6 Things I Learned from Our Ringworm Plague (book length....)

[bunnelina]

Gee, Rosie, it sounds like you're working really hard and that this should be OVER for all of you!  I hope it happens soon. I'm trying to figure out what's going wrong, and I wonder if you may be right about the cleaning.

The oral meds are supposed to make the cat an "unwelcome host" for the ringworm, so it's odd that 6 weeks of terbinafine haven't done the job. It's supposed to be effective against ringworm, but there are different kinds of ringworm and some are more virulent than others. What does your vet say? I have only two suggestions: check and double-check that you have been giving the correct dose for Izzy's body weight. If the dose turns out to have been too low, that might be your answer. Or if it's the right dose, perhaps you need to switch to another medication that will work better for your particular situation. Whatever you do, do NOT let your vet prescribe griseofulvin. You could ask him or her about switching to Sporanox (not generic; some people say it's not effective and you don't want to take that chance at this point). 

As far as the cleaning, I think your regime sounds exhausting and I feel so sorry you're still doing all that. You can wipe down walls, windows, doors and ceilings with a dry or damp Swiffer — the fibers should trap ringworm spores. It goes pretty fast and you might be surprised at how dusty walls can be. I did all that once or twice a week and it wasn't that much of a drag. You can wipe down books and so on with a damp microfiber cloth (rinse often and then launder in hot water and a hot dryer), and if there's dust behind them, take them off the shelves and wipe that up, too. After that, the books should be okay with dusting. (We have thousands of books and didn't cover our shelves). Vacuum or wipe down any dust-collecting areas you find in the closets, too.

You can reread the article about housecleaning for ringworm here. It has many more ideas, including tips about vacuuming. A vacuum with a HEPA filter is a great weapon against ringworm. I wiped down my walls, etc., and later I vacuumed them since I have a canister vac. Vacuum the heck out of all of your upholstery and then cover it with sheets you can launder. Don't forget the undersides of your sofa, mattress, chairs, etc if Izzy goes under them. Basically try to get the house as dust-free as possible and you will probably be taking care of the ringworm spores, too. I sort of "knew" when my house couldn't get much cleaner. (And I can assure you that I have NEVER had the urge to return to that state or anywhere close to it since we recovered from ringworm, oh, noooo.)

Hang in there and please keep us posted. I hope you are managing to enjoy the cats and keep them happy with all this cleaning going on...

 

[rosiet]

Thank you Bunnelina! I checked with my vet and checked the medication dose seems to be right I ran the calcs. He has however been having me do one week on and one week off. I've read mixed research about it online it's supposed to be safer for them but who knows if it's not as effective. My vet thinks it just might take longer with Izzy plus she has a weeker immune system as I adoptef her with feline herpes so she easily gets watery eyes and colds

Also question about cleaning.... what type of swifter do you use on walls? Do you do it by hand ? We only have a wet jet mop and the pad attached to the bottom. So far I've been using a sponge but it takes forever and I can't figure out how to do our textured ceilings!

Also how do you attack a whole house?we regularly clean the two rooms the cats are confined to but I haven't tackled the rest of the house. There's only so many hours in a day, so I will need to spend a few days getting through it. Would you vacuum the whole house and then mop and sanitize, or would it be better to tackle in detail one room at a time. Maybe do one floor one day and the other floor the next? And then we will probably need to do the whole house again at least one or two times before we release them?

Thanks again for all the advice this has been a tough few months !!!

 

[futurelawyer]

Terbinafine is not toxic to cats.  It is prescribed orally.  However, there are other ingredients in the topical which may cause digestion irritation.  If possible, by an E collar and put it on them for about 20 minutes after you put on the topicals.  This will allow it to soak into the skin so far less is ingested and it can actually be present to work.  Distract with treats or canned food during that duration so your cat associates the E collar with something pleasant and is less stressed. 

