Hi all, I'm still pretty new to the site but I was hoping to get advice, support, tips or anything in regards to conquering ringworm. I have been dealing with it since mid summer when it got into my shelter, and it just keeps getting worse and worse. First my foster kittens picked it up, then I got it, then my own kitten got it, and now I think my dog may have it. I work very hard to try and manage it, I have a plan for treatment and cleaning based off of methods and logic I learned from our vet at the shelter, and try to be as consistent as I can but it seems that nothing I do is working because it keeps showing up!
Will this fungus ever go away???
I read articles and posts and research about it almost every day, I've read some of the more popular threads on here over ringworm (feel free to point me to any good ones in case I missed any). I guess some things I'm wondering are how long have some of you had to do the "clean, lime dip, clean" routine in order to kill all the dang spores? 3 months? Longer? What cleaning solutions worked well for you? Is 1:10 diluted bleach the only effective means of removing spores from the environment? Using bleach all day at work and then also at home is killing my respiratory system.
My current situation at home is as follows: I basically have 3 separate populations of cats in my house. One litter of 5 foster kittens, 3 months old, all with significant ringworm lesions since August, some of which have healed completely, others just showed up a few days ago; another litter of 4 foster kittens (one 2.5 month old, one 9 weeks, one 8 weeks and one 7) who have not shown any signs of ringworm and have all had one negative DTM culture taken two weeks ago; my own personal pets, three adult cats with no RW symptoms, one 7 month old kitten with considerable lesion on her ear, and an 85 lb german shepherd with a questionable scab on her forehead. I know kittens are most susceptible to RW, so it makes sense that my kitten picked it up, however it doesn't make much sense to me that my dog would be the next to get it. I was pretty certain that dogs were a little more resistant to it than cats, I would've expected my other cats to get it before the dog. But who knows.
I have enough space to keep the foster kittens with ringworm isolated in XL dog crates shut in a bedroom (I wear long pants, a hoodie and slippers in that room, leave them in the room when I leave and shower with tea tree soap afterwards), and the four kittens without ringworm in another bedroom (I also have pants/hoodie that I wear only in that room and only go in there after I've showered). I do not, however, have the means to confine my own 7 month old kitten with the spot on her ear...I can't really think of a way to keep her from spreading spores all over the main part of the house where I and the rest of my fur family, you know, live in. The only solution I can think of is to simply treat all my personal pets as if they have ringworm, dip them twice a week along with everyone else, and just clean the whole house as often as I can. Piece of cake!
I guess I'm just looking for a little reassurance, to know that other people have been through this and survived. I feel like ringworm is taking over my life and that it will never stop plaguing me!
Thanks for listening.
Sidenote: I would just take all my foster kittens back to the shelter, but we are at capacity with absolutely no extra space. We already have over 10 cats with ringworm being treated and will not adopt previously infected animals out until they have had two negative cultures. I am stuck in this situation, so I have to find a way to either beat the ringworm in my house or survive until space opens up several months from now.
Will this fungus ever go away???
I read articles and posts and research about it almost every day, I've read some of the more popular threads on here over ringworm (feel free to point me to any good ones in case I missed any). I guess some things I'm wondering are how long have some of you had to do the "clean, lime dip, clean" routine in order to kill all the dang spores? 3 months? Longer? What cleaning solutions worked well for you? Is 1:10 diluted bleach the only effective means of removing spores from the environment? Using bleach all day at work and then also at home is killing my respiratory system.
My current situation at home is as follows: I basically have 3 separate populations of cats in my house. One litter of 5 foster kittens, 3 months old, all with significant ringworm lesions since August, some of which have healed completely, others just showed up a few days ago; another litter of 4 foster kittens (one 2.5 month old, one 9 weeks, one 8 weeks and one 7) who have not shown any signs of ringworm and have all had one negative DTM culture taken two weeks ago; my own personal pets, three adult cats with no RW symptoms, one 7 month old kitten with considerable lesion on her ear, and an 85 lb german shepherd with a questionable scab on her forehead. I know kittens are most susceptible to RW, so it makes sense that my kitten picked it up, however it doesn't make much sense to me that my dog would be the next to get it. I was pretty certain that dogs were a little more resistant to it than cats, I would've expected my other cats to get it before the dog. But who knows.
I have enough space to keep the foster kittens with ringworm isolated in XL dog crates shut in a bedroom (I wear long pants, a hoodie and slippers in that room, leave them in the room when I leave and shower with tea tree soap afterwards), and the four kittens without ringworm in another bedroom (I also have pants/hoodie that I wear only in that room and only go in there after I've showered). I do not, however, have the means to confine my own 7 month old kitten with the spot on her ear...I can't really think of a way to keep her from spreading spores all over the main part of the house where I and the rest of my fur family, you know, live in. The only solution I can think of is to simply treat all my personal pets as if they have ringworm, dip them twice a week along with everyone else, and just clean the whole house as often as I can. Piece of cake!
I guess I'm just looking for a little reassurance, to know that other people have been through this and survived. I feel like ringworm is taking over my life and that it will never stop plaguing me!
Thanks for listening.
Sidenote: I would just take all my foster kittens back to the shelter, but we are at capacity with absolutely no extra space. We already have over 10 cats with ringworm being treated and will not adopt previously infected animals out until they have had two negative cultures. I am stuck in this situation, so I have to find a way to either beat the ringworm in my house or survive until space opens up several months from now.
I'll definitely start giving everyone l-lysine again, I was for a while after I moved and stopped giving it when my cats all adjusted to the new place. 
