Ringworm
Ringworm is a common skin infection caused by a fungus, not a worm. It makes an itchy, scaly, ring-shaped patch that can spread to other people.
- Caused by a fungus — not a worm, despite its name
- One fungus, Trichophyton rubrum, causes 80–90% of cases on the body
- Heat, high humidity and tight clothing make it more frequent and more severe
- Ringworm of the scalp mostly affects children
Source: MedlinePlus; NHS; StatPearls — Yee, Syed & Al Aboud, Tinea Corporis (2025)
What is Ringworm?
Ringworm (tinea) is an infection of the skin by a group of fungi. They live on the dead, outer layer of the skin, and on hair and nails, and feed on the protein there. As the fungus grows outward, it leaves a ring: a red, scaly, itchy edge with calmer skin in the middle.
The same infection has different names by place: on the body it is ringworm, on the scalp scalp ringworm, between the toes athlete's foot, and in the groin jock itch. It spreads by touch — from people, pets, towels, combs and damp floors.
What are the symptoms?
- A round, ring-shaped patch with a raised, scaly edge
- Itching, sometimes with burning
- Red skin — or darker than the skin around it on brown skin
- On the scalp: itchy patches with hair loss
- Between the toes or in the groin: itching, cracking or a burning rash
What causes it, and who is more likely to get it?
How it spreads
- Skin-to-skin contact with an infected person
- Pets and farm animals with patches of missing fur
- Shared towels, bedsheets, combs and clothes
- Damp floors in bathrooms and changing rooms
Weather and clothing
- Heat and high humidity
- Heavy sweating
- Tight, fitted clothing that keeps skin damp
The body
- Diabetes
- A weak immune system
- Childhood (especially scalp ringworm) and older age
How is it found?
A doctor or pharmacist can often recognise ringworm by looking at it. Because other rashes can look similar, a simple skin test is sometimes done.
Skin examination
The ring shape, the scaly edge and the places it appears usually point to ringworm.
Skin scraping (KOH test)
A few scales are scraped from the edge and looked at under a microscope, where the fungal threads can be seen.
Fungal culture
Scales, hair or nail are grown in the laboratory to name the exact fungus — useful when the infection keeps coming back.
A neurotherapist asks whether the patch is dry or weeping, how the motions are, and — for women — how many days the menses last. She presses Liv° and Mu° and compares them, rubs both ring fingers, and checks the blood pressure. These findings decide which of two opposite formulas is given.
How Neurotherapy sees Ringworm
In LMNT, ringworm (dād) is read together with the kidneys and the body's acid–alkali balance. Guruji's teaching names ringworm, itch, allergy, psoriasis and other dry skin diseases as complaints for the Kidney Clear formula — but never on the complaint alone. A second key must also be found in the body.
The two-key rule — a complaint and a finding
- Key onethe complaint: ringworm, itch, allergy, psoriasis or another dry skin disease, low back pain, or a left kidney stone
- Key twoat least one finding: normal or hard motion; equal pain at Liv° and Mu°, or more at Mu°; menses of four days or more; a sore left ring finger; BP normal or sometimes low
- Kidney Clearis given, at the grade the body will take — starting mild
- The other directionif the ringworm weeps and the findings point the other way — more pain at Liv°, loose motions, scanty menses, a sore right ring finger, high BP — the order is turned round: Ulta Kidney Clear
So two people with the same ringworm may get opposite treatments. A dry patch on the acid side and a weeping patch on the alkali side are read as two different states of the body, and the kidney points are worked in opposite orders.
Neurotherapy treats according to the condition of the body.
Neurotherapy treatment for Ringworm, step by step
Examine first
The therapist presses Liv° and Mu°, rubs both ring fingers, asks about motions and menses, looks at whether the patch is dry or weeping, and checks the BP. Get the rash confirmed by a doctor or pharmacist too.
Dry ringworm, acid side: Kidney Clear
With the second key present, Kidney Clear is given: Liv°, then Mu°, then Ch. Only, then the Round Arrow on the back — in four grades, from (1)(1)(2)(5) up to (7)(7)(8)(20).
Weeping ringworm, alkali side: Ulta Kidney Clear
Mu° comes first and Liv° after, and the Round Arrow comes before Ch. Only. Because it works against the body's normal direction, it is given for a few days only, and then the Normal formula brings the body back.
Start light
The grade is chosen by the body on that day. In the frail, the elderly and the chronically ill, the mildest grade — Mild Kidney Clear — comes first.
Where Gal hurts: digestion first
It was seen that people with any skin problem often have pain at Gal, and many are constipated. For them the New Gal formula puts the stomach right first, and only then works the gall bladder.
Points and formulas used
Kidney Clear
Works the two kidney points and the acid–alkali balance, for dry skin disease with the acid findings — in four grades, from mild upwards.
Works through
Open →Ulta Kidney Clear
The same points in reversed order, for a weeping skin disease with the alkali findings — given for a few days only.
Works through
Open →Never do this
- Kidney Clear is never given on the complaint alone — one of the second-key findings must be present. Ulta Kidney Clear is given for a few days only; then the Normal formula is given to bring the body back. Ulta Kidney Clear
- Liv° and Mu° are not stimulated in kidney failure or kidney cancer; Ch. Only is not given in lung cancer; in long illness the arrows go only as far as L1–L5. If a kidney stone also hurts, Th + Ch may replace Ch. Only and the Round Arrow — but never in pregnancy, diabetes, heart disease, RA or other autoimmune disease, or kidney disease. Th + Ch
- Children get half the adult dose and light treatment only, given by a trained therapist.
- See a doctor for ringworm on the scalp, a patch that is not better after two weeks of the pharmacist's treatment, patches that keep spreading, or ringworm in someone with diabetes or a weak immune system. Do not share towels, combs or clothes, and get a pet with bald patches checked.
- Cancer: if the person has cancer, (10) Pan, Thymus, Pit, Lu + Sh, Rt. Ov / Lt. Ov and (30) Medulla are never given — the therapist changes the plan.
- Keep taking the medicines your doctor prescribed. Neurotherapy works alongside your medical care, never instead of it.
From Ayurveda and the kitchen
Test yourself
What research says
- Strong evidence
Ringworm of the body is caused by skin fungi, most often Trichophyton rubrum (80–90% of cases). It spreads by direct contact with soil, animals or people; heat, humidity and tight clothing make it more common, and diabetes and a weak immune system raise the risk.
No clinical trial of Neurotherapy in ringworm has been published yet. Improvements reported by neurotherapists are clinical observations.
For you
Parents
Itchy, scaly patches with hair loss on a child's scalp need a doctor — scalp ringworm usually needs more than a cream. Keep the child's comb, towel and cap separate.
People who sweat a lot
Dry the skin well after bathing, especially between the toes and in the groin. Wear loose cotton clothes and change damp clothes soon.
People with diabetes
Ringworm is more common and can be stubborn. Show it to your doctor early, and tell the therapist — diabetes also changes which points may be given.
This page explains; it does not diagnose. Neurotherapy works alongside your medical care — keep taking the medicines your doctor prescribed, and see a doctor for any new or severe symptom.