 

[futurelawyer]

Chances are that no one will be rubbing up against the textured ceiling.  Therefore you only need to worry about it becoming airborne and falling off due to breeze.  Here's a suggestion that you could try in addition to using the highest quality HEPA rated air filters possible in the meantime.  Tinneas spores are not immortal.  The chitosan in their exterior does break down over time and nearly all are rendered dead by 18 months.  Thus, you could spray a product on the ceiling to hold the spores onto the ceiling until they decompose and are no longer a threat should they be knocked off by air currents and become airborne.  My vet suggested hairspray surprisingly.  He said the only true cleaning one should give to the walls, unless their bedding is situated against a section of one, is about 2' high.  that is where cats walk and tend to shed airborne spores.  Tinneas spores are also much heavier than mold and are not as airborne as circulating mold spores.  So, really it becomes a cleaning to satisfy the psyche rather than a cleaning of the ceiling or walls which is necessary to avoid contamination.  Also, pay attention to the backs of the toilets, sinks, etc and the underside of the cabinets.  You may want to close off all doors and rooms until the outbreak has passed.  Go to the thrift store and purchase old sheets which can be used to drape over bedding and couches and WASH frequently.  Additionally, Pure Oxygen is showing tremendous promise for a topical solution.  However, there are products on the internet which claim to be activated hydrogen peroxidase but in fact are not.  Avoid buying from anyone but a credible source i.e. a vet. 

 

[bunnelina]

Hi RosieT, I used a dry swifter dusting cloth on the same mop I used for wet-stiffening floors. Reverse it when you see it getting dirty... And it will. The cleaning goes surprisingly fast, and you can use the same technique on ceilings, walls, doors and windows. I would not recommend using hairspray on your ceiling[emoji]128513[/emoji]. But if the cloth catches on the texture you can can try an upholstery attachment on your vac and go over the ceilng once. And that should be done.

Please don't use any topicals to treat ringwirm without consulting your vet. I know you know this, but I still have to put it out there for others reading the thread.

I think our pulse therapy for oral terbinafine was two weeks on and two off. You might ask about that schedule.

I live in 800 square feet so my cleaning wasn't as daunting as yours. I think you can trust your instincts at this point. You want to clean all the spots you may have missed and areas where dust collects are also where spores may blow and collect... At least that is what I've understoof from Dr Moriello's approach to cleaning. You can find her articles online and there's a video attached to the main ringwirm article here.

Remember there's only so much you can do. So don't wear yourself out. Go for the large areas you may have missed before and focus on the rooms where the cats spend the most time.

I'm riding on a car so apologies for typos but wanted to get back to you. You have been dealing with this for too long and you deserve healthy cats NOW. I think you've been doing a great job and are clearly a smart, thoughtful and fabulous cat mom! Wishing you the best and hope it happens soon!

 

[rosiet]

Thank you Bunnelina!!!!

 

[kashif27]

About care, well whatever we do, our cat sleeps on our bed at night, he is still just 10 weeks old and suffering from ringworm, and as it is too cold outside, we cant put him outside our room, so how can we be carefull about it

 

[bunnelina]

There are LOADS of things you can do. Start by reading the article here: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/ringworm-in-cats and then read the link about housecleaning. If you are dipping the kitten in lime-sulfur, he will be much less contagious and you shouldn't have to isolate him. There are oral medications that are safe for kittens, too: mainly Sporanox. (Do not give griseofulvin if your vet suggests it. Find a better-informed vet.)

I should mention that there are people out there who don't think ringworm is such a big deal. I've read about them. While the rest of us immediately start panicking, terrified and worried to death about it, and begin cleaning like maniacs, they are fine with their cats and kids getting lesions. They keep putting topical treatments on themselves and the kids, and the cats and dogs still go outside and bring in more ringworm! After all, ringworm is supposed to eventually go away on its own. But it can take a couple of years....

Personally, I felt I couldn't ever get my house clean enough or treat my cats more carefully during the months that we had it in our place, even though it was like having a new full-time job to deal with it. Best of luck to you!

