# Ring worm . Any advice ?



## Marlindh (Mar 29, 2013)

Ragnar seems to have ring worm wich he has transmitted to me and my girlfriend . Has anyone had this happen and what did they do . Or what does the vet do ? 


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

Ringworm is quite contagious. Often people with stronger immune systems don't get it... it's more easily transmitted to children. Anyway, I've had it before from a cat. For the cat and you I'd reccomend getting an athletes foot cream from the store, drug stores and any store with regular medications will likely carry this. It treats ringworm in both people and animals and is way cheaper than the vet brand of the same stuff, saving you a vet visit. I've known people to spend hundreds on a pet just to get it diagnosed as ringworm then turn around and spend another 50+ on treatment when the human stuff is 10 dollars.

When I had it I got it in two places and it got infected. It was terrible. It took two months to totally go away and I had a bit of a scar lasting for another several months, so take this really seriously! I did, and I think because of this no person or animal I know got it from me.

I washed my clothing daily, including PJs. I wore a band-aid during the day, and for the first week or so I washed my bedding every night. I washed my hands very thoroughly frequently throughout the day (your hands touch things without thinking about it all the time). I made sure clothing was always covering it at night, too, but I thought it should have some time to breath. 

It can be transmitted on clothing and last on surfaces for a long time, so when a pet has it I would cover all places your pet sleeps, along with all furniture, and wash that bedding daily as well. Use bleach in the water. I'd also vacuum often.


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## Marlindh (Mar 29, 2013)

Great thank you as far as the cream that you use for humans how do you apply it to a cat , where and what would happend if he licks that spot 


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## moondiamond (Apr 20, 2013)

I am dealing with ringworm right now. You're not alone. We live in a warm, humid climate. Tiki, our little Snowshoe Siamese rescue kitten (abt 11-12 weeks) came to us with a speck near her eye. I thought it was an abscess, and treated it myself with saline that doesn't hurt eyes. Turns out it wasn't bacterial, it was fungal. That little smidge of a patch went away after a week of oral meds from the vet. She was released back into general population and one week later WHAM...big patch of ringworm on her back. Back into quarantine. Now I have a patch on the PALM of my right hand, and I'm right handed. AAARGH. I'm wearing gloves with antifungal lotion under, when I handle little Tiki--and a sock for other times. Our other rescue kitten, Lucylou, we got when she was 9 weeks (seal Lynx Siamese now 6 mos) is thus far ringworm free, her coat is beautiful--so far. But, she is feeling very neglected, as I am trying to have minimal hand contact with her. Not easy with a Siamese. They want almost constant interaction and I'm hearing all about it! I did take Tiki to the vet, who put her on oral itraconazole AGAIN. She was also given a shot of Convenia, one-shot, long lasting, specific to skin infections -- bacterial and fungal. She shaved a big patch on her back, so I can see the lesion to treat it. I also bathe her in antifungal soap every 3 days. This morning I noticed some raised pimple like bumps on her neck and head...probably a new patch just starting to sprout. After all these treatments it hardly seems fair. I am bleaching surfaces like crazy, changing clothes and showering 2-3 times a day in Selsun Blue, using the "sanitation" cycle on my washing machine (our electric bill should be through the roof) and trying to rid the house of every speck of dust and cat hair by continuous dusting and vacuuming. Kitten sick bay gets a round of bleach solution every evening as do her limited plastic toys. My husband puts her in a cage and sits with her on our deck, while I sterilize her area. I started this regimen three weeks ago BEFORE the new patch, so I may be cleaning like crazy to feel like I'm doing something right, rather than it actually working. I'm sure I've over-reacted. its not anthrax. I'm exhausted. My cats are unhappy and I've heard...this will all resolve on its own, regardless of what I do. I am hopefully keeping my husband and other kitten from catching it. Ringworm is not fatal or even considered serious. It's more of an inconvenience than anything. And WOW, is it ever inconvenient! The vet suggested I see my doctor about the patch on my hand. I've been using OTC lotion (I have a tube of each), but after 3 weeks...it looks about the same. Perhaps I should be delighted it hasn't spread--yet. Not wild about wishing my life away, but I'm looking forward to 6 months passing when, supposedly, this will all be over. Its so sad to see little Tiki's sweet kitten weeks being wasted in quarantine. She is really a sweetie and craves attention. Its heartbreaking. We visit her during the day, but its really not the same type of interaction. Bath time is as special as it gets, because she is touched all over. I opted to use our vet rather than home remedies. The treatments and meds are somewhat expensive and I'm not sure that would have changed anything in the long run. It makes me feel better knowing I've done everything possible. I'll probably need to take her in to have her head shaved in a day or two to reveal the new patch/patches that seem to be sprouting. The silver lining to all of this is...everyone I've read about online seems to live happily ever after, once it's gone. And it does go away. In the mean time, it it is a whole lot of work! I know WAY more about fungus than I ever wanted to know! I look forward to reading your follow-up. I think we will both see very positive results with the passage of time. It's hard to see light at the end of the tunnel, when you're in the middle of it. Blessings to you! 


