OMG Bia has ringworm!! I need to get rid of it b4 I lose my mind!! HELP - YorkieTalk.com Forums

Frans*lil*Bia* · 11-10-2005, 11:03 PM

OMG!!! MY Bia has ringworm!! how do you stop it from spreading?? My boston had it first, I found it on her on Mon, and I checked Bia and she had no signs of it, and tonite I found a scab on her leg. I don't know how I missed it, because it is really crusty and there is no hair, how did I miss it?? My vet told me to wash her with medicated shampoo he gave me for my other dog and put anti-fungal cream on it. He is doing a culture right now for my boston, takes 7-10 days, and if it gets worse and the culture comes back positive, he will give oral meds. I am going out of my mind, I am such a clean freak, and both my dogs are inside dogs, I don't know how they got it. Its getting worse for my boston, 2 days ago when I took her to the vet I only seen one scab and now I have found 3 more. I have bleached everything, washed my bedding, spray a mixture of bleach and water on stuff like the couch and carpets everyday so far. What else can I do?? I want it to go away, and sometimes I get so grossed out by it I just want them to somewhere else till its all gone. I feel so bad for thinking like that. I also have a 3 yr old son who is constantly playing with them and I know I will freak if I find one on him, so I make him stay away as much as I can , and he is constantly washing his hands. PLEASE any advise will help, I need to know how to prevent reinfection and how to stop it from spreading. In my whole 23 yrs of my life I have never dealt with this and now I feel helpless on getting it under control, because not 1 but both dogs have it. PLEASE HELP!!!! Excuse me if you think I might be overeacting, I know things could be worse, but this is stressing me out big time.

Marie · 11-10-2005, 11:40 PM

My Gucci came for the broker with ringworm. It took a couple of months but she is cure now. The vet prescribed an oral med, a medicated shampoo and a lyme dip. Is good that you are cleaning everything with clorox. Good luck and please keep us posted.

TatumsMom · 11-11-2005, 06:37 AM

Oh, this is one area we have a lot of experience with. (Sorry, this may be long!) We got two new kitties from the shelter back in May. Apparently (we found out later), that shelter had a huge ringworm outbreak right about that time. They had to "clean house" really well (this info came from our vet - same vet the shelter uses). Unfortunately we didn't notice this until they started breaking out with it about 6 weeks later and by then our Australian Shepherd had a few spots and Tatum (the Yorkie) had one spot. The vet gave us an antifungal shampoo and we had to give all four of them baths every 3 days (very important!) for weeks! It was quite an experience with the cats but they got used to it really quick. At times they were better behaved during bath time than Tatum was. It took us longer to get rid of it because I didn't follow the instructions to the letter.... you are supposed to lather them up (which is difficult because this shampoo doesn't lather very much) and then let the shampoo sit on them for about 10 minutes. Then you rinse it off. (With Tatum, I HAD to use her conditioner on her afterwards or I couldn't even get a comb through her hair - this shampoo is pretty drying to their hair.) With the dogs it was easy to let it sit because I would just sit with Stormie (the Aussie) for that long and she was good. With Tatum, I would wrap her in a towel and let her snooze in my arms for that time. With the cats, I would soap one up, put her in a small travel kennel and then do the next one. Then they'd get swapped and rinsed. For the first few weeks, I wasn't letting it sit like I was supposed to and we were still seeing spots on the cats. After correcting that mistake, we were able to get rid of it really quick.

On another note, as far as your son is concerned.... just keep an eye on him. Several years ago, my mother-in-law got 3 new kittens from a friend who didn't realize the mom had ringworm. My daughters went over and played with these kittens ALL the time. All of a sudden, they started getting the ringworm. I'm not kidding - one of them (the one that had the most contact with the kittens) had at least 20 spots on her!! I was a little freaked out but I'm not one to go too overboard. The kittens had to be treated (don't remember what she did to them) and the dr. told me to use Lotrimin (for athlete's foot) on all of the girls' spots. You have to do this for a couple weeks - even when the spots get better. Two or three times a day! I tell you this just in case your son gets any. It's really not that bad but you want to treat it right away so it doesn't scar. Luckily, my girls didn't get any on their head or they could have lost spots of hair. They did have some on their face which concerned me the most because of the scarring issue but all turned out well.

Sorry, to go on so long but this really needs to be nipped in the bud as soon as possible to be able to get rid of it quickly. We didn't do anything special inside the house (Tatum is the only inside pet) but with the big crate that the cats sleep in at night, we had to replace the litter completely every time they got a bath and sanitize the entire crate each time. Nothing else special really had to be done. The vet says they may end up being carriers of the ringworm but since their immune system is good and since they've been spayed and have good healthy diets, they should not show up with it any more.

