We have a widespread problem with ringworm. It all began when we imported a Maine Coon kitten from Australia. Daisy, the kitty, had a few dry areas on her tail but no overt ringworm symptoms. Within a couple of weeks after her arrival, my granddaughter broke out in spots that were diagnosed initially as chickenpox (although she had had the vaccine). After further examination, the spots were cultured and diagnosed as ringworm.
Meanwhile, her mother (my daughter) developed a dozen spots. The kitty sleeps with my daughter and granddaughter, and not with me. Because I did not (yet) have any spots, carrier suspicion fell on the cat.
We took kitty to a vet who did a “toothbrush” combing and had it cultured. Two weeks later, we were told the results were negative, but no one believed the results. Meanwhile, my daughter’s spots were positively cultured as ringworm.
Next it was my turn — I developed three spots, without much contact with the cat but plenty of physical contact with my granddaughter.
Now, my Labrador retrievers have some spots on their heads and legs. The vet says this is only the third time he has seen ringworm on dogs in 29 years of practice. The dogs have had NO contact with the cat, so the transmission was from humans to dogs. Needless to say, my granddaughter and I have a lot of close physical contact with the Labs.
To break the transmission cycle, the vet has put the cat on a systemic anti-fungal medication and all the rest of us — human and canine — are on topical anti-fungals.
Has anyone else had experience with this manner and extent of ringworm transmission? Will we eventually get rid of it?
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Sounds like a widespread auto-immune problem…or an unidentified source. How awful.
In 30 years of continuous cats and/or dogs, I’ve dealt four times with ringworm–me once, my husband once, a Lab once, and a Golden once. Me, DH and Lab were successfully treated with Godwinol; golden was successfully treated with dilute Tea Tree Oil. In each case the fungus did not spread on the patient or between critters. Go figure. Today I would be looking to homeopathy for a remedy.
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You can use henna to heal ringworm, I friend of mine and dog, cats had ringworm, with all the shampoos and other medicine, it took her 9 month to get rid of it.
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I had something like that happen to me. A new cat brought in ring worm and infected everyone in my family–4 people, 6 dogs, and 2 rabbits. We used the vet’s cream on everyone and it cleared up and did not return. You have to be very consistent and be sure to wash bedding and rugs, etc often.
Tea tree oil is really good for ring worm also. I used that in addition to the cream the vet gave us (it was many years ago, and I cannot remember what the name of the cream was). It may have been the tea tree oil that worked for all I know. I use tea tree oil all the time and it is great at clearing up my husband’s athlete foot, and poison ivy.
I use a spray mixed with tea tree oil in my bathtub and it really prevents hard water and soap scum stains. Mixed with water (10 to 1) it helps prevent ear infections in dog prone to infections.
Tags:
alternative medicine,
anti fungal medication,
dog illnesses,
dog itching,
ear infections,
Godwinol,
immune problem,
labrador retrievers,
ringworm,
Tea Tree Oil
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