Ringworm... anyone have experience?

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Berner_Faith

New member
Well my partner received a call last night from his ex. It appears the kids have come into contact with ringworm. They contact it from the babysitters new kitten. The doctor prescribed some oil to put on it.

We have never dealt with this before, but everything I have read states it is highly contagious and can be transferred by air as well as direct contact. This is going to totally devastate the kids. We were to have their grandparents and aunts/uncles over on Friday for a big family Christmas, but we are not sure if this is a good idea now, as there is a 4 month old baby and 2 year old that were to be joining.

I am waiting to hear back from my family doctor, but has anyone out there had to deal with this before? I feel soo bad for the kids, they won't be able to touch anything because they have it on their hands/arms, this includes their cousins and the animals.

Merry Christmas to them :(
 
Berner_Faith said:
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We have never dealt with this before, but everything I have read states it is highly contagious and can be transferred by air as well as direct contact...
Click to expand...

It is spread through touch-contact only. Skin-to-skin contact, or someone sharing towels or clothes, that touched the skin. It's not "air-borne".

See what your doctor says, but if your child has been prescribed a prescription for this, they generally do not say you have to keep your child out of school or daycare with this, so I don't see why you would have to cancel Christmas plans. But see what your doctor recommends.
 
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Yup. It sucks but isn't the end of the world, they'll give you a cream to put on it if any patches show up, it's just a fungus and more of an annoyance than a threat to anyone.

It can take up to two weeks for the rash to show up after exposure, if they're going to get it. The whole household should be treated, even if only one was exposed.

Best thing you can do is to keep everyone clean, clean, clean and dry - it thrives in warm, moist areas like diapers, groin etc. Clean the house top to bottom, especially shared areas like showers & bathrooms with bleach, no sharing of brushes, toothbrushes, deodorant etc.

There's a shampoo they prescribe for the treatment of a similar skin infection called tinea versicolor - an overgrowth of yeast on the skin, you can buy it at the drugstore: Selsun Blue. Lather it on to the skin, leave it for a couple minutes and rinse, treat the skin & nails.

There's also oral meds they can prescribe for it but I've never used them and can't offer any advice on it.

It sucks, but is manageable and hopefully with some education the family will make it through the holiday season relatively unscathed!
 
Thank you! I know not to believe everything you read on the internet, which is why I also called my family doctor. Hopefully the cream will work this week for them. We don't pick them up until Friday, so will not be able to be part of ensure they do as they need this week, but I am hopeful their Mom will stay on top of it.
 
The cream only 'works' if they have spots that have appeared already. If no spots are up, stock up on anti-fungal/fungicidal soap, and Selsun Blue and start washing everyone with that, and your laundry with hot water and antifungal soap to see if you can nip it in the bud before anyone gets it.
 
They have the spots on their hands/arms, 2-3 spots each. I am still going to stock up to hopefully stop it from spreading. We have them for a week and I doubt it will be cured by Friday.
 
You don't really need to, but depending on age of kids;

You could always go to Dollar store, buy some cheap, thin Christmas coloured "gloves", and some "antlers", and the kids can play "dress-up" for the night. They wouldn't think much of it, because it's just a game, but their hands would be further covered, in their play with other kids.

Probably over-kill, but it's an idea. It's winter, so one would presume they are already wearing long-sleeves or sweaters (since you mentioned their arms).
 
Wouldn't hurt to have your dentist or community health nurse check mouth for sores or lesions. Anti-fungal rinses are commonly used and dentist can prescribed a Nystatin mouth rinse if need be.
 
Hey it's ugly I've dealt with it with my son as well I didn't find it a big deal and my other 2 children never got it from my son nor did anyone including me who had to put the cream on it😳!! I would suggest xtra bottles of hand sanitizer around the house. The circle my son had never got any bigger and the cream worked fine! It cleared up and he never got it again(knocks on wood) haha
Good luck no worries kids are kids these things happen.
 
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