Hope this helps you some. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk about it!

txshopper73 · 11-11-2005, 06:37 AM

If the vet said it takes 7 - 10 days for results, I'd go to a different vet. Ringworm can be diagnosed before you leave the vet's office. You need to get to a different vet because this is spreading the longer something isn't done.

You'll have to continue to bleach everything since it is a spore and floats in the air. Oral medication, cremes and shampoos are a must. It is curable just takes a couple of months.

Best of luck.

Cookie2 · 11-11-2005, 08:10 AM

When I got my boy he had ringworm and I had no idea because he had a bow on top and that was hair missing right there , a crusty scab was underneath the bow. It soon got bigger , in fact as big as a half dollar coin! That is huge compared to his little size! They gave me creams,then drops to put on it. Then a spray... NOTHING worked. Finally after 2 1/2 months of treatment they gave him pills for 6 weeks. I don't remember exactly how long it took but I know it was months before I could tell that the skin was clear and the hair was slowly growing back. I tried keeping him away from the kids and have him sleep in a crate but I was weakand gave in. We let him sleep in bed with us . My kids ended up getting it and we treated the whole family. I dont know why I never had an outbreak I had like a mosquito bite ,very tiny.
From my experience Oral Meds are the best. I used two big bottles of of Malaseb Shampoo and all that did was make his skin very dry!

Genie

Angela · 11-11-2005, 08:43 AM

Becareful with that lyme dip................Its needed to get rid of the ring worm, but I lost a yorkie using it on her a few years ago...........I was doing it outside so she wouldn't inhale it...............I did it like the techs told me to, BUT out of three of them noone told me to dilute it with water, they said to pour it on her, its my fault for not reading the directions........the vet said they use it straight on kittens and that should not have killed her, she had been on the oral meds before I got her..........it may have been the combo of the 2 and she was very, very tiny..........It was very heart wrenching

Frans*lil*Bia* · 11-11-2005, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by txshopper73

If the vet said it takes 7 - 10 days for results, I'd go to a different vet. Ringworm can be diagnosed before you leave the vet's office. You need to get to a different vet because this is spreading the longer something isn't done.

You'll have to continue to bleach everything since it is a spore and floats in the air. Oral medication, cremes and shampoos are a must. It is curable just takes a couple of months.

Best of luck.

Well the vet used a black light to see if the scab on my boston was ringworn and it was slightly positive, so thats why he gave me the shampoo. He said he couldnt give me oral meds until the culture cam back and if it was positive he would start the meds then. He told me to shampoo every 3 days and after rinsing put more shampoo on the scabs and let it dry. The second step he told me to do everyday. Then he said when the shampoo dries put the antifungal cream on it and then let that dry. I tried to make them sleep in a confined area last night and it worked till about 3am and then they realized they werent with me and barked and cried for a half an hour, until I couldnt take it no more. So I let them in my bed, and made them sleep on top of the covers, this morning I seen my boston just biting and scratching away so I got up to look at her and found 2 new scabs, one of them being on her eyelid. I felt so bad I got up and bathed both of them, scrubed really well, and followed my vets routine he gave me. I am washing everything again, I guess this will be my routine everyday now till its gone. I just feel so bad for my boston because she is so little and she looks irritated. I am going to call the vet and tell him whats going on, maybe he will just give her oral meds, so she doesnt have to suffer anymore. Thanks for the advise everyone, especially tatumsmom, I am going to try to nip it in the bud, I just hope I dont go crazy in the process. Anymore experience and help would be appriciated, I like knowing Im not the only one who is or has gone throught this. Thanks, keep you updated!

daisysmom · 11-11-2005, 02:23 PM

ahhhhhhhh!!!!! I feel for you!

Pochi went through that whole ordeal too. The vet told me to keep the other dogs away as they wouldn't get ringworms too. It took over a month to completely clear and most of his coat fell off he had around the area most infected (his side) since his coat is white the medication and the shampoo actually dyed it a tanish color. We ended up having to have him wear those cones around his neck because he was licking his wounds raw and oozing. They were so gross. He was so miserable and I know he thought we were punishing him. We couldn't let him sleep with us since they said it was contagious so at night we'd have to crate him. I felt so sorry for him, but amazingly none of the other dogs caught it and they slept in the same bed as him before we realized what he had. Of course, I went to Costco and bought the 5 packages of Lysol and sprayed every where he was during the day and his bedding too.