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## hemiram (Feb 14, 2013)

I went through the ringworm thing a few times. Use the drops like the vet tells you, and wash your hands a lot, as I somehow must have touched my chin one time and transferred it over somehow. The last time I went through it was kind of funny. My dog Gus had a blown disk in his neck and since he refused to sit still at home long enough to let it heal, I decided to board him at the vet's for a couple weeks, in hope it would resolve it. It didn't work, but he came home with an addition, ringworm! It was the third time Gus had it, so I recognized it instantly. I took him to the vet to get some medicine for it, and the vet got a funny look on her face and admitted Gus had gotten it from her dog when she had taken Gus home with her because he was so miserable. She had gotten it on her leg and looked Gus over before I picked him up but had missed the single area of it on his chest. Needless to say, I got the meds free. I didn't really mind her taking him home all that much, as the boarding thing was just a shot in the dark anyway. Of course, about the time Gus's ringworm was clearing up, the cat's showed up. I got another bottle of ringworm medicine for free too. It took a couple of weeks to clear up the ringworm, and six more months for Gus's neck issue to finally go away, for a total of about 18 months from start to finish.


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

Our Zipper had RW when we adopted her. Spread to grandchild and me. We used a simple over the counter ring work ointment available at any pharmacy. Since the RW was primarily on Zipper's neck area it was not an issue of her licking it off but it took awhile to cure it from everyone. If it's not on Viking kitty's neck you will need to use a collar on him.


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## Marlindh (Mar 29, 2013)

Thank you for all your advice and sharing your experiences . So far my ring worm is almost gone . Thankfully I'm the only one that got it and not my girlfriend . RAGNAR is on oral medication right now one week in . He stopped bittimg and scratching himself to death . The medication is a pulse form of one week on one week off for 3 pulses . Will see how it goes. His areas are not as irritated as they were a week ago not red but he has huge patches of fur missing from gnawing at them . We have been cleaning every couple f days and spraying crazy Lysol and anti fungal spray around the house this seems to help a lot also after vacuuming we use a lint roller to catch what's left around the house . Also we have been leaving the windows open for the sun and clean air to come in since I head that will help kill it . Good luck to you all 


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## moondiamond (Apr 20, 2013)

After week one of the second 14-day pulse (once a day), Tiki sprouted a few new red pimple like pustules on her leg, neck, ears and pad, where her claw is. This is very disappointing but sadly, I am no longer shocked. I follow my vet's advice and try to use common sense. I will put an eCollar on her to prevent spreading from the pad. The "silver lining" to ringworm is twofold: 1) the house is immaculate and disinfected, 2) it's not a serious illness and will eventually heal. It's hard to keep this in mind when on hands and knees with a bucket of bleach solution. 


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## moondiamond (Apr 20, 2013)

