Ringworm

[GlassOnion]

Ringworm only fluoresces under black light about 50% of the time. It's a quick diagnostic test but the absence of glowing isn't definitive, just means your animal has the wrong type.

he will prescribe some of that anti-fungal cream for me to apply to her body. However, most of the itching and fur loss is on her face. And I can't use this stuff on her face. Agh. I wouldn't be satisfied with just the cream, knowing that ringworm could be the root of all these skin issues

The cream may act in the same way that flea treatment does in that it uses the oils in the skin to spread across the coat.

Systemic anti-fungals (orals) are generally a bad idea and only used if necessary (IE a systemic infection) because they are pretty toxic. The external anti-fungals such as creams don't harm animals for the most part but a pill can do some damage.

We always prescribed Malaseb cream or the wipes and they seemed to do well, though you likely could get the same bang for less buck with OTC stuff.

Also, ringworm actually shows up in rings. When we brought the cat home he had and Bella got a serious dose of it as well. She had rings all over her face and body, it was not localized. I would be checking for mange and yeast, I'm not an expert, but I think you would definitely know for sure if it was ringworm.

In some cases it does (hence the name) but rings, like the fluorescing, isn't an 'always' kind of thing. Have seen a lot of cases of ring worm where it doesn't ring.


Anyhow the vet will likely want to do a fungal culture. It takes about 2 weeks to do unfortunately. I forget the name of the test though....ETC or something along those lines.

[ACooper]

There is also a pill the vet can prescribe. Phoebe got it once when we went to Arkansas, a stray kitten showed up at my sister's house and Phoebe wouldn't keep her nose away from it...........turns out the kitty had ringworm. Not only Phoebe, but every last kid did too

The vet prescribed Griseofulvin (looking at her vet records right now), and she had to take 1 pill every day for a month.

The kids on the other hand got athlete's foot creme applied to theirs until it went away, LOL

[Ratboy]

Years ago, all three of my dogs got it several times, from what, I don't know. Later on, after the other two were gone, my dog got it from the vet herself, who had gotten it from her dog, and she gave it to my dog when I boarded him, and she took him home one night because she felt sorry for him being there. He was there because he was supposed to be kept quiet because he had severe neck problems! Instead, she took him home, and not only did he get the **** ringworm, he played around and hurt his neck again. I wasn't happy about it, but eventually, his neck problem did clear up. I got a bunch of free anti-fungus cream too.