After his coat finally grew back I was able to cut off the tanish color and now it's nice and white again.

Don't worry it will get better!

YorkieShadow · 11-11-2005, 02:35 PM

I feel so sorry for you. but just be glad it can be treated. WE also found a kitten years ago that had it and my daughter at age 4 ended up getting one on her hand . so be very carefull and keep the kids away for them untill its cleared up. Good luck I know its a lot of work and very stressful.

11-10-2005, 11:03 PM	#1
FranslilBia* Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Hayward, Ca Posts: 118	OMG Bia has ringworm!! I need to get rid of it b4 I lose my mind!! HELP OMG!!! MY Bia has ringworm!! how do you stop it from spreading?? My boston had it first, I found it on her on Mon, and I checked Bia and she had no signs of it, and tonite I found a scab on her leg. I don't know how I missed it, because it is really crusty and there is no hair, how did I miss it?? My vet told me to wash her with medicated shampoo he gave me for my other dog and put anti-fungal cream on it. He is doing a culture right now for my boston, takes 7-10 days, and if it gets worse and the culture comes back positive, he will give oral meds. I am going out of my mind, I am such a clean freak, and both my dogs are inside dogs, I don't know how they got it. Its getting worse for my boston, 2 days ago when I took her to the vet I only seen one scab and now I have found 3 more. I have bleached everything, washed my bedding, spray a mixture of bleach and water on stuff like the couch and carpets everyday so far. What else can I do?? I want it to go away, and sometimes I get so grossed out by it I just want them to somewhere else till its all gone. I feel so bad for thinking like that. I also have a 3 yr old son who is constantly playing with them and I know I will freak if I find one on him, so I make him stay away as much as I can , and he is constantly washing his hands. PLEASE any advise will help, I need to know how to prevent reinfection and how to stop it from spreading. In my whole 23 yrs of my life I have never dealt with this and now I feel helpless on getting it under control, because not 1 but both dogs have it. PLEASE HELP!!!! Excuse me if you think I might be overeacting, I know things could be worse, but this is stressing me out big time. __________________ I love my babies Bia & Bella http://www.dogster.com/?187885 Bia http://www.dogster.com/?198950 Bella

11-10-2005, 11:40 PM	#2
Marie Mom loves Gucci Donating Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: New York City Posts: 6,427	My Gucci came for the broker with ringworm. It took a couple of months but she is cure now. The vet prescribed an oral med, a medicated shampoo and a lyme dip. Is good that you are cleaning everything with clorox. Good luck and please keep us posted. __________________ Huggies, Gucci and Marie http://www.dogster.com/?132187 "I have been egged"

11-11-2005, 06:37 AM	#3
TatumsMom Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: TX Posts: 2,799	Oh, this is one area we have a lot of experience with. (Sorry, this may be long!) We got two new kitties from the shelter back in May. Apparently (we found out later), that shelter had a huge ringworm outbreak right about that time. They had to "clean house" really well (this info came from our vet - same vet the shelter uses). Unfortunately we didn't notice this until they started breaking out with it about 6 weeks later and by then our Australian Shepherd had a few spots and Tatum (the Yorkie) had one spot. The vet gave us an antifungal shampoo and we had to give all four of them baths every 3 days (very important!) for weeks! It was quite an experience with the cats but they got used to it really quick. At times they were better behaved during bath time than Tatum was. It took us longer to get rid of it because I didn't follow the instructions to the letter.... you are supposed to lather them up (which is difficult because this shampoo doesn't lather very much) and then let the shampoo sit on them for about 10 minutes. Then you rinse it off. (With Tatum, I HAD to use her conditioner on her afterwards or I couldn't even get a comb through her hair - this shampoo is pretty drying to their hair.) With the dogs it was easy to let it sit because I would just sit with Stormie (the Aussie) for that long and she was good. With Tatum, I would wrap her in a towel and let her snooze in my arms for that time. With the cats, I would soap one up, put her in a small travel kennel and then do the next one. Then they'd get swapped and rinsed. For the first few weeks, I wasn't letting it sit like I was supposed to and we were still seeing spots on the cats. After correcting that mistake, we were able to get rid of it really quick. On another note, as far as your son is concerned.... just keep an eye on him. Several years ago, my mother-in-law got 3 new kittens from a friend who didn't realize the mom had ringworm. My daughters went over and played with these kittens ALL the time. All of a sudden, they started getting the ringworm. I'm not kidding - one of them (the one that had the most contact with the kittens) had at least 20 spots on her!! I was a little freaked out but I'm not one to go too overboard. The kittens had to be treated (don't remember what she did to them) and the dr. told me to use Lotrimin (for athlete's foot) on all of the girls' spots. You have to do this for a couple weeks - even when the spots get better. Two or three times a day! I tell you this just in case your son gets any. It's really not that bad but you want to treat it right away so it doesn't scar. Luckily, my girls didn't get any on their head or they could have lost spots of hair. They did have some on their face which concerned me the most because of the scarring issue but all turned out well. Sorry, to go on so long but this really needs to be nipped in the bud as soon as possible to be able to get rid of it quickly. We didn't do anything special inside the house (Tatum is the only inside pet) but with the big crate that the cats sleep in at night, we had to replace the litter completely every time they got a bath and sanitize the entire crate each time. Nothing else special really had to be done. The vet says they may end up being carriers of the ringworm but since their immune system is good and since they've been spayed and have good healthy diets, they should not show up with it any more. Hope this helps you some. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk about it! __________________ ~ Angie

