RESUMO
Background: Ring worm infections are common in community and may be maltreated with steroids resulting in delay in proper diagnosis and treatment
Objective: To determine the frequency of tinea incognito among the ring worm infections of skin AND health seeking behavior of these patients
Methodology: This cross sectional study was conducted at Dermatology Outdoor of Sheikh Zayed Medical College Hospital Rahim Yar Khan from 1[st] March to 30[th] April 2017. A total of 170 patients of ring worm infections of skin were included in this study through convenient sampling. These patients were asked about the use of topical steroids through a pre-designed performa containing information about patients, diagnosis, type and duration of treatment and its prescriber. The data was entered and analyzed by using SPSS version 20
Results: Out of total 170 patients, 68[40%] has tinea incognito. Among these 26[15.29%] were treated by general practitioner, 30[17.6%] by relatives/friends, 3[1.8%] by Pharmacist and 9[5.3%] did self-medication
Conclusion: Use of topical steroids is quite common in ringworm infections of skin with poor health seeking behavior of these patients resulting in misdiagnosis and delay in proper treatment. Community should be educated in health seeking behavior for skin disease