 

[sozeee]

I'm new here and was overjoyed to see that I'm not the only one to freak out about ringworm.  The instructions given by the vets, Humane Society, everyone is impossible to do unless you move from your home and have a HazMat team deal with it!  I was so frustrated.  I adopted a 3 month old kitty, Phoebe, from the HS and a month later she was diagnosed with ringworm.  Long, frustrating story made short, the HS took her back to treat her.  My 14 year old male tabby now has ringworm and I'm holding my breath on my 12 year old dog. The Tabby, Romero, was on Telbinafine  for 7 days, now off for 21, then on for 7 days plus the topical medicine.  I got my vet to prescribe Telabinafine for my dog even tho she shows not clinical signs.  I just couldn't take another wait and see attitude.  Romero has been confined in one room for a week now and is not happy, but..........

What I got from this blog was keep cleaning, cleaning cleaning.  I did the bleach 10%, then now have done the vinegar, water 50% with Tea Tree added in.  I have no idea if any of that works, and evidently no one else does either.  I almost put Tea Tree on the animals but found way too much conflicting info about that and did not. 

When I dropped off the kitty that started all this to the HS, they said even the carrier she was in had to be destroyed.  Plastic cannot be cleaned.  WTH, then pretty much nothing can be cleaned is my thought. Anyway, they gave me a 'clean' carrier and I destroyed all the plastic feeding bowls and most everything else in my house that I could.  Still not sure if that is enough.  Sometimes the paranoid thoughts of the fungus gets to me.  Clean clean clean is the best that I can do I guess.

Between my daughter and I we have adopted 6 cats in the last 10 years from the HS.  This is the only problem we have had, but it has cost me about $500 with  tests and cleaning, etc.  I hate to say it but I would not adopt another cat, kitten because they don't do any tests on them.  I know it is expensive for them to do, but, damn, this has been awful.  Anyone else had those thoughts?

 

[sozeee]

I do have a question - when do you test the cats after the Therabinfine 7 day treatment?  I know that 2 negatives are required but when I call the vet, the front desk people really don't seem to know. Thanks.

 

[bunnelina]

Hi Sozee, 

Welcome! Freaking out is a normal, heathy response to a ringworm diagnosis. Harness all that anxiety and nervous energy and use it for cleaning. The site has two excellent articles with more practical advice about cleaning and dealing with the problem than you probably found at your humane society or vet. You can find the main article  here: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/ringworm-in-cats  and then read the link within that article about housecleaning. Tea tree and vinegar do not kill ringworm spores; most things don't. It's better to approach it as "vacuuming and wiping 'em up and clearing 'em out" than trying to kill them. Bleach solutions work, but they are so toxic that I don't recommend using it where your cats go. Plus you need to deal with literally every surface in your house.

Bleach solution works fine on plastic and metal, so there's no reason to toss a carrier or crate. Remember it's a fungus, not a virus or bacteria. And it floats through the air like ragweed pollen, settling wherever dust settles, including walls and ceilings.

Lots of us have spent thousands treating our cats and/or having our places professionally cleaned and disinfected. The latter gives peace of mind to those who can afford it, but the rest of us can get perfectly fine results on our own power, although steam-cleaning rugs is often a good idea...

Once you know about ringworm, it's sensible to be skittish the next time you adopt. There are certainly good shelters who watch and screen for ringworm — usually doing physical examinations rather than costly cultures. Some will even do proactive lime-sulfur dips on all new animals if ringworm is prevalent in the area. It's always a good idea to take your newly adopted kitten straight to the vet for a very thorough examination (with or without a black light, since those are unreliable). Our vet spotted ringworm as a couple of tiny patches on our kitten's ear and on one claw... three weeks after we got her. A good vet with a sharp eye is so important.

When we used terbinafine, it was with two weeks of dosing and then two weeks off, and our vet felt that our kittens were too small to handle that medication.Only our adults got terbinafine. Kittens often are given Sporanox instead. After the first round of medications and weekly lime-sulfur dips, we began culturing them. Three negative cultures means they are clear. 

Best of luck to you! You are definitely not alone! There are some dedicated people here who have been coping with ringworm for many months, and we're all hoping their cats are declared cured very soon.  Hang in there and let us know how everyone is doing. 

