Anybody have experience with this?

[Rebecca]

Some of you may remember that awhile back I posted saying I thought I had eczema on my cheek, well, good news is we now KNOW what it is, bad news is, it's NOT eczema. I have ringworm!!!!!!!!!! So for the past 3 months I've been treating this with the wrong stuff.

My mom thinks it may have come from my little mare Covergirl, when we got her she had been rescued and still had a fungus problem with her skin. I hadn't noticed ringworm on her though, and I didn't know people could get it! Looking back on the pictures of when she came, I can see that may be EXACTLY what she had, I feel so stupid that I didn't recognize it!

We found a new anti-fungal cream for me to use, hopefully this clears it up. I have several of these "rings" on my face.

We are going to have an experienced horsey-friend come over and check out Covergirl to see if she has ringworm still. How do we treat her? I read up on it and some say to clip the affected area (in this case we think it's her face & neck) with a #40 blade and apply a special anti-fungal cream for horses. It's getting cold here, and I really wish I'd figured this out BEFORE she got the winter fuzzies! OH! Other articles I read up on said ringworm can stick around in wooden fences, stalls, tack, etc. for over a year. I am ordering both the girls new halters, as soon as they come in the old ones that cannot be disinfected and washed are gone.

Has anyone else ever had experience with ringworm, in either their horses and/or themselves? Has anyone ever gotten ringworm from an animal? Please share your experience and tell me how I get rid of this nasty fungus lurking in my barn!

 

[Jill]

I had ringworm once years ago. I think I actually got it from a cat. I just had one "ring" on the back of my neck. Anti fungal cream got rid of it

 

[StellaLenoir]

Ring worm is very common. You have to treat with a special anti fungle and use the cream even after the rash is gone! It will come back if you do not use the cream long enough. Sometimes it will leave a discolored 'scar' but it usually goes away.

 

[CKC]

I would call your vet for your horse and I would call your doctor for you. There are medications that your dr. can prescribe. As a youngster I got ringworm. I was told at the time you can get it by walking around bare foot. Something I did all the time as a child.

 

[laughingllama75]

my horses never had it, but I have had it many times (worked as a groomer, you would be surprised at the ammount of crawling crud that goes on!). Use the antifungal cream until the Dr says to stop, and keep it covered so it doesn't spread. Don't itch! And remember, it's not a worm, but a fungus.

 

[Matt73]

Riis, my German Shepherd, had it I think a few months ago. I put MTG on it and it started clearing up immediately; that stuff is awesome. I burned all her bedding and was careful to always wash after touching her.

 

[Minimor]

My cousin--a vet tech--once got it from some cattle she worked with at the vet clinic. she had a very hard time getting it cleared up. As I recall it got a pretty good hold because she first tried treating it on her own with creams. She finally had griseofulvin (pills) prescribed but had to be on them for quite awhile before the drug finally took effect & cleared up the ringworm. Taken long term griseofulvin can be hard on the kidneys, which was a concern in my cousin's case, but usually it works pretty quickly & in the short term I wouldn't personally be concerned about it. Griseofulvin is what I would ask my doctor for, just because it does usually work so quickly (have used it on horses for other fungal conditions).

 

[Barbie]

[SIZE=12pt]I used to breed Persian cats and once in a while one would break with ringworm. I found the best and quickest cure was to dilute some bleach with water and take a cotton ball and sponge it on. Worked on both my cats and me - and very quickly. I would wash the mare with an antifungal shampoo if she still has any signs.[/SIZE]

Good luck - it is really hard to totally get rid of. Bleach is a wonderful way to kill it off - if she is in a stall and it is possible, spray the walls with a bleach water solution. It will help.

Barbie

 

[Sonya]

I got it once when I was very young...from a hamster believe it or not. I don't remember how we cleared it up on me or the hamster...good luck.

 

[Marty]

Yes I had caught ringworm from my horse years ago when we lived in a very wooded area. It was gross and highly contageous.