11-11-2005, 06:37 AM	#4
txshopper73 Donating YT 14K Club Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Texas Posts: 14,226 Blog Entries: 1	If the vet said it takes 7 - 10 days for results, I'd go to a different vet. Ringworm can be diagnosed before you leave the vet's office. You need to get to a different vet because this is spreading the longer something isn't done. You'll have to continue to bleach everything since it is a spore and floats in the air. Oral medication, cremes and shampoos are a must. It is curable just takes a couple of months. Best of luck. __________________ As always...JMO (Just My Opinion) Kimberley

11-11-2005, 02:23 PM	#8
daisysmom Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: May 2005 Location: Washington State Posts: 183	ahhhhhhhh!!!!! I feel for you! Pochi went through that whole ordeal too. The vet told me to keep the other dogs away as they wouldn't get ringworms too. It took over a month to completely clear and most of his coat fell off he had around the area most infected (his side) since his coat is white the medication and the shampoo actually dyed it a tanish color. We ended up having to have him wear those cones around his neck because he was licking his wounds raw and oozing. They were so gross. He was so miserable and I know he thought we were punishing him. We couldn't let him sleep with us since they said it was contagious so at night we'd have to crate him. I felt so sorry for him, but amazingly none of the other dogs caught it and they slept in the same bed as him before we realized what he had. Of course, I went to Costco and bought the 5 packages of Lysol and sprayed every where he was during the day and his bedding too. After his coat finally grew back I was able to cut off the tanish color and now it's nice and white again. Don't worry it will get better! __________________ Jules The Yorkie Bunch Pochi Choppi Daisy and Meeju too

11-11-2005, 08:10 AM	#5
Cookie2 Donating YT 1000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Florida Posts: 1,568	When I got my boy he had ringworm and I had no idea because he had a bow on top and that was hair missing right there , a crusty scab was underneath the bow. It soon got bigger , in fact as big as a half dollar coin! That is huge compared to his little size! They gave me creams,then drops to put on it. Then a spray... NOTHING worked. Finally after 2 1/2 months of treatment they gave him pills for 6 weeks. I don't remember exactly how long it took but I know it was months before I could tell that the skin was clear and the hair was slowly growing back. I tried keeping him away from the kids and have him sleep in a crate but I was weakand gave in. We let him sleep in bed with us . My kids ended up getting it and we treated the whole family. I dont know why I never had an outbreak I had like a mosquito bite ,very tiny. From my experience Oral Meds are the best. I used two big bottles of of Malaseb Shampoo and all that did was make his skin very dry! Genie

11-11-2005, 08:43 AM	#6
Angela YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Baton Rouge, LA Posts: 849	Becareful with that lyme dip................Its needed to get rid of the ring worm, but I lost a yorkie using it on her a few years ago...........I was doing it outside so she wouldn't inhale it...............I did it like the techs told me to, BUT out of three of them noone told me to dilute it with water, they said to pour it on her, its my fault for not reading the directions........the vet said they use it straight on kittens and that should not have killed her, she had been on the oral meds before I got her..........it may have been the combo of the 2 and she was very, very tiny..........It was very heart wrenching

11-11-2005, 02:35 PM	#9
YorkieShadow BANNED! Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: USA Posts: 9,999	I feel so sorry for you. but just be glad it can be treated. WE also found a kitten years ago that had it and my daughter at age 4 ended up getting one on her hand . so be very carefull and keep the kids away for them untill its cleared up. Good luck I know its a lot of work and very stressful.