Ringworm - Ballwin,MO

ringworm is very contagious. however there are some people who get it because they are immuned to it than others. my sister works at a vet and she gets ringworm the moment she works with a dog/cat that has it because she's proned to it. my son has had it three times and i haven't caught it. There isn't anything you can really do to protect him from getting it other than not sending him out to play. but please be informed, you can get ringworm from the barber, a shopping cart, the playground and many other places but it's so contagious. if he doesn't get the ringworm at all more than like he might not be one of those who gets it all the time or so easily. i grew up playing in dirt my whole preteen life and never got it but friends and cousins were always around me and they had it. if he does develop it i use lanisol cream (athletes foot cream) on my son and in three days its gone. lanisol treats the fungus in athletes foot and ringworm is a form of fungus. you can read up on ringworm to learn more about it. but i wouldn't be too overprotective about it because he can get it from anything else.

To add: If the parent knows that the cat has ringworm more than likely he is being treated by a vetinarian. Also, I wouldn't recommend my kids playing out with others if they had the ringworm to prevent from it spreading to them.

Hi Ale-

Is the cat on meds for ringworm? If he is then I wouldn't hesitate to let me child play with that friend. I would mention to your child how the cat has a sickness and it's really contageous and he needs to really wash his hands so that he doesn't get sick as well.

If your child does get ringworm it's gross and uncomfortable but I think it's one pill that kills the worms and one follow up pill to make sure the eggs are killed as well. My daughter was a thumbsucker and she got ringworm twice, but we never knew the source of where she got them from.

Good Luck!

I actually have ringworm at the moment and I have no idea where I picked it up... but H. is a helpful site to get information.

http://www.dhpe.org/infect/ringworm.html

I'd ask if the cat is being treated for its ringworm and maybe have the friend play at your house until the cat is cured.

(P.S. I think Stephanie B. may be confusing ringworm with pinworms or some other intestinal worm. Ringworm is a fungus, so the name is confusing. There's actually no worms or eggs involved.)

If the other child has ringworm and they are treating it, more than likely your child would not get it. I would talk to the parent and find out. All they have to do is use an antifungal cream OTC or call there pediatrician to get a prescription. If my child had ringworm, I would not let him play with anyone. I would explain to him that he has something that another child could catch and when he is better then he can play. Good luck J.

make sure the cat is being treated... my sister in law got it from a cat at someone's house.. and it lasted a long time. ask the mom if the cat has been to the vet.. and can she keep the cat away from your child... good luck

Tell your friend that they can use athlete's foot cream (or even spray) to treat the cat. It's contagious but not burn your house down and start over contagious. You'll hear different things from different medical professionals about just how contagious it is too. Some of it depends on the person/animal and their immune system.
Personally speaking, I work at a vet clinic and we get animals in with ringworm from time to time. I'm not terribly prone to ringworm (although I've had it mildly twice) but some of my coworkers run screaming when they hear it's in the building because they tend to catch it and have trouble getting rid of it.
I had a very small kitten that I was bottle feeding who was absolutely COVERED in it. Poor thing had almost no fur. It wasn't immediately noticeable, and by the time it was, that cat had been EVERYWHERE. It had even been in my bed.
I had four other cats at the time, plus myself, my husband and my step-daughter. I got one VERY small (dime sized, maybe smaller) patch on my arm but that was it and I was in direct contact with the kitten several times a day, no one else got anything. I washed my hands with soap and water each and every time I touched the kitten and made sure that anything he touched was cleaned. I didn't knock myself out doing it though, just a notch above basic hygiene.
I treated the kitten using an antifungal shampoo and athlete's foot cream. I used one of those little tiny tubes of cream that come with those over the counter yeast infection kits on my arm.
The sooner they treat the cat the better, the longer you let things go the more expensive they get.

all the creams work. we have been battling ringworm for 5yrs now. i dont get them but my husband and son keep getting them. we've had perscription creams too. the work, it goes away then it comes back. and if your child is in any contact sport. well, good luck there too. we had our pets checked when we first got it. they didnt have it. we dont know where it came from. but it is a battle. not harmful. just itchy and very contagious.

As to going to school, check with the school. In my day, children could not go to school when they had ringworm or head lice. Both were common back then. I know that in my granddaughter's school district she had to stay home with head lice but I haven't heard of anyone at her school having ringworm.

As far as playing with someone, ringworm is a fungal infection and covering the sore and having clean hands should prevent others from catching it. I would expect the cat to be kept away from people until it's clear of ringworm. Talk with the mother and see if they're taking precautions to keep it from spreading.

Later, after your what happened. Our animals had ringworm from time to time while I was growing up. We did not take them to the vet. My parents isolated them and treated their ringworm with OTC anti fungal or athletes foot cream, same as they did us. If it was available back then. I don't remember. If it wasn't they would've taken us to the doctor but not the cat. Ringworm is contagious and parents do need to be cautious to prevent spreading it but it's not serious. I wouldn't take my cat to the vet for ringworm either and I could afford it.

Oy, ringworm! Relatively harmless but hard to remove from a house once it's in. I had a roommate yearss ago whose cat had it and it was hard work to get rid of it. She and the cat eventually became ammune, but those spores or whatever lingered... Even if the cat is being treated, if it is an indoor cat, the ringworm is all over the house. If you are close with the parents you might ask how the ringworm thing is going. When I moved away from that ringwormy cat there was a massive amount of wiping down, airing/sunning things out, washing etc. The family has either D. this or not. Otherwise, I think hanging out with that child not at his house is fine. If your kid picks up ringworm (look on the backs of the upper arm), you can just do a topical ointment, wash the sheets and clothes and it should be fine. Good luck.

I also wanted to add that if your child does get ringworm (ugh) then keep it covered with a bandaid or something if they are with other kids but sunlight (don't know why) cures it the best, in my experience! I've had it a couple times, I worked in a school where it was fairly rampant, and although I put the creams on it (generic athletes foot cream works just fine) the sunlight always cured it much, much faster!

If they use a medication on the cat's ringworm they should put a cone collar/satelight dish on the cat so it goesn't get sick from licking the medication.
Yes it is very contagious. I got it from my cat when I was in grade school. I was allowed to go to school as long as it was covered with a bandaid. As long as the child has a bandaid on it & doesn't remove it then I would be fine with my kids playing with the child.
I wouldn't let my child around the cat or the child especially if the family is not doing extra hand washing or treating the cat.

God bless!

Speaking from experience as my son got it on his scalp, it is very contagious and not fun to get rid of. He ended up having to be on an oral medication for 6 weeks that tasted terrible and took some very creative thinking to get him to take it. Agree with the using the anti-fungal cream as that was what we were told to use on a spot on his arm. We had to wait a good 24 hours on the medicine before my son could go back to school and continue to check him for other spots. Wash hands and I agree about not being around cat or the environment he is in until the cat is treated and they have D. a good cleaning.