a very sick me

Even if it has “worm” in it, this disease is actually caused by a fungus. That’s right, the mottled aspect is actually due to molding.

This condition has been kown for a while. In the 1900s, ringworm was treated with mercury compounds. Hairy areas were considered too difficult to treat (a modest inconvenience, seeing how mercury promotes hair loss anyway), so the scalp was x-rayed repeatedly.

Current estimates are that about 20% of the population is infected by ringworm. That’s one person in five, give or take. The disease is common among those who play sports, wrestling in particular. Misdiagnosis and treatment of ringworm with a topical steroid can result in tinea incognito, which, as you can infer from the name alone, is much much worse.