Prevention

To prevent ringworm of the skin:

• Keep your skin clean and dry. Change your socks and underwear at least once a day.
• Wear loose-fitting cotton clothing. Avoid tight underwear, pants, and panty hose.
• Always dry yourself completely after showers or baths. After drying your skin with a towel, allow your skin to air-dry before putting your clothes on. You can also use a hair dryer, set on a cool setting, to dry your skin.
• Do not share clothing, sports equipment, towels, or sheets. If you think you have been exposed to ringworm, wash your clothes in hot water with fungus-killing (fungicidal) soap.
• Wear slippers or sandals in locker rooms, showers, and public bathing areas.
• Shower and shampoo thoroughly after any sport that requires skin-to-skin contact.
• If you have athlete's foot, put your socks on before your underwear so that fungi do not spread from your feet to your groin.
• Take your pet to a veterinarian if it has patches of missing hair, which may be a sign of a fungal infection. Household pets can spread fungi that cause ringworm in people.

To prevent ringworm from returning after treatment, apply talcum or other drying powder to the affected area daily.