Birmingham musician Becky Baldwin had her profile manipulated using deepfake technology to impersonate her and trick a Texan man in his 50s called Carl into an AI romance scam.

Birmingham musician Becky Baldwin had her profile manipulated using deepfake technology to impersonate her and trick a Texan man in his 50s called Carl into an AI romance scam.

Amal Clooney looked so stylish in this fashion throwback from 2023 in which George Clooney’s wife dazzled in a Christian Dior slip dress that was see-through and therefore of the ‘naked’ variety

From ingrown hairs, uncomfortable underwear and downright terrible sex, our private parts go through a lot.

And of course, there’s also some pretty nasty STIs we have to be aware of, including common infections like chlamydia, and lesser-known ailments such as shigella.

But there’s one infection we’re betting you haven’t heard of which is sweeping the UK, and it affects your groin and bottom.

It’s called trichophyton indotineae, described as a ‘turbocharged’ fungus.

Here’s everything you need to know.

What is trichophyton indotineae?

‘It’s essentially a more stubborn and aggressive version of ringworm,’ Dr Chun Tang, GMC registered GP at Pall Mall Medical, tells Metro.

‘It’s a fungal infection that can form on your skin, hair or nails, but unlike the typical strains this one doesn’t always clear up with antifungal medicines.

‘That’s why it has caught the attention of doctors internationally. It behaves like a turbocharged form of the same fungus.’

It was first seen in South Asia, particularly in India, where it’s warm and humid. ‘Crowded living spaces and the widespread use of steroid creams have helped it to spread,’ Dr Tang adds.

‘As so many people travel it has naturally begun appearing in other countries, including over here.’

In fact, Professor Darius Armstrong-James, a fungal expert at Imperial College London told The Sun cases in the UK have surged 500% in the past three years.

‘The important point is that dermatologists are seeing far more infections,’ Dr Tang explains.

What are the symptoms?

If you happen to contract this infection, there will be signs.

‘People usually develop itchy, red, inflamed patches of skin that can crack or become sore,’ Dr Tang says. ‘The rash is sometimes circular, but not always, and it often looks more severe and widespread than typical ringworm.’

It can affect many areas of the body, scalp, nails, feet or groin and bottom area – really no place is off limits. On your feet the doctor explains it can look like a more serious form of athlete’s foot.

While unpleasant, for most healthy adults, these symptoms aren’t dangerous.

‘It can be very uncomfortable and disruptive,’ Dr Tang adds. ‘The itching can make it hard to sleep and get through daily life and scratching can damage the skin and sometimes cause secondary infections.’

Once the infection clears up, the area may look a bit lighter or darker than usual for a while, but this typically fades, and scarring is rare unless the skin has been badly scratched or infected.

How contagious is it?

For Dr Tang, the bigger concern is how easily the virus spreads, rather than the symptoms.

‘If one person in a household becomes infected, it can quickly pass to others unless it is treated promptly,’ he says. ‘It spreads through direct contact with infected skin, which can include hugging, sharing a bed, or other close household contact.’

And yes, while it’s not classed as an STI, it can be passed on if you’re having sex – so you’ll want to avoid doing the deed if you suspect you’re infected.

It can also be passed on through shared towels, clothing, bedding or gym equipment. This is unlike chlamydia, despite gym goers concerns last year.

Trichophyton indotineae spreads in this environment because it’s especially warm, sweaty and damp, so make sure you’re fully wiping the equipment you use.

‘Contaminated surfaces such as exercise mats, gym showers and changing rooms can carry it too,’ Dr Tang says. ‘Unlike some other fungal infections that come from animals, this strain is mainly passed from person to person.’

Can it be treated?

Now don’t be alarmed, but some infected with this fungus have found it to be drug-resistant. This doesn’t mean you’re stuck with the symptoms, though.

‘We tend to use oral antifungal medication to treat trichophyton indotineae because creams alone aren’t enough for this strain,’ Dr Tang says.

‘Normally, terbinafine is our first-line treatment for ringworm, but this strain is showing increasing resistance to it. When that happens, we switch to alternatives such as itraconazole, and most people respond well.

‘It’s important that people don’t self-treat as getting the right diagnosis is essential to help clear it up.’

If it’s not responding to medication, the doctor says you simply need to tell your doctor and choose a different medication or a longer course of treatment.

Unfortunately, just because you’ve had it once, doesn’t mean you won’t get it again. ‘Fungal infections don’t give you immunity, so you can catch it again if you are exposed,’ Dr Tang says.

Do you have a story to share?

Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.

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Black Friday is a jammy time to snap up a good deal, and if you’re looking to save hundreds on a fab piece of tech, the Garmin epix™ Pro (Gen 2) Sapphire Edition is now 50% off at £449.99 at Ernest Jones. 

Yes, we know it’s a pricey splurge but this isn’t just a smartwatch. It’s a true game-changer for an active lifestyle, whether you’re commuting back and forth to work, hanging out with your mates, hitting the gym for a sweat session or getting outdoors for a tough hike.

Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2) Sapphire Edition 51mm Black Strap Smartwatch

The Garmin epix™ Pro is a powerhouse smartwatch with a stunning 51mm AMOLED display, weeks-long battery life, and 24/7 health tracking. It offers advanced sleep insights, a handy LED flashlight, and comes with a sleek black fabric strap for everyday style.

