Ringworm (On the Head)

Updated on January 18, 2008
W.D. asks from Sanger, TX
8 answers

I was told that a crusty, white, hairless spot on my daughter's head was a ringworm. It is the size of a quarter. First time we went in she was prescribed an anti-fungal cream. We used that for several months and then went back when I noticed she had two more spots, size of peas. She was put on antibotics. Well, this has been close to 5 months now and she still has the spots and they do not look any better. The hair is not growing back and I have noticed that they are starting to get crustier. I can scratch on them and it looks like dandruff. I am not sure where she got these "ringworms" I thought it might be from our outside cats but they do not have anything or any hair loss. Has anyone has any experience with this? Could it be something else and the doctor just mistaked it for ringworm? What do I do next??????

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So What Happened?

Thank you for all the great responses and suggestions. We took our daughter to her pedi on Friday and he said it was indeed ringworm and it wasn't caused from the pets. It could be as simple as picking the fungus off of a seat and scratching her head. He prescribed griseofulvin for 8-12 weeks. I will also be using other suggestions from you guys, with the monkey blood and shampoo. I appreciate it!

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C.S.

answers from Amarillo on

I'll tell you a good way to tell if a cat has ringworms so you can see if that is where she got it. Look at the cat's nose tip and see if it looks blotchy or crusty. I have seen ringworms on a scalp before, and this is definitely what it sounds like. And ringworms do spread. If you will srub the spots really good and sorta "scratch" off the top layer of flaky skin before applying the cream, they should heal a little faster, hopefully preventing them from spreading. My friend did this with her little boy and it helps. Good Luck!

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C.F.

answers from Dallas on

My daughter had ringworm. Selsun Blue shampoo on the spot cleared it up.

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T.W.

answers from Dallas on

hi my 6 year old has gone through the same thing. In fact she has been on a medication for about a month. They told me to use a special shampoo and give her the medicine.

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M.L.

answers from Houston on

there is a serious medication that the doc can prescribe that she will take for a month by mouth everyday then will have to have blood tests done because the meds are very strong and can harm the liver, then she will take for another month to ensure that it does not come back. you also need to get some tea tree oil and put one capful into a big bottle of cheap dandruff shampoo and use everyday from here on out. my son and i both have psoriasis(dry skin disease), we fought ringworm of his scalp for about 8 months until we figured out that he had actually given it to himself from scratching his scalp with dirty fingernails. be assured that the animals did not give this to your daughter, you can pretty much guarantee that she also has either psoriasis or eczema and has caused this herself. do what i told you before along with the meds from the doc.(they are not cheap, one month supply was $45 without insurance) Feel free to call me anytime if you would like to talk further.

M.
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G.F.

answers from Houston on

Personally I have used "blue star ointment" on ringworm and it worked. No matter what you use, keep it up for several days after the spot looks healed so that it doesn't come back.

My niece had this too (on the crown of her head). She used the meds from the doctor and they didn't work. Everyone was blaming our dog as the carrier, but we took her to the vet and she showed no signs. To put everyone at peace we bought the special shampoo for the dog and cat ( 2 of them - good luck there) but we only told everyone that we used it. We were very certain that the dog did not have it, and the vet agreed. Magically the spot on her head went away and everyone praised the shampoo from the vet that was never even used! She does have a small scar (about the size of a pea, but original spot was quarter sized) that has not gone away and it was been 3 years. She did not re-grow her hair, but is able to cover it up when she styles her hair.
Good luck. I hope she does not have any permanent scarring like my niece.

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J.G.

answers from San Antonio on

My son had ringworm about a year ago, the dr perscribed meds too, nothing worked. My hubbys grandpa saw it and gave me some of what he called "monkey blood", which someone told me is iodine (im not sure if it is or isnt, a pharmacy should be able to tell you what it is expecially if you ask an "older hispanic" person), anyway it worked really well only a few times applying it with a qtip or a cotton ball and it was history, hasnt had one since either. Just a thought. Hope it helps ya.

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A.H.

answers from Dallas on

Here is a picture of ringworm:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ringworm

You might want to research impetigo as well. To me if it isn't responding to the treatment it may not be ringworm. I looked for pictures of impetigo to pass on but the ones I found where of kids and I didn't want to pass kid's pictures around. It can get really nasty looking though if left untreated.

Just some thoughts. I hope you figure it out soon... Good luck

C.R.

answers from Dallas on

Hi W.,
Well ringworm is a normal fungus that is carried on everyone's skin. Its when it overpopulates is when it causes problems. Some times just having a weaker immune system from being young can cause breakouts. It can be VERY stubborn and keep returning over and over again until the body is able to keep the numbers down.
You don't have to have a carrier (cat,dog, etc...) to get a outbreak. You might look into a health food store to see what they will recommend for you. Anything anti fugal should be used on infected areas. The iodine stuff that was suggested is a great choice and can knock it down fast though it can return and some more can show up somewhere else. Also shaving the hair just around the borders of the lesion can help as well if that's not to unsightly for you. :) Just make sure that whatever you used is cleaned with a water/iodine solution well to not spread it to someone else.
It's more of an internal problem then external so it can be a booger to get rid of. It might take awhile also. Keep up putting treatment on there and make sure she is getting a good vitamin supplement for immune support. Hang in there and in time it all will be forgotten.
C.

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