How long does ringworm last?

[hdpt00]

Vet said it could take up to a month to go away... been about a week since I've been treating it, and a lot of the redness is gone, but it is still a bit flaky...

How long do you guys think it usually lasts?

[vwill]

When Oliver had ringworm, it took 2 months to get rid of. The first month we used a topical ointment and dipped him. That didn't get rid of it, so the vet put him on oral meds. That cleared it up in about 3 or 4 weeks, but the vet had us keep him on the meds one more month. Sometimes just looking at it, its hard to really know if its gone. Its hard to get rid of so you need to make sure its completely gone or it does come back easily.

[Yorka]

VWill, what kind of oral med you were using? How big and old your baby?

[Mom to Hot Rod]

We thought my little one had it and the vet told me that it would be at least 3 mos. He would have had to have 2 clear test results before being considered cured.

Also, you will have to pretty much disinfect everything in your home that may have contact with it. It is very contagious and can resurface if not cleaned properly. Fortunately we didn't have it.

Good luck.

[vwill]

Originally Posted by Yorka

VWill, what kind of oral med you were using? How big and old your baby?

Oliver took Itraconazole. He took 1ml for approx. 25 days. He was about 9 months when he took the meds and about 4.5 lbs. It worked very quickly and didn't make him sick or upset his tummy (the vet was concerned about that)

This medicine was a little more expensive. There is another more common oral med called Griseofulvin that is cheaper, but my vet didn't want to use that because it is harsher and can damage the liver.

There is also a medicine that I've read is really good called Diflucan. A friend of mine had a puppy with ringworm told me that the vet gave her yorkie this. Her yorkie was just a baby puppy at the time. Diflucan is a newer med, so maybe its less money possible too (like competition to Itraconazole).

I hope that helps or is what you were looking for.

[vwill]

Originally Posted by Mom to Hot Rod

We thought my little one had it and the vet told me that it would be at least 3 mos. He would have had to have 2 clear test results before being considered cured.

Also, you will have to pretty much disinfect everything in your home that may have contact with it. It is very contagious and can resurface if not cleaned properly. Fortunately we didn't have it.

Good luck.

My vet told me the same thing about the amount of time. He said it can appear to be cured and possibly not be. He said that they can have it with no visible symptoms and if you don't get rid of it, it can come back easily. So you can't cut any treatment short even if it looks like its over.

Vacuuming a lot is important too. Ringworm has spores and spreads that way. Its a fungus.

[Yorka]

Thank You, VWill,
Itraconazole is the med what vet suggested for my puppy.
We'd been trying to avoid oral med for 2 months, using medicated rx shampoo, Tresaderm topical solution, Chlotrimazole ointment-nothing works.
Now Bella is a little older and bigger (4 moths and 2 lbs 14 oz) and I hope she will tolerate it well, I'm sooo tired to see her suffering.
How much did you pay for Itraconazole? Was it in liquid or in capsules?

[vwill]

Originally Posted by Yorka

Thank You, VWill,
Itraconazole is the med what vet suggested for my puppy.
We'd been trying to avoid oral med for 2 months, using medicated rx shampoo, Tresaderm topical solution, Chlotrimazole ointment-nothing works.
Now Bella is a little older and bigger (4 moths and 2 lbs 14 oz) and I hope she will tolerate it well, I'm sooo tired to see her suffering.
How much did you pay for Itraconazole? Was it in liquid or in capsules?

We tried the same things with Oliver. We tried the medicated shampoo, Tresaderm and even sulfur dips -- nothing worked :-( Poor little thing! It was just a really stubborn ringworm. I think the Itraconazole was about $55 for a 4 week supply. Oliver had no problems with it whatsoever. The medicine comes in a pill that was too large for the vet to cut (it needed to be tiny), so he had to send it to a lab to have it formulated into a liquid. The lab made it peanut butter flavor, so Oliver looooved it.

I think the oral meds will definitely work for your puppy too! I hope that helps her and she gets all better really soon! We just struggled with the ringworm for over 3 months before the meds with no success, and he needed to get rid of it. I know exactly how you feel.

[Yorka]

You wrote "formulated it into a liquid"... I checked with pharmacy today, they said Itraconazole (generic) isn't available in liquid form