I am wondering if anyone thinks putting two kittens (3 & 7 months old) in the same quarantine room is a good idea. One is riddled with ringworm and the other has just a few small lesions. If anyone has experience with multiple cats in quarantine, I would appreciate hearing about your experience. It has been two weeks of oral Itraconazole, Ketoconazole & Chlorex shampoo every three days, and weekly lime sulphur dip (at the vet) Tiki continues to get small lesions. My other cat, 7 month old Lucylou, now has a bald spot on an ear and one on her neck about the size of a quarter. When doing the whole-house vacuuming, yesterday, (part of the daily cleanng regimine), I noticed there was more "shedding" than usual, so I'm guessing Lucylou likely has other lesions not yet visible. As a precaution, our vet put her on oral Itraconazole a week ago. With the new lesions, she will continue the oral meds for another week, maybe longer. I have just one patch on the palm of my hand, which my dermatologist is treating with a prescription cream called econazole. If it doesn't break, which it has not (only been 5 days), he will switch me to an oral anti-fungal. He used the term "break" the fungus. Not sure what that means. I hope that means "go away." After a month, my husband has not contracted it, but I'm the one with my hands in the thick of it. I have gone through 300 examination gloves trying to keep it off my kittens and visa versa. Went to Costco and purchased another 600! Ringworm is such a hassle and so expensive to try to cure, at least in my case. I've heard it will resolve on its own after many months. The treatments are to keep it from spreading to other animals and people. It makes sense that it will eventually resolve on its own, otherwise every man woman and child on earth would be riddled with it! So, while waiting for it to break, I have had to put my real life on hold and clean, clean, clean. Bleach is my best friend and I dance with the vacuum cleaner throughout my day. I used to have a housecleaning service twoce a month. camcelled that altogether, since I'm thoroughly cleaning every day. I am going to post again about dried moss and ringworm. I read someplace in the labyrinth of the Internet that dried moss can cause ringworm. I can't find any real facts about it and I can't find it again. Real and artificial house plants frequently have miss at their base. I have some artificial plants that contain moss and wonder if this is a possibility. Grasping at straws, but when in the ringworm zone...everything is pretty much about ringworm cause, treatment and prevention. Tiki has been quarantined to the guest bathroom. Its been weeks, poor thing. mossing all her fun kitten time stuck with 5 plastic balls. I try to spend time with her at least three times a day, then I shower and change clothes. Our older kitten, who just developed lesions is still roaming the house, with the exception of the master suite. Now that she started to develop lesions, I can't decide if I should put her in the same bathroom as Tiki or in a separate bedroom. Does anyone know if two cats at varying degrees of lesions (one having many and one with few) should be in the same quarantine area? I'm really trying to do this by the books. It's very difficult and doesn't seem to much matter how clean and sterile our home is. And I'm talking CLEAN. The ringworm persists. Maybe we have a particularly difficult strain. There are so many types of fungus!!


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## moondiamond (Apr 20, 2013)

*Ringworm takes a while, but will go away.*

I've been fighting the ringworm battle since April 11th. FINALLY, the originally infested kitten culprit, Tiki, is ringworm free. It was a very long and difficult battle, as I was maintaining two separate quarantine areas. Our beautiful lynx siamese contracted it and is still in quarantine. I developed just one area on the palm of my hand, my husband has thus far had nothing. One kitty out and one kitty nearing the end. With all the excess nervous energy, I've kept our home and both quarantine areas disinfected with hot steam, rather than bleach. I purchased a large Enviromate steamer, but also a small hand-held by the same manufacturer called EnviroMate Pronto 7. If you hate using bleach as much as I do, this is a good option. It is $99. It comes out of the nozzle at 240 degrees, which kills everything, including dust mites and bed bugs. spores are much more fragile than dust mites. i plan on incorporating the two steamers into my regular household routine, ad it pretty much eliminates the need for chemicals. There is no hard and fast rule to the time it will take to cure. Some use a dab of athletes foot lotion and its gone in a couple weeks, and others, like me, have long difficult strains to deal with. After 5 cultures and 2 biopsies, all tests are negative and inconclusive. It happens. A human form can be spread to cats, including the athletes foot fungi, and the common feline tests do not include those. Fungi are everywhere! Don't beat yourself up. Eventually, it will go away. Vacuum all dust and hair, bleach (or steam) where possible and know that it will eventually go away. I am about 1 or 2 weeks away from having the last of my 2 kitties out of quarantine. Just keep cleaning to keep a re-infestation from occurring. Regarding their treatment, they receive 2 anti fungal baths a week (keep it on for at least 10 minutes before rinsing, and two lime sulphur dips a week. Keep this up until a week after their last lesion has healed to kill spores. Lime sulphur is the most effective treatment. My kitties also take oral Itraconazole once daily. Ours has been compounded at a local pharmacy. This will continue after both have no lesions. Not sure how long. It s important to have the liver tests, while using this. Hang in there...it will go away eventually, but it can be a long battle. And clean, clean, clean!


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