 

[Alex]

I currently have excema and mabe ringworm. Dont itch it and dont take hot showers. Go to the docters and get medication. BTW i was using Mometasone Furoate perrcription cream from the dermatologist, it cleared it ALL up overnight!!!!

 

[Just Us N Texas]

I got ringworm once from kids on the schoolbus. I worked after school, and some Saturdays at a drug store, showed it to the pharmacist, he gave me some cream in a tiny little tin, and it cleared in a couple of days. Don't know what it was, but have wished many times I had asked him!

 

[palominogirl]

Ringworm is highly contagious a friend of mine had a filly that she and her husband had rescued and alot of fur on its face was covered with patches she thought it was an allergic reaction to her halter well over some time all of her horses came up with white patches and she also got some on her arm. she called the vet and the vet gave her some cream and cleared her horses right up and for her she just used an anti fungal cream. she burned all of her halters and sanitized the fences and the stalls.

Brittanie

 

[dreammountainminis]

Go to your local tractor supply company and buy this spray it is called blue cote (sp?) we have rabbits and they are known carriers and cats are known carriers I had one horse that had it when I see them I shave the area and spray blue cote on it two times a day for a week it is a blue or purple colored anti fungal spray and I have used it on just about any type of animal. Works great too..

 

[Rebecca]

Thank you all very much for your quick replies. I am not worried about my ringworm, it is already clearing up. I'm just worried sick about my girls, I know it's nothing too serious but still. I am getting them both new halters as soon as this stuff clears up. Should I order them now or once the ringworm is visably gone? I don't know how bad it is on my Covergirl, I clipped a small bit of her neck today, and ohmygosh, my chestnut mare was a nasty gray! Combined with huge chunks of dandriff.

I really don't want to clip her entirely, but how else do I find out where it is?!?! I don't know if it's just her head and neck or her whole body. Today I disinfected their stalls completely, next is the rest of the barn! Then bye-bye halters, lead ropes, anything that can't be washed by our laundro-mat. I will try and find that stuff called Blue Cote ASAP! How quick should it clear up on her?

I feel like a bad horse mommy for not realizing this sooner. My poor girl, such an inconvient time for me to realize this, just as it gets cold. I am kicking myself, if I have to clip her body, ugh, these New Hampshire winters are unforgiving.

OH!

Edited to add- I will add pictures of both hers and mine soon, not only for you guys to help me, but for me to educate those who haven't seen this before.

 

[mininik]

There's really no need to throw everything out, just wash it all in a bleach water solution. Keep in mind that a little bleach goes a long way.

 

[Rebecca]

I'm planning on washing the nylon halters with bleach/water, that is also what I use to disinfect the stalls. I have an old leather halter of Covergirl's that was kind of in need of being replaced anyways, and I think that should be about it. Is it ok to wash lead ropes?

Can I just wash those with the nylon halters?

 

[mininik]

Yes, I would just try washing the halters and leads in a bucket of bleach water. Leaving them sitting in it may mess up the coloring, so I would just swish them around a bit and remove them to dry. Body brushes can be washed the same way, if needed.

 

[wildoak]

I got it once too, either from a horse or in the environment at a boarding place. Used topical antifungal cream to get rid of it. I've had it more recently on a couple of horses, Eqyss Micro-Tek shampoo & spray works well, or a similar medicated shampoo that's labeled for ringworm.

Jan

 

[Rebecca]

Thank you all for your quick replies.

Mine is already clearing up, I am having my 'horsey friend' who has helped me SO MUCH this past year with the girls come take a look and Covergirl, because her neck doesn't look like some of the pictures of ringworm I've seen. She is a bay mare, when I clipped her neck it is a nasty gray, big hunkin' chunks of dandriff. I'll keep everyone updated on how both of us are doing.

Also, I may need to clip the rest of her neck & head (and with this I use a close clipping blade to get close to the skin to apply the anit-fungal stuff thoroughly) , and as I posted before it is absolutely F-R-E-E-Z-I-N-G here, we had snow this morning. Should I get her a hood, don't want the little one to be cold!