infection caused by a tiny microscopic mite. These mites are usually only about 0.3mm long and burrow into the skin of humans. The female mite burrows under the skin and lays several eggs.  Once the eggs hatch they come up from the skin and attach to the hair shaft for a few molts before growing into adult mites and starting the life cycle over again.

One serious symptom of scabies is intense itching. This itching is caused by an allergic reaction to the feces and saliva of the mites. Itching can still occur after all of the mites have been treated. The more times you have scabies the sooner you will start to feel the itching once you have picked up the mite. Itching increases at night with a scabies infestation and can also become worse during a hot shower.

Many people resort to any scabies treatment they can find, including toxic treatments such as Permethrin Cream and Elimite. These scabies lotions are extremely toxic to your body and contain toxic levels of pesticides. Before resorting to these toxic scabies treatment like Permethrin and Elimite try doing some research for non-toxic scabies lotions available.

Scabies is common among humans who live in overcrowded conditions or if good hygiene is limited.  However, you can be a very clean person and still catch scabies. Scabies is contagious and can be passed by close personal contact with an infected individual or by sharing objects such as sheets, towels or clothing with an infected person.

Scabies will usually burrow into warm folds in the skin. Some common locations of scabies on the body are between the fingers, wrists, armpits, elbows, nipples, genitalia areas, around the waist or the soles of the feet.

Larger infestations of scabies can be called crusted or Norwegian Scabies. This is condition is caused if there is a very large amount of mites on the body. Your normal case of scabies consists of no more than 15 mites on the body at one time. A case of crusted scabies will have thousands or millions of scabies mites on the skin. This is usually caused in people who suffer from a lowered immune system. An individual with a case of Norwegian Scabies does not scratch.  These cases are known to happen with people who live in institutions. This can also happen to people with a skin condition that lowers the amount of sensations on the skin such as syringomyelia or leprosy. Norwegian or crusted scabies will travel to the scalp of their victims while a normal infestation is not usually noticed above the neck.

Preventing scabies can be difficult because it is so highly contagious. However good hygiene is the most important thing you can do. Washing sheets and bedding daily can help to eliminate problems with scabies. Also not sharing items of clothing, towels or bedding with others can also be helpful to prevent scabies from attacking you and your family.

Learn more about non-toxic scabies treatments.

According to a report found on CNN yesterday, the CDC (centers for disease control), though most of the anxiety and fear stemming from Swine flu has subsided, Swine Flu HAS NOT. As indicative of recent records, swine flu is still on the rise, and is likely to cause more deaths and illnesses in the United States. The current death toll is at 8, and the confirmed cases are sky-rocketing. There are reportedly unusual numbers of outbreaks in schools.

‘”We do think that the way the virus is spreading in the U.S., we are not out of the woods, and the disease is continuing,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, interim deputy director for science and public health program at the CDC in a news conference this week.’

Over 5,123 cases of H1N1 (swine flu) have been reported, and is suspected to be rising even as you read this.

On a slightly lighter note, though not saying it’s not serious, 30 patients who were hospitalized in California yesterday with H1N1 flu had other underlying medical conditions such as chronic heart and lung disease, suppressed immune systems, diabetes, and obesity – and none of them died. As with most virus’s out there, the better your overall health and immune system is, the less likely you are to contract many illnesses. Some of the symptoms the aforementioned patients portrayed were that of fevers, coughs, vomiting and shortness of breath according to the CDC. 5 of the patients were pregnant, and unfortunately, two of the fetuses did not survive. 4 of the patients were admitted into intensive care that needed mechanical ventilation for support.

For more on the specifics on CDC’s reports on patients recently, you can find more from CDC’s site or CNN health’s news reports.

Again, stay healthy and keep your surroundings clean and as germ free as possible. And again, the virus CANNOT be contracted from eating cooked pork. 

5. DO NOT PANIC

News anchors and media keep pondering and asking the question, “When is it best to panic?”  NEVER, sounds like a good idea. When people panic, be it on a personal or national level, things tend to drift more towards the Disastrous level; in a pandemic, its easy to see that this would easily become catastrophic.

As troublesome as the the H1N1 flu  has been and continues to be, keep in mind that few have died, thus far, of swine flu outside the Mexican border. In the event of this pandemic spreading further, scientists are assuming it will still be a mild one. If you look at the number of annual flu-related  deaths in the United States in just one year alone, ranging to near 35,000 on average, it really helps put this one in perspective.  