 

[stuartw84]

Hello everyone! I know this is a cat forum, but it has really been the only forum I can find on ringworm. Please any advice would be great! I have a new puppy from the shelter that is suspected to have ringworm, one of his litter mates tested positive and he has a couple of spots with broken hairs and redness. I took him to the vet and my vet said there was no need to do a test because the results would take two to three weeks to get and by that time my puppy would be better or even worse without treatment so to treat it like ringworm anyhow. When I got the call from the shelter saying he could have ringworm, which was a day after I brought him home, I started him right away on a medicated shampoo called xylecide from happy jack, plus antifungal cream on the spots. I also gave all my other dog and two cats bathes in the shampoo, twice, since it promises to prevent ringworm. Once we got to the vet I was told to just continue with what I had been doing and everyone in the house would be fine. I was told there was no need to isolate him just don't allow the new puppy to sleep with the others or us until his spots have cleared up. I have bathed the puppy everyday since we found out with this shampoo and really just want to know if that is making him no longer contagious to us or the other pets in the house. It has been six days now and I'm going crazy trying to keep my place clean of spores and somewhat isolated him to minimize on the contaminated of the house. Everyday I have used Barbicide on all surfaces and sprayed it on carpets and everything he comes in contact with. After the Barbicide soaks in I vacuum and mop all the floors.

Poor puppy really just wants to be with us and get loved on but I'm too scared to allow any of that. He has even made himself hoarse from whining so much.

Please someone tell me I'm doing everything I can do and he is no longer contagious after all the shampoos and topical treatments. His spots are no longer red just pink in color like normal skin with no scaly patches. I can't keep doing this to him, but also need to know he will not infect anyone else in the house. My vet just seems so casual about it, but I just can't have this spreading in my home.

Any answers will be appreciated and again forgive me for posting about my puppy in a cat forum, but there are two cats at risk of this with exposure to him.

 

[bunnelina]

Hi there, 

Maybe someone else here can help you out but it's my understanding that ringworm treatment for cats and dogs is quite different, so I think you'd be much better off trying to find info on a dog forum. I've never heard of xylecide being used on cats, but then I never heard of it before now. I also don't know how effective or toxic Barbecide might be as a household cleaner. I'd suggest doing some online searching to see if there is any authoritative research on the effectiveness of both of these products against ringworm. Cats are usually infected with the fungus microsporum canis.  If your puppy tests positive for ringworm, try to find out whether it's m. canis or another type, to make sure your treatments work against that particular fungus. Best of luck!

 

[stuartw84]

I have done so much research I'm going crazy trying to figure out what is true and what is not true. Some many things I read contradict what I read ten mind before and my vet seems to think it isn't a big deal. I can't find any forums for ringworm and dogs. I know that cats and dogs get the same type of ringworm so I don't see why it would be so different to treat on dogs vs cats.

 

[stuartw84]

Thanks for the fast response by the way! I'll keep looking online for more help.

 

[rosiet]

Hey Stuart 84-

I would try contacting another vet for their opinion. Ringworm can spread like wild fire. I have been treating my two cats for four months now both of which are completely isolated. It sounds crazy and maybe it is worse for cats than it is for dogs I am not sure. We adopted a kitten and like yourself took it casual for a few weeks. It was a big mistake because we got it (my husband and I) and it spread to my other cat. I don't know if you have kids but it can spread to them too. I would keep your puppy isolated until you can get more info from a vet. Wear gloves when you pet him and clean his area like crazy. Can you call the shelter for info on ringworm? Also ask them what vet they use. Likely they have a vet they work with that will be more familiar with ringworm than a standard vet because shelters deal with it more often. For treatments for cats I did a tooooon of research and over 4 months have tried a lot of different things. The only things that have been successful were Lime-Sulfur dips (which we do twice a week) and medication we use Terbinafine (lamisil). Regular baths are not as effective as Lime Sulfur dip. Lime sulfur dip continues to work after it has been applied. You soak and coat the animal in it and let them air dry. Again treatment for cats might be different. That's my best advice keep us updated !

