# Ringworm! Is ketoconazole toxic???



## fairness (Feb 24, 2011)

My cat (Joshua) has ringworm on his lower tummy and it itches. The vet has prescribed Ketoconazole and Clemastine. I stopped the medication after 2 doses cuz he foamed in the mouth and kept drooling while taking medication. 

Ketoconazole shampoo and nizoral seemed to have helped in the first 2 weeks, and cleared the surface, but I still can see some black specks and redness on that patch of skin, and it seems that the black specks have spread a bit (or maybe I didn't notice that before since only the original place is red)
Is it possible to cure ringworm without oral medication?
Joshua is old, and I'm afraid the oral medication is bad for his liver.
should I give him the oral medication? or should I be patient with shampoo and cream?
Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks!


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

When an older cat gets ringworm its a sign that he has a compromised immune system. It sounds like the medication is hurting your cat. The drooling as a sign. Try athlete foot cream. Plus colloidal silver on ringworm areas min. 3 times a day. See if that helps. Colloidal silver helped a kitten I was fostering turn the corner when nothing was working on him.


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## fairness (Feb 24, 2011)

Thanks for the reply.I'll try to get Colloidal silver.

The vet said he drooled because Clemastine is bitter, but it still worries me to give him oral medication.
I've tried 2 kinds of athlete food cream, Lamisil and Nizoral. Lamisil made it worse, but Nizoral, which contains ketoconazole, has cleared the surface a bit after 6 days.
I'm wondering if it will ever go deep into the skin to kill the ringworm.
It has been over one month, with all the frustrations, I nearly give in to the oral medication, but I'm still hoping there is a better remedy than that...


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## Lenkolas (Jan 18, 2011)

Hey there!

I've been dealing with a ringworm nightmare for about a month too. Right now I have two kittens at home, isolated in a room, under treatment.

I started with Itraconazole 3 weeks ago. First week, nothing. Second week, some improvement. Right now their lesions are almost completely gone and they are perfect. A week ago the vet got blood samples to see how were they tolerating the medicine, and everything was more than perfect.

Have you considered Itraconazole? I also bathe them, but the bigger they get the more chaotic baths have become (I got a huge scratch in my neck and now I'm seriously considering not bathing them anymore). 
Maybe itraconazole is not recommended for older cats, but I advice you to star oral medication asap, 'cause topic treatment could work, but will be slow and it may fail completely.

Hope that helps!:wink


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

Ringworm doesn't go away right away, I had ringworm and it took a month of using a topical cream (Canesten) twice a day before I stopped applying it, even though I was worried I should've gone longer, since the skin was still looking reddened (not inflamed or ring-like though)... the skin was damaged and that takes a long time to heal on top of the fact that there is ringworm. From what I've read of the store bought creams they are totally safe to use, if you think you or a pet has ringworm you can apply them just to be on the safe side with no side effects. Well, unless you or your pet has a reaction to the active ingredients. In that case figure out the ingredient causing the problem and get a different brand of cream that doesn't use it.


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## laurief (Jun 22, 2008)

Here is information from _The Pill Book Guide to Medication for Your Dog and Cat_ - 

Regarding Ketoconazole:

"Ketoconazole may cause decreased appetite, vomiting, and liver damage, and is poorly tolerated by most cats. Fluconazole and itraconazole are newer antifungals that are better tolerated by cats, but are fairly expensive ..."

Regarding Clemastine:

"It is commonly used in dogs and considered accepted practice. Other antihistamines are more commonly used to treat cats."

It sounds to me like your vet may be primarily a canine practitioner. I assume this is also an older vet who is used to prescribing older meds or who deals with a lot of low-income clients who can't or don't want to pay for newer drugs with fewer side effects. Regardless, I recommend asking your vet about switching to itraconazole or fluconazole, as well as to a different antihistamine. It typically takes 10-14 days to start to see improvement with any of the antifungals - they are NOT a quick fix. All antifungals have the potential to cause liver damage. Fluconazole is also excreted through the kidneys, so there is potential for damage in those organs, as well. Since your cat is old, it's important to have a blood panel run before and during treatment with any of these drugs to keep a close eye on organ health. 

Laurie


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## fairness (Feb 24, 2011)

Thanks for the replies. I discussed about Canesten with a pharmacist, and she told me to use Nizoral for another week so the ringworm doesn't get resistent to this drug. If Nizoral doesn't work after another one or two weeks, I should try Canesten. Thank you.

I'd like to talk to my vet about itraconazole or fluconazole, thanks for the information. I hope I don't offend him by suggesting any drug to him lol. He is very good in treating difficult surgical cases, and he has saved Joshua's life years ago after Joshua had been given up by 20 vets.
I still haven't given Ketoconazole to Joshua yet because I'm trying to see if there is a milder way to cure, hoping he might develop antibody to fight the ringworm... (My family has started yelling at me because of this.) Is it possible?

