Tinea Manuum: Symptoms, Causes & Treatment (2024)

What are the symptoms of tinea manuum?

The most common symptoms of tinea manuum are itchy, round patches on the back of your hands. On lighter skin, the patches may appear red or pink. On darker skin, the patches may look brown or gray. The patches may develop into a series of rings or circles with central clearings. The rings may have raised, scaly borders.

The skin on the palm of your hands may thicken. You may have intensely dry skin. You may notice deep cracks on your palms. Within the cracks, you may see white scaling. Your palms may or may not itch. You may have pain and swelling.

On the skin around your fingers, you may notice red patches with blisters and pimples. Frequently, the infection will spread to the fingernails of your affected hand.

What causes tinea manuum?

A type of fungus causes tinea manuum. Fungi thrive in warm, humid environments. It commonly grows in tropical places. Moist areas such as locker rooms and public showers also harbor fungi.

Tinea manuum also spreads very easily. You can get tinea manuum from coming into contact with infected people, animals and soil. You can also get tinea manuum by using objects and touching surfaces that harbor the fungus. Tinea manuum can live for a long time on infected objects and surfaces.

Many people develop athlete’s foot (tinea pedis) before tinea manuum. Because the fungus is so spreadable, you can transfer the infection from your feet to your hands after scratching your feet.

What are the risk factors for tinea manuum?

Tinea manuum grow and thrive in moist, warm environments. The most common risk factors include:

• Living in a tropical environment.
• Visiting areas with hot, humid weather.
• Using public showers, locker rooms, indoor pools and sports facilities.
• Living in close quarters with others such as in dormitories.
• Playing contact sports such as wrestling or football.
• Sharing objects and materials such as clothing, towels, bedding, hairbrushes and sports equipment.

Tinea manuum commonly affects people who work with their hands. This includes:

• Masseurs, barbers and other people who have close contact with other people.
• Farmworkers, veterinarians and other people who have close contact with animals.
• Car mechanics, machine operators and people who work with chemicals.

Tinea manuum has several other risk factors. These risk factors include:

• Assigned male at birth.
• High blood pressure (hypertension).
• Weakened immune system due to conditions such as HIV/AIDS, cancer and diabetes.
• Atherosclerosis.
• People with obesity.
• Excessive sweating (hyperhidrosis).

How does tinea manuum spread?

Tinea manuum is extremely contagious. It spreads primarily through one of three ways.

People

You can get tinea manuum after coming into direct bodily contact with someone who has the infection. The person may or may not have symptoms. But if they’re a carrier of the infection, they can spread it.

Animals

You can get tinea manuum after touching an animal that has the infection. Many different animals can spread tinea manuum. This includes pets such as dogs and cats (specifically puppies and kittens). It also includes farm animals such as cows, horses, pigs and goats.

Fomites

Fomites are objects or materials that are likely to carry an infection. You can get tinea manuum through indirect contact with fomites by sharing clothes, towels and bedding. The fungus can also live on hard surfaces in moist environments. This includes places such as locker rooms and public showers.

The fungus can also spread by touching soil and other objects in the environment infected by it. Tinea manuum can also spread from one part of your body to another.