Ringworm Exposure - over the Holidays

Its not such a big deal my daughter got it when she was 2 1/2 and it was directly on the back of her neck, and jut a circle, we J. had to put topical cream on it for a little while. The doctor said kids get it all of the time. If they are playing in the dirt and itch themselves they can get it that easy. If you see a circle rash on them (Emmy's was the shape of a dime, maybe a little bigger in a circle) then J. take them in to get prescribed the cream.

I suggest that if your children don't have it by now they won't get it. One gets ringworm from an animal or person who has ringworm or from a towel or surface on which the exudate has been deposited. One has to have direct contact with the exudate from the ringworm site. So, no, you cannot be a carrier without having symptoms.

Before taking anyone to the doctor for this, I'd call the advice nurse. There are home treatments. And it's obvious when it's ringworm. There is a sore with blisters that is circular in appearance. Over a couple of days you do get the nasty looking image you found on the internet. At first it's just a circular looking rash that quickly develops blisters.

A friend caught ringworm while traveling on the train. The exudate was probably left on the sink on which she laid her wash cloth. So the children could've gotten the ringworm from a public place.

It starts out looking like a zit or pimple and then the size grows and eventually it will take on its definitive "ring". You will know it if you see it.

You can treat it with an over the counter, anti-fungal cream - like Tinactin (cream for athletes foot, jock itch, etc.). It is so easy to treat, don't bother going to doctor unless it becomes really ugly. But if you catch it and start using cream as directed, it is much cheaper than a trip to the dr! :-)

I have had it myself - caught from a student (when I taught kindergarten). It reoccured once or twice after that, but i held on to my antifungal cream and was able to easily treat it each time!

I am on the side of saying it isn't a huge deal. My husband gets is ALL the time. He uses lotrimin to get rid of it.

Side notes tho - He travels and stays in hotels Mon thru Fri and he works in sewers. So he doesn't have a great environment that he is in.

We just went through this a few months ago, my kids got it from a kitten we adopted. It was a nightmare and we spent almost $350 on treatment for both my kids, the cat, and our dog who she also gave it too.

Ringworm will be in the system for about 10 days before it starts to show up. It will look like a red circle for a few days, could be mistaken for a bug bite or rash, then the center of the circle will heal to normal skin, that may be somewhat scaly, and the red ring will remain. Some people experience itchiness or blisters, my children's many ringworm spots were not itchy/blistery at all, just lightly raised red spots that eventually turned into the tell-tale ring.

Looots of cleaning, literally, scrub every hard surface and wash every cloth surface, b/c the fungus spreads all over due to it's tiny spores. If it is on the skin, then a simple over the counter anti fungal treatment will heal it. It takes 3 days of meds before it is no longer contagious, so for the first few days it needs to be covered with medicine and a band-aid. After that, you have to do the medicine for about 4-6 more weeks to really get it. If the ringworm is on the scalp, hairline or head, then you must go to the Dr. to get prescription oral antibiotics, because creams don't work in that type of hair and your child will be left with a bald spot permanently.

Many people only get one or two spots, so fairly easy to treat. My kids had over 24 spots, plus in their hair... they played and slept with the cat, and kept getting reinfected over that 10 day dormant period. Oh, we had to treat and quarantine the animals for almost 2 1/2 months. Royal nightmare.

I have never heard of ringworm being passed by humans. Tends to be from kids brushing up with something that had animal feces on it.

If I remember correctly it is easy to catch.

I had worked in the school systems and I had ringworm. My mother was a RN and she said I probably got it from one of the kids at work. Anyhow; it was really itchy all the time. It was big enough to notice also. It was on my upper arm. I do not remember if I had to go to the doctor for this, I think my mother gave me something for it. It can be spread from person to person, so be aware of that.

This is what I found online:
Symptoms of ringworm include:

* Itchy, red, raised, scaly patches that may blister and ooze.
* The patches tend to have sharply-defined edges.
* Red patches are often redder around the outside with normal skin tone in the center. This may look like a ring.

If ringworm affects your hair, you will have bald patches.

If ringworm affects your nails, they will become discolored, thick, and even crumble.

Good luck!

Not really a worm, instead it's a fungal infection. A little jock itch, foot fungus, vagisil (anything ending in _zole) will make it stop itching, if it doesn;t go away on it's own, and may remedy it completely. Ex-husband was a construction worker that wore the same nasty thermals repeatedly. RIngworm was a yearly thing for us. This was before i had kids, though, I;m sure nowadays, I;d be waaaay more upset about it! Oh, and I think one of us had given it to the cat, thankfully, it all went away pretty much on its own