I'm also looking into anything that can help boost his immunity. Does anyone here have any suggestion? I heard a few drops of vinegar in water might help.. Has anyone tried other methods?

I'm not sure if Jushua has any improvement. The entire patch is a bit more red than other part of skin, and it itches. Whenever I touch that part, he would keep licking his Elisabeth collar. I thought ringworm is supposed to have ring shape, but besides two smaller red circles, his groin has entire patch of redness with tiny scattered black specks, which can be seen only under strong light. Has anyone seen that before?


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## Lenkolas (Jan 18, 2011)

I have seen that. Two weeks ago, after two weeks of starting treatment with itraconazole. Now that stage is completely gone and my kittens have hair growing in the lesions. I might be wrong, but I think that what you are seeing it is some improvement, but after a month it is not a great improvement.

I strongly suggest you consider oral medication. Blood tests (a lipid panel among others) are advisable before starting the treatment. If tests results are fine, then you can start for a week or two and then repeat the tests to see how your cat is tolerating the medication.

I know topical treatment may eventually cure the disease, but it has been a month and I think starting oral medication is the best you can do now. How expensive is itraconazole in your country? 120ml of Itraconazole here cost around 25 - 30 dollars.

Good luck, keep us posted!


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## fairness (Feb 24, 2011)

Thanks Lenkolas, I wonder what the black specks are. Are they dead fungi or active fungi? Some affected area is smooth but red, and have lots of tiny black specks. The black specks seem increased (or perhaps my imagination) Does it mean it is improving? 

I will do blood test first before I give oral medication. 
I'm not sure how much itroconazole costs. I thought we have to get it through a vet...
I'll check with the vet next week.


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## fairness (Feb 24, 2011)

Joshua has sat in the sunlight for 1-2 hours each day in the past 2 days. The red patch has turned darker red. I can't tell if it is better. Or could it be sunburn?
If it was sunburn, wouldn't other area turn red as well? 
Does anyone one know if ringworm would turn darker in the sun? Are they dying?


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## Lenkolas (Jan 18, 2011)

Ringworm is a fungus. As all fungi, their growth is inhibited by dry conditions and sunlight.
But be careful with sunburns, I wouldn't rely on sun exposure as a treatment for ringworm. My kitties are completely white, so the sun is not exactly their best friend :? . 

I have completed a month of treatment with itraconazole. They have no lesions anymore. I will continue for 3 more weeks, but the vet will run a second blood test to be sure that the medication is not damaging their liver. 

Good luck!


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## fairness (Feb 24, 2011)

All the topical creams I've tried seem to have limited effect, so I gave Joshua the oral medication prescribed by the vet. The inflammation/redness/bumps were gone within 10 days, but the black specks surfaced. The vet said the black specks should be gone on its own. Joshua looked lazy and started coughing after taking medicine (he has never coughed before). The vet said the ringworm should be ok now and stopped the medication 3 days ago, but Joshua started scratching again, and there is some redness. The ringworm is not completely gone, but the vet didn't prescribed more medication for some reason, maybe because of the cough and lethargy. 
I started using colloidal silver 500 ppm yesterday. I read lots of online articles about it. Some said it works, some said not. I'm not sure the one I've got is high quality. It is by Natural path silver wings. 
Has colloidal silver actually cured anyone's ringworm?? Or should I combine it with topical cream to make it more effective?


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

I had12 very sick foster kittens. All of them were riddled with ringworm too. They were too young for oral ringworm meds so all treatment had to be topical. One kitten just kept getting worse and worse after two months of topical treatment. I think its immune system was poor. It lost all the fur on its head. Its bare skin felt like elephant's hide! I was desperate. I emailed Micki Vousard who is a long time proponent of feeding raw and natural homeopathic remedies. She said use collidial silver. It started working immediately for this kitten. I continued the other topical treatments while using the CS.


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## Beckie210789 (May 9, 2011)

My kitten just had a bout of ringworm as well. What worked for me was a combination of Lotrimin cream and Lymdyp, a prescribed topical rinse for the skin. He has one spot left, and I think I'm going to try and colloidal silver. Another thing though, Ringworm flouresces in a black light, glowing a faint lime green color. This is how we determined where the ringworm was on the kitten, and the very start of any other areas it was spreading, we caught it before it was easily viewed in regular light, and it took a lot less time to clear it up. I bought a cheap tube black light on Amazon for 8 dollars.


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## sillykittygirl51 (Sep 7, 2011)

After adopting a kitten who had ringworm who then gave it to me and my 2 other cats (thankfully my dog never got it), I tried GoldenSeal extract (alcohol-free) and simply blotted some on my cats' lesions w/a cotton ball a couple of times a day -- as well as the one on my face -- and it cleared us all up very quickly (I can't remember the exact amount of time it took) as my vet gave me that poison for my cats too and after my second oldest cat threw it up, I was determined to find something that was nontoxic and wouldn't make him sick. When I took one of my cats in for a check up, he was amazed at how well the ringworm had cleared up and asked me what I used. I hope this might help someone else as it really was amazing at how quickly it worked and it was all topical.


