I stayed last year at a not so clean hotel.
A few weeks after that I noticed a red spot on just plain flat skin. It was less than 1/2 inch in diameter and
the slight itch would calm down when I put a bit of beef tallow and Calendula skin cream on it.
I was not sure what it was. Some mystery skin irritation. Several month later it had grown
to about 1 inch in diameter and I started to get concerned. After some research I leaned that there is a fungal skin infection called ringworm (Tinea Corporis) which can indeed affect any area. It does not have to be a skin fold. It can infect plain flat skin.
I went to the local pharmacy and came back with two creams: Canesten (Clotrimazole) and a tolnaftate cream. I put a bit of Clotrimazole cream on the spot and the itch stopped. Several days later nothing had really changed and I decided to switch to the tolnaftate cream. None of these creams seemed to do anything except stopping the itch and making the skin more red. The skin became also rather thin. Forward three more days and the whole area became suddnely swollen and started ozing. I had developed cellulitis, a potentially life threatening bacterial infection!
The fungal infection was resistant to these antifungal creams and it seems this is actually a common problem. I decided to change strategy and switch to completely natural antifungals. There are fantasitc natural solutions and they work for a wide array of yeast and fungal infections. I have learned my lesson: stay away from the pharma antifungals.
I got the cellulitis infection under control with turmeric and propoulis tincture applied externally and then I started to slowly discover how to cure a rather stubborn fungal infection which had penetrated deeper into the skin over the last few month.
Fungal infections are potentially contagious but don't panic. If others in your family did not catch it by the time you show symptoms then they will likely not get it. Never the less it makes sense to wash any towels, bedsheets and clothing right after use.
The protocols presented here come in three parts and the first part stalls the fungal infection and heals any wounds or cracks in the skin. In many cases one could probably start directly with step 2 but I messed up and everything was inflamed. This is where step 1 is useful. Step 3 is very important for lasting success and long term recovery. For a mild fungal infection the protocol step 3 alone may be enough. The protocol includes also a "follow-up" to prevent the fungus from accidently coming back.
All remedies presented are to be applied topically. Non of them are taken orally. Essential oils, especially poisonous ones like e.g Lavender and Eucalyptus, must not be applied undiluted as they can penetrate irritated skin easily.