Ringworm - Kansas City,KS

I don't know if you or a friend or neighbor have pets, but cats .... ESPECIALLY kittens are notorious carriers of ringworm.
Learned this when my daughter worked for a local vet.

I have my doubts as to whether this is ringworm or not...ringworm does not clear up within a day of treatment..it would normally take a week or 10 days for it to clear up, even with a prescription medication. I would suggest that you take your son to his pediatrician and let him/her take a look and see what it is. There are a host of skin conditions that it could be and you may be accidentally aggravating it with the the frequent hand sanitizing.
Good luck!!

I agree about it possibly being an animal or sandbox that your son plays in. Also, my kids got ringworm a few years ago that we could not get rid of with the med the dr gave us. Then a friend told me to use athletes foot spray. I did and it was gone in a few days and we havn't had a problem since. If that doesn't work, I would also suggest going to a dermetologist. It may just be something else. HTH.

~A.~SAHM of 7

JUST A LITTLE RESEARCH I DID ON THE SUBJECT

Ringworm is common in children, and although parents are quick to blame their pets for giving their kids this rash, the family dog or cat isn't always to blame.
So how do kids get ringworm?

Often, it is like many other infections they get and they simply get it from other kids at daycare or school or even from infected family members.

There are types of ringworm fungi that do infect pets and wild animals though, and although it is likely a rare source of infection for children, there are some that are even found in the soil, so there are many different sources for a child's ringworm infection.

You can even get ringworm by having contact with objects that have had contact with an infected person or pet, such as a brush, towel, or hat.

If your child has ringworm and you have a pet, especially a kitten or a puppy, then you should likely check your pet for a rash, or contact your veterinarian to make sure your pet isn't infected and the source of your child's infection. This can be important so that your child doesn't get reinfected over and over.

Finding the source of the ringworm infection also becomes more important if your child's ringworm keeps coming back.

And although ringworm is contagious, your child doesn't usually have to stay home from school or daycare while he is being treated for ringworm. If you want to be extra careful that he doesn't infect anyone else, you could cover the ringworm for the first 48 hours of treatment, since it does usually require direct contact to spread the infection. After 48 hours, a ringworm is usually not contagious anymore.

When my daughter had ringworm, the doctor said to treat it for 10 weeks. He said it would seemingly clear up, but to keep up the medicine (Lotrimin... if I remember correctly ... she's 22 now, and was 6 at the time) for 10 weeks or it would come back.

Are you SURE it is ringworm?

As a child myself I was diagnosed with "ringworm" that kept coming and going. At one time my parents were going to get rid of our dog because of it. My mom finally took me to a dermatologist who did a skin biopsy and found out it was actually a type of eczema. Which would kind of make sense with all the washing and sanitizing you're doing. His skin may be dry and sensitive.

I would get a definate diagnosis from a dermatologist and treat it accordingly.

L. K

Do you have a cat? They carry the bacteria that causes ringworms. I used to get them all the time until we started washing our cat once every few months. Just a thought. Good luck and God Bless.

This is going to sound weird, but do you have a cat? Or does he come in contact on a regular basis with a cat? I had a problem with this myself when I was about 9 years old and my parents couldn't figure out why it kept coming back. When it was time for my cat's annual check-up, the vet discovered that the cat had ringworm and treated the cat, I have never since had ringworm, knock on wood, and that was 20 years ago. My pediatrician said that the cat was consistently passing the parasite onto me until it was cured. Just a thought, good luck!

Hi K., Your letter caught my attention because my 2 year old granddaughter was just diagnosed with ringworm. We have NO idea where she got it, she does go to daycare 3 days a week, but no one else has been diagnosed with it. After some research, we found that ringworm is an ailment similar to athletes foot. It is treated with anti-fungal ointment. While it is contagious, it is not like the flu or a cold, which is an airborn disease. We had all 9 grandchildren here for the weekend, and no one "caught" it from her. So, I guess my advice would be, treat to ailment, but don't panic. You son is getting from somewhere, but you may never know. Take precautions, but don't panic. If you are truly worried about his overall help, contact a dermitologist for recommendations on preventive care. Good luck, and relax.

If you have a cat he could be getting from the cat.

Has his Dr. seen it? It sounds more like my daughter and son's excema (sp?). Ring worm takes a while to clear up. My daughter had it when she was 2. We found out that it could live in the soil for something like 60 years or some long extended time. We know that we live in a farming comunity and there was some barb wire fencing on our property so we asume that there might have at one time been cattle here. Cattle can carry ring worm. So if he or a pet dig in the soil then that is how he could be getting it if that is what it is. But excema can and does look very simular to it. I also found out from another web site at the time that my daughter had it that you can even buy a toy at a yard sale that could be covered in ring worms and not even know it. Some black lights will show off some types of ring worm. It did not work for my daughters.

Maybe it's not ever actually going away. I had ringworm last year and had to keep putting the ointment on for three months. I would check with his doctor and see what their experience has been because this sounds like either a stubborn case, or he's getting it from somewhere you wouldn't immediately suspect.

Does he use a clean towel after baths everytime? That is how my brother got it, using the same towel more than once and after the doctor suggested that could be the cause we always used a new towel after each shower from then on and he never got it again so that may be the cause you haven't come up with yet.