There's a cleaning link on this website that is good also this webinar which gives a ton of info again though for cats.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/ringworm-infestation-in-cats-the-housecleaning-regime

http://www.maddiesfund.org/how-animal-shelters-are-beating-ringworm.htm

 

[rosiet]

Stuart 84-

Also I know how hard it is emotionally to isolate your dog, but that is the only way to keep contamination down. If I were you I would isolate him until he's cured. This might be a few weeks and if your luckier than myself it won't turn into months and hopefully won't spread to your other animals. No joke ringworm can be a nightmare sorry to scare you. As your dog is isolated give him a lot of attention with gloves, and clothes that you can wash in hot water after handling him. Also I use painters footies on my shoes so I don't track spores out of the room. Isolation isnt fun for anyone but the alternative of it spreading to your other animals would be way worse. He'll forget about it once this is all gone ! Also for future when you think he's cured I would not let him in contact with your other animals until you do a ringworm culture that comes back negative. It's truly the only way to know if he's clear. They say you need two negative cultures to be clear. Also ask your vet about PCR (polymerase chain reaction) fungal cultures. Our vet offers them and they take 4-5 days to come back instead of 2-3 weeks. They might be more $ but hey time is $!!

 

[stuartw84]

Thanks Rosie! I will definitely give another bet a call. I think mine is just too casual about the whole thing and I hate having to keep one pet isolated, much less having to keep all of them separate from us if they catch it. Hopefully with bathing them they will not catch it. I'm going to also ask about the Lyme sulfur dip for the puppy to see if that will kill the fungus better than the shampoo in issuing, even though his sores do seem to be responding to what I'm currently doing. They are just pink and smooth like normal skin instead of red and scaly like before. I just hate the thought of all this getting out of hand and infecting everyone on the house. It really freaks me out actually! Thanks again for your help and if you think of anything else please let me know.

 

[rosiet]

No problem Stuart happy to help someone avoid an outbreak like us! I checked on Amazon reviews and people use the lime sulfur on dogs and puppies too. We dilute it 8oz to a gallon (1 cup to a gallon of water) which is double what the back of the bottle says but what researchers and vets specializing in ringworm recommend. It smells awful but it's the only thing that I have found from hours of researching that works. I'll caution you on spot treating.... Our cat was similar to your dog started off with one small spot near her ear and we used fungal ointment from our first vet on it for about two weeks. Before I knew it I saw it on her paw where she was using her paw to get at her ear and the little spot on her ear went away but then she broke out on other parts of her body. The thing is with ringworm the spores are actually air borne and with animals clings to their hairs really easily. It's almost impossible to spot treat them successfully so if I were you I'd do the whole body with the dip. Just my advice is hate to see this thing spread. Better safe than sorry... I bought a gallon of the lime sulfur online and it's been a life saver. Also dip all your animals. Shelters do this when they have a ringworm outbreak as a few dips per animal will greatly reduce them being contagious. Again talk to your shelter they'll be your best guidance - and I would talk to the shelter manager as the day to day volunteers might not know. Bathing with regular shampoo even anti fungal shampoo (which you have to leave on for 10 mins before washing off) won't prevent your other animals from catching it if your dog has ringworm. Good luck keep us posted !!!

 

[rosiet]

Hi All! I need to vent and need some support!! I've been treating my two cats for ringworm nearly four months now. Oscar is clear and I have still been treating Izzy. I have a culture apt. Scheduled for Monday but am wondering if I should cancel it. I noticed two areas one on her leg which fur has come out of and another spot on her head near her ear where she has some hair loss and it's a little red from scratching. I haven't done a culture since Nov. which she was still positive then. Are these spots most likely still ringworm ? If so it seems like a waste to spend 100$ for a culture? Or should I go to know for sure?

Also I was thinking of switching the two cats rooms and putting Izzy in the bathroom which would be easier to clean....I would of course have to clean both rooms like crazy before I switch them... Thanks for any advice!!!!