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## fairness (Feb 24, 2011)

I will look into Goldenseal, too. I have been applying colloidal silver like 4 times a day and topical cream 2 times a day. The surface redness normally would subside a bit right after I applied colloidal silver. At first, it looked like the ringworm was under control, but 2 days ago, the inflammation/redness/bumps suddenly came back on the same spot, and would not go away no matter what I do. 
Is it bad if I apply colloidal silver every hour? I wonder if colloidal silver just supress the ringworm instead of killing it?


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## Beckie210789 (May 9, 2011)

Just bought the alcohol free goldenseal extract. I think I'm going to need it. Waffles has one really stubborn spot on his back foot, and since he's getting more rambunctious and all over the place right now, I've not taken as strict precautions about washing my hands all the time. I also started coming down with a cold, and I think with my immune system fighting against said cold, it gave up on keeping ME ringworm free. Woke up with a ring on my inner forearm. It itches like the devil. I thought it was poison ivy at first, and would have had it not been in a circle. Looking up other uses for the goldenseal, looks like it's a cure all for tons of stuff. Might end up hooked. 

My boyfriend's family is chinese, and they use a lot of herbal remedies. I would love to be able to add this to the list of many different healing herbs in my pantry.


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## fairness (Feb 24, 2011)

Maybe it's just coincidence that my cat started having ringworm after I switched to wellness canned, but it's weird that his ringworm spot turns red and inflamed every time after eating wellness chicken and trout. Could certain food make ringworm worse? 
I just tried chicken and trout yesterday, and it got worse again. I'm not sure if I've turned insane because of ringworm issue.


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## my5kitties (Sep 13, 2005)

fairness said:


> Maybe it's just coincidence that my cat started having ringworm after I switched to wellness canned, but it's weird that *his ringworm spot turns red and inflamed every time after eating wellness chicken and trout. Could certain food make ringworm worse? *
> I just tried chicken and trout yesterday, and it got worse again. I'm not sure if I've turned insane because of ringworm issue.


How long have you had your kitty? How long has he had ringworm? It could be that the reaction you're seeing is not from the ringworm but from an allergy to chicken and trout. Some cats are allergic to certain types of food, with chicken and trout (fish) being two. I think you should try to feed him food that doesn't have either chicken or trout and see if the ringworm reacts to that. Oh...one other question. Did he tolerate chicken and trout before the ringworm? Or did he have a reaction to it (itchiness, red skin, diarrhea, etc.)?


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## fairness (Feb 24, 2011)

I have been thinking so hard in the past 3 months what is wrong with my cat's skin, maybe someone can shed some light.

I've had him for almost 20 years. I've never given him trout until I switched to wellness 3 months ago. He never had ringworm in his life until now, but maybe it was just coincidence, I don't know. In the beginning, I thought it was allergy since it was just rash and redness, and he didn't lose much fur, but he kept licking and tearing the spot. But if it was allergy, why was it only on lower right tummy. I stopped feeding him wellness just in case it was allergy. I let him wear Elisabeth collar so the wound could heal. After it healed, it was still red inside, and there are black specks on the two sides of his tail, right below the red spot. He kept scratching, he felt very uncomfortable, so I took him to vet. The vet said it glowed under the woodlamp, should be ringworm. OK, I thought if it was ringworm, it can't be caused by Wellness, so I started feeding him Wellness canned again. I noticed the rash appeared after eaing chicken and trout, and I thought it was coincidence again since the vet said it was ringworm. I just gave him other flavours. The inflammation got worse and worse so I had to give him oral medicine. The inflammation went away after a few days of oral medicine, but the original redness was on and off. since the medicine made him cough, we had to stop it, and resumed to topical. Yesterday I decided to try chicken and trout again, and the rash came back again like the first time. Could it be coincidence?!?!?! I kept trying to recall every event and sequence. I should have kept a log. 

ps. I did go to another vet secretly, who doesn't worth to be mentiioned. She just said Joshua's skin was inflamed and gave me some cream with steroid, which only made it worse.


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## fairness (Feb 24, 2011)

Sorry, it was salmon and trout. (I thought it was chicken and trout)


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## Beans (Apr 25, 2011)

Don't use athlete's foot cream. It's a different kind of fungus, I believe. Just get anti-fungal cream. Nox is just now getting over ringworm. I used anti-fungal cream & a prescription my friend who works at the humane society gave me. Make sure you kind of quarantine your cat to one room for a while. The fungus spores can live on surfaces up to 13 months. I washed down every hard surface with diluted bleach & washed all my sheets and basically anything that he has touched. It's almost gone now. Good luck!


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