Buy Now for £449.99 (was £899.99)

One of the best features of this watch is its long-lasting battery, offering up to 31 days in smartwatch mode and 58 hours in GPS mode. So from lengthy workouts to weekends in the great outdoors, you’re covered.

The 1.4-inch AMOLED screen also has a light and crisp display, and it’s even easy to read in direct sunlight. The new sapphire crystal lens not only looks sleek, but it’s also scratch-resistant, while the fibre-reinforced polymer case is durable without feeling too bulky. Ernest Jones even has a feature to try the watch on your own wrist to see if you like the style!

If you’re big on that health and fitness hype, this watch can measure a ton of impressive metrics. We’re talking VO2 max to look at your cardiovascular fitness, while the PacePro™ guidance offers insights and helps you plan your workout to best improve your performance. 

The ECG app can detect irregular heart rhythms, while the Pulse Ox measures oxygen saturation, with low levels potentially signalling respiratory problems. The HRV status can help gauge your recovery time, and you can use the Body Battery™ energy monitoring for stress and sleep coaching, ensuring your health is at its peak, whether you’re up and active during the day or trying to rest at night.

For natural explorers, the epix™ Pro is built for adventure. It comes with built-in GPS, maps, ABC sensors and an LED flashlight.

You can also download music to create the perfect playlist for your workouts, and get smart notifications so you stay connected. And if you’re short on pocket space, leave your purse or wallet at home and use the Garmin Pay™ when you’re out and about. 

Heading out alone can be scary, especially in winter with the short days and dark nights. But this watch also has incident detection, which uses built-in motion sensors and GPS to detect any unusual movements during an outdoor workout, whether that’s a fall while running or a crash during a cycle. It can even send your real-time location to a pre-selected emergency contact in an instant, and you can also trigger it manually if you feel unsafe while you’re out on your own.

And look, we know that this is still a pricey splurge, but with its extensive health tracking, advanced performance features, and 50% off, it’s certainly an investment that’s hard to pass up…

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At 31, there are moments in life that make me feel like I’ve got my s**t together and others that leave me screaming, crying and proclaiming, ‘I’m just a baby’.

According to a new study, the latter might actually be true, as the official age at which you ‘become an adult’ has been revealed – and it seems I’m not quite there yet.

Neuroscientists at the University of Cambridge have claimed that on average, adolescence (the period during which you develop from a child into an adult) actually lasts until the age of 32.

So if you’re approaching the big 3-0 and still don’t feel like a fully-fledged adult, you might want to cut yourself some slack.

What happens to our brain in our 30s?

Cambridge’s MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit compared the brains of 3,802 people between zero and 90-years-old using MRI diffusion scans. From here they identified four pivotal ‘turning points’ between birth and death, when our brains ‘reconfigure’.

The first turning point comes at the age of nine, when our childhood brain transitions into adolescence. This period ends at 32, when the brain’s neural wiring shifts into ‘adult mode’.

Dr Alexa Mousley, a Gates Cambridge Scholar who led the research, explains: ‘Around the age of 32, we see the most directional changes in wiring and the largest overall shift in trajectory, compared to all the other turning points.

‘While puberty offers a clear start, the end of adolescence is much harder to pin down scientifically. Based purely on neural architecture, we found that adolescent-like changes in brain structure end around the early thirties.’

Throughout your 30s and beyond, brain architecture ‘stabilises’ compared to previous phases with no major turning points for three more decades. During this time, regions of the brain slowly become more compartmentalised and there’s also a ‘plateau in intelligence and personality’, which has been seen in other studies.

The next turning point takes place at 66, which marks the start of ‘early ageing’ and then ‘late ageing’ begins at around 83-years-old. 

The (unofficial) signs you’ve officially become an adult

Whether you’re 32 or not, you’ve probably had a moment at one point or another that made you feel well and truly like an adult.

Perhaps it was when you switched banks to get a free Apple Watch, or the first time you had to call your GP to book your own doctors appointment.

I asked my colleagues to share the moment they knew they had reached adulthood and the responses were interesting…

Here are Metro’s signs that you’re an adult now, regardless of your age…

• When you become excited to purchase a new vacuum cleaner, fridgeor any kind of kitchen equipment. You’ll probably have 129232 photos of the same toaster pinned on Pinterest.
• Getting into gardening as a hobby and not just because you have to do it (special mention goes to avid watchers of Gardeners World).
• Going to a nightclub and discovering that you are now those ‘weird older people’ you’d always see on a night out when you were 18.
• Walking around with your hands behind your back, not to take the p*ss out of your dad, but because it’s actually quite a comfortable way to walk.
• Realising that getting pants and socks for Christmas isn’t lame, it’s GREAT.

• You can no longer wake up without something inexplicably aching and you start making noises when getting up from the sofa.
• Listening to BBC Radio 4 and actually enjoying it.

• Noticing that yes, you are starting to get wrinkles and religiously applying SPF everyday.
• Suddenly finding yourself really into olive oil, and committing to spending £20 on a fancy brand.

Do you have a story to share?

Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.