Management of Tinea incognito with Unani medicine: A case report

Abstract

Tinea infections are one of the most commonly occurring skin infections creating a threat to the public health scenario in India. With the excessive and unsupervised use of over-the-counter steroid formulations, the condition is becoming more severe, leading to chronic relapse of the disease with modified skin lesions, termed as tinea incognito. This condition is usually difficult to treat, but Unani medicines can provide satisfactory results in such cases. Here is a case report of a middle-aged male patient suffering from tinea incognito. On treating the patient with Unani medicines for 30 days, there was a significant reduction in the subjective symptoms, i.e. erythema, pruritus, and scaling, along with a reduction in the Physician’s Global Assessment Score. The microscopic examination of the lesions on the potassium hydroxide mount was found to be negative for fungal hyphae after the treatment. Through this case report, it can be inferred that tinea incognito can be effectively managed with the administration of Unani medicines.