“A computer model by researchers at Northwestern University estimated that even if nothing were done to slow the spread of the disease from now on, by the end of May the U.S. would have only about 1,700 cases. The good news is that H1N1 is hitting North America at the tail end of its flu season. It’s possible that the virus may peter out and re-appear next autumn, but that gives us months to prepare.”  – TIME

As WHO and CDC officials stress over and over again, influenza is still a mystery that isn’t completely understood, and H1N1 is likely to keep evolving and changing — we can’t predict how the epidemic will progress. Panicking, however, is sure to only make things worse. “This is a cause for deep concern, but not panic,” said President Barack Obama in his April 29 news conference. In the midst of all this anxiety, that’s the best advice there is. Until then, stay safe, calm, and smart – doing everything you can to keep your surroundings clean and free of harmful bacteria and viruses.

4. Don’t Leave your home if you feel ill

image by: Stephen Chernin / AP

With the lacking of an exact vaccine, the only logical defenses we have against the spread of H1N1 are simple ones. Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze; trying use your arm and not your hands while doing so.  Wash your hands frequently and be mindful of touching publicly often-used handles. You may even purchase a  pocket-sized bottle of hand sanitizer and use it, in moderation though. Over exposure to alcohol-based hand sanitizers will dry out your skin, creating cracks and fissures in your skin where open flesh will be exposed, leading to increased susceptibility to the H1N1 virus. Also, maintain consuming immune-boosting supplements, drinks and foods. These are some of the easiest, and some of the more effective ways of preventing getting sick.

“But when it comes to slowing the overall spread of a pandemic flu, the best thing we can do is keep sick people away from everyone else. It’s called “social distancing,” and studies of the deadly 1918 Spanish flu showed that cities that instituted distancing measures quickly suffered lower death tolls than cities that did nothing or reacted slowly.” -TIME

So if you’re feeling ill or under the weather, don’t return to work until your health is back up to par — even though that may not be the best advice for the nearly 50% of private-sector workers in the U.S. who don’t get paid sick days.

3. Don’t STOCKPILE antivirals

It has been stated that the  H1N1 virus (originally known as Swine Flu and commonly type incorrectly as N1H1) has proven vulnerable to the antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Relenza so far. This is great news to people. The government had originally set up pandemic preparations by  stockpiling 50 million doses of those drugs over the past few years. This was to be enough to ensure that doctors would be able to respond effectively to new outbreaks for a large sum of people. But that capacity could be compromised if people begin stockpiling antivirals for their own consumption. There are already reports of pharmacies running short of Tamiflu, and many hospitals in the U.S. have begun limiting the power to prescribe antivirals to just a few doctors. Also, the misuse or overuse of Tamiflu or Relenza by patients can promote general resistance in the flu virus which would promote effectively removing the only ammo in our arsenal to defend ourselves.

Preparing and Protecting against the flu is more encouraged, buying disinfectants, and cleaners and maintaining sanitation not only on you and your loved ones, but even moreso in your environment.

On April 29, the CDC stated that “swine flu” would no longer be the proper term for this strain of flu. It is now being called  “2009 H1N1 flu.” It doesn’t roll off the tongue as easily, but it’s more accurate and less offensive. For one thing, there isn’t any proof that suggests H1N1 flu actually  makes pigs  sick. And the H1N1 virus contains genes from swine, avian and human flus. The virus also cannot be spread through cooked pork foods — you CANNOT contract swine flu by eating hot dogs, bacon, cracklins or anything else that was once belonged to a pig. Nor will bringing pigs together and collecting them, as authorities did in Egypt, do anything to hinder the spread of the disease. H1N1 has propagated in humans and passes with ease from person to person. So disregard the bad rap given to pigs.

Joe Raedle / Getty

Since this global swine flu issue is taking off in the media and by word of mouth nearly everywhere you turn, there’s no wondering why so many people may easily panic and overact to even the smallest sign that they feel ill right now. Because of this terror instilled in people, some are going so far as to pour into emergency rooms in many states across our country; they fear they have this horrifying disease. It is strongly urged that people DO NOT rush to the emergency room if they start feeling the tiniest inkling that they have contracted swine flu. Like, “oh, my throat hurts…”, or “I feel more tired than i usually do”, or “what’s with my coughing and sniffling?, that can’t be good!”

It also burdens hospitals, the more that “just paranoid” people that start rushing to ER.  Having to examine people who aren’t really sick puts a toll on the already strained/stressed hospitals that are trying to prepare for a pandemic. Additionally, going to an emergency room without just cause may even put you further in harms way and risk your health. In past outbreaks, including SARS in 2003, hospitals were actually breeding grounds of infections — all those sick people in close proximity — and the same could be true of swine flu.

“If you actually have flu-like symptoms — a fever above 100° F, headache, sore throat, body aches, chills or fatigue — and you live in an area where there have been confirmed swine flu cases, by all means report to your doctor. Otherwise, leave the hospital to the sick people.”

ARTICLE FEATURED ON TIME.COM