Preventing skin fungus for children in hot weather

Children are susceptible to skin fungus in hot weather due to sweating a lot, so parents need to pay attention to personal hygiene and living environment to limit the growth and spread of fungus.

MSc. Dr. Vu Thi Thuy Trang, Dermatology - Cosmetic Dermatology specialist, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City, said that skin fungus is a common skin disease in children over 2 years old. However, the disease can also appear in both infants and adults.

Skin fungus is a common disease, with a fairly high incidence, especially in hot weather like today. High temperatures cause a lot of sweating, which is a favorable environment for fungal spores to grow, causing skin fungus in closed skin areas, large folds such as between the hands and feet.... At the same time, poor personal hygiene, wearing tight clothes, overuse of soap, reduced resistance... make skin fungus easy to develop. Children can also get infected with fungus by sharing items with sick people or coming into contact with pets carrying fungus.

If the baby has a skin fungus, one or more round or oval, multi-arc, clearly defined, bordered erythematous patches will appear on the baby's skin, with small blisters on the border, tending to heal in the middle but gradually spreading. Sometimes, due to the child rubbing, scratching or the parent applying inappropriate medicine, secondary bacterial infection will occur, causing skin abrasions, swelling, pus, crusting or unclear borders.

In addition, fungus also appears on the scalp with symptoms such as small, unbounded scaly patches, swelling, honeycomb-shaped pustules or small, pus-filled blisters.

MSc. Dr. Vu Thi Thuy Trang said that to prevent diseases for children, parents need to note:

Keep your baby's body dry , bathe your baby regularly and dry them, especially between fingers, toes and skin folds.

Dress your child in loose clothing and slippers, even at home. Change socks and underwear when your child sweats a lot. Do not let your child share clothes or towels with others.

Regularly clean children's personal items and toys such as combs, towels, blankets, bed sheets...

Cut nails to prevent children from scratching, which can spread the fungus to other areas of the skin.

Wash children's hands with soap after playing with pets and after using the toilet.

If someone in the family has skin fungus , it is necessary to treat it immediately and clean the patient's belongings.

Keeping your child's body clean and dry is a measure to prevent skin fungus. Photo: Freepik — Keeping your child's body clean and dry is a measure to prevent skin fungus. Photo: *Freepik*

Dr. Thuy Trang recommends that when a child's skin has a circular or arc-shaped rash with many blisters and scales, parents should take their child to a dermatologist - a cosmetic dermatologist. The child will be examined and scraped for fungus before prescribing medication.

With topical antifungal medications, parents should wash their hands thoroughly before and after applying the medication to their children. Apply a sufficient amount to the infected skin area and extend 2-3 cm outwards, twice a day. After the rash has completely disappeared, continue applying the medication to the child for 1-2 weeks. Antifungal medications can cause some side effects, so parents should absolutely not buy medication for their children on their own. At the same time, when seeing unusual symptoms in children, parents should quickly take their children to the hospital for timely examination.

Treatment time for skin fungus can vary depending on the location of the infection. For smooth skin, only need to use topical medication for 2-4 weeks. For scalp fungus, this is a difficult type to treat, need to combine topical and oral medication for about 4-8 weeks, even longer.

Nguyen Van

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