Brandi Glanville fears she has 'sexually transmitted ringworm' in latest health update

Reality TV star Brandi Glanville has been extremely candid about the serious issue that left her face disfigured, but she may have been a little too candid in her latest health update.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills cast member has suffered from both poor mental and physical health as a result of what she described as a facial 'parasite', which began in late 2024 - costing her five teeth and well over $100,000 to fix.

53-year-old Glanville has said that it 'felt like something was just eating me from the inside', then she started to see 'crazy lumps' appear on her face. But after being dismissed as a botched plastic surgery patient, she eventually claimed it was because her breast implants had ruptured.

She recently shared more information about another terrifying health journey, as well as its sexual source, while speaking to AVN Hall of Fame pornstar Lisa Ann on the latest episode of her Brandi Glanville Unfiltered podcast.

With her trademark candor, Glanville asked: "I have a quick question. Have you heard about sexually transmitted ringworm?" Adding that she thinks she 'may have it'.

The former model said that she believes her initial infection took place 'in my throat' while she was having sexual intercourse with a former partner, who just so happened to also work in porn.

Ringworm is a fungal infection that is typically transmitted only via skin-to-skin contact, and it primarily affects areas like the nails, feet, and, well, the groin. Activities like 'wrestling' can be a vector for transmission.

But even though infections can spread from close proximity to another person, most people wouldn't even know how to spot them.

Ann, 54, noted: "It’s one of these things that most people don’t know what to look for.

"We had to train our makeup artists that when a new member of talent would show up, they would have to get naked in a window where there’s good light and they would inspect their body to see if they see any patches because it’s incredibly contagious."

Glanville admitted that the person she believes may have given her the fungal infection was actually someone who also 'worked in the industry' that Ann works in.

Doing her characteristic TMI explanation, she explained that her unnamed partner would always finish in her mouth, saying: "He would only, you know, my face because he didn’t want to get me pregnant."

She added: "He didn’t know that ship had sailed. I’m like, ‘OK, whatever, I’m not going to correct you.’"

Glanville went on to say: "[Then] my girlfriend told me about it yesterday. I knew nothing about it."

This made her look further into this kind of ringworm infection, after her doctors had ruled out just about every other form of sexually transmitted disease. And what she found out... well, Glanville probably wishes she had stayed off Google.

"They can apparently … burrow in, like, if it’s in your throat," she said. "If it’s in your throat, they can burrow deep into your ears and all that."

Ringworm and sexual contact

According to the CDC, Trichophyton mentagrophytes genotype VII (TMVII) is the species of ringworm most linked to sexual contact.

The site states: “TMVII infections are usually not antimicrobial-resistant but often require several months of treatment with oral medication.”

Severe cases of ringworm can cause:

• Larger red (brown or gray on darker skin), scaly, itchy rash spreading over parts of the body
• Bumps filled with pus
• Hair loss in the scalp or beard area

When it comes to treatment, patients have to take anti-fungal medication by mouth for a few weeks or months.