Ultraviolet Light Ringworm

A wood s lamp examination is a procedure that uses transillumination light to detect bacterial or fungal skin infections.

Ultraviolet light ringworm.

However it is not very common. The light in the source is filtered using nickel oxide and is often called black light in common usage. A wood s lamp is an ultraviolet light with a specific wavelength of light which causes some strains of m. John angus a veterinary dermatologist at the university of illinois veterinary teaching hospital in urbana.

The light itself looks bluish or purplish and causes some of the organisms responsible for ringworm to appear to glow yellow or green when the. A black light diagnosis should not be considered conclusive. Already used for medical conditions such as seasonal affective disorder sad uv light treatment combined with anti fungal drug treatments is sometimes used to combat a variety of fungal infections especially those of the skin or nails. Confirm the diagnosis with a culture.

It also can detect skin pigment disorders such as vitiligo and other. The uv light used for identifying ringworm is often known as a wood s lamp by practitioners. Although both species fluoresce blue green under a wood s lamp both species are uncommon causes of tinea infections. Canis the most common feline ringworm species to fluoresce.

Ultraviolet light wood s lamp normally ultraviolet light is not useful in the diagnosis of tinea with the exception of two species microsporum canis and audouinii. 50 of the microsporum canis species will fluoresce when the woods lamp is placed near the area of hair loss. Ringworm makes its home on the hair and skin and it affects both people and pets. Ringworm is very badly named because it is caused by a fungus not a worm says dr.

In humans ringworm forms a ring shaped raised red rash but this presentation is not common in animals. Take a culture of the suspected fungus with a cotton swab and allow it to develop in a sealed culture media or seek professional assistance. One of the simplest ways to diagnose ringworm is with the woods lamp which is an ultraviolet lamp also know as a black light.