Arrrrrggh! My three year old has ring worm!?

Question

Must have caught at nursery poor thing, we have Anti-fungal cream for him but I want to know if he is ok to be around his baby brother of 7 months? I don't want him to catch it too.

Hospital for ring worm? are you kidding? lol

WE HAVE BEEN TO THE DOCS YOU PLANKS THAT'S HOW WE GOT THE CREAM!!! JEEZ!

Answer 1

Hi FLower Girl

Here are some testimonials to heal the issue.

ACV AND TEA TREE OIL FOR RINGWORM
12/20/2007: Ronda from Platte Center, United States writes: "my grand daughter picked up ringworm from her cat about a month ago we dabbed on her ringworm with a cotton ball straight apple cider vinegar then a drop of tea tree oil did this for 3 days and it was gone-I swear to God and hers outbreak was pretty bad a lg blotch on her chin and upper leg all ring worm is gone and the total cost was under $5.00"

9/23/2007: i hate ringworm from fort lauderdale, usa writes: "Try this if u want to save a couple hundreds of dollars. Apple Cider Vinager and Tea tree oil. Use a cotton ball,pour ACV on the cotton ball press and hold to that area for a couple of mins. Then, use a brand new cotton ball , pour about 15 drops of Tea Tree oil on the cotton ball, press and hold to the area for five mins. Continue to do this for two weeks. These two household items are magic stuff.

More here
http://earthclinic.com/CURES/ringworm.html


Best of health to you

Answer 2

Ring worm is one of those types of infectious agents we're all exposed to frequently but usually our immune system fights it off - no doubt you've probably gotten some on your skin from your 3 year old and you haven't contracted the disease - I would think that the ability to contract the disease would depend on the frequency of the contact, the amount of fungus transferred, and your 7 month old's immune system + luck. I would recommend good hygiene - frequent hand washing, bathing, changing clothes, etc + somewhat limit their contact - i.e don't let your 3 year old nap with the baby + keep the area of ringworm covered up (long sleeves, long pants, or whatever works) - other than that keep your fingers crossed - their is unfortunately no definitive answer but you don't usually see too much cross contamination between family members. Hope this helps!

Answer 3

Poor little thing! I have read a number of remedies (home remedies) that can help--tea tree oil is great stuff. I have read that nail polish is a good remedy--around the ring. It is also good for chiggers--doubt you have those in the UK.
A friend of mine had a cat for many years and she suddenly got ringworm! The cat was an indoor cat, had never had it before and suddenly it developed ringworm! She slept with cat very closely, and she got a case of it. Just a thought.
I will paste a link that I found the other day while looking for something on pinkeye. Do our kids run in the same circles?
Anyway, here is the excerpt on the article containing info on home remedies for ringworm.
Our family doctor, having nothing that truly worked on ring worm, (this was
before the wonder drugs-post WWII) adopted the use of green walnut hull juice
applied directly to the skin. (black walnut) That truly worked| Charles Diltz

My sister constantly was getting ring worms on one or another part of her body
and in order to get rid of them my Mother would draw a dark circle around it
using an ink pen. They would disappear within usually a week after doing this
every day as the ink supposedly would smother them. Heidi

When I was a little girl I had a wring work appear on the top of my foot. My
mother spent hundreds of dollars on doctor bills and medicines that didn't work.
Finally, she remembered an old cure for chigger bites. Fingernail polish!
Every day, she would put clear fingernail polish around the outside edge of the
wring worm and it got smaller and smaller until it disappeared. The nail polish
smothered it. Priscilla Bickley, West Virginia

In high school during Gym. class, the teacher noticed a ringworm on the back of
my thigh. The school nurse confirmed this, and I was sent home , and told not
to return until it was gone.
(contagious?) After almost 2 weeks of some ointment the doctor had prescribed, I
still had the darned thing , and it actually seemed a bit larger , and itched
like crazy! Finally, my Grandmother told me to take a penny and set it in a
small container with WHITE VINEGAR over night. In the morning, I was to take
that WET penny and lightly rub it on the ringworm, and repeat it before I went
to bed. I was told NOT to cover it, just let it "dry" . ( smelled awful .....)
That ringworm was gone in 2 days! Donnajean

Hope that is food for thought even if you don't use any of the info! And BTW, "planks"--I love it!

Answer 4

ring worm is highly contagious not just to his baby brother but to any one in close contact with him . it is best to keep hands washed even his ( if he scratches at all) and if you want to cover it by all means do not cover it tightly where air cannot get to it or will stay moist and it will get worse.
I know it may sound funny but you can use regular anti-fungal cream from a drugstore used for athlete's foot it will also say it's for ringworm if you read the tube you will see. Hope I helped

Answer 5

Well, his baby Brother CAN catch it from him I'm afraid but I don't see you have much choice but to take a chance as treatment can take up to four weeks to take effect!

Ringworm can be caught by:

Person-to-person contact,
Sharing combs or unwashed clothes
From surfaces inside showers or beside swimming pools.

So maybe just try to minimise these exposures? Wash baby in the sink or a baby bath for a few weeks maybe and keep him away from his Brother's laundry etc?

Answer 6

Was your son around a cat? Cats are notorious for carrying ringworm. Salcylic acid is the base for the over the counter ringworm treatments. Ask your pharmicist for his/her choice in brands.
Your baby can catch the ringworm virus from your 3 year old. Just watch for the rash and treat him the same.

Answer 7

Since the 'ring worm' is highly contageous, then it is probably better to keep your children separated (if possible) so that the eldest, won't pass on the infection to his younger sibling.

Answer 8

As your administering te cream now, it is unlikely to spread.

How ever being a 3 year old, unlikely to remember to wash his hands after touching it, so to be on the safe side I would discourage tactile contact.

Answer 9

It will be a bit difficult to keep them completely apart. I would make sure they use separate towels and flannels and just keep a watchful eye on the baby. It is easy enough to treat if ne does catch it.

Answer 10

I would talk to the doctor about this. Read this link and it might be some help to you. Best of luck.

EDIT: Well if you've taken him already, which you stated, why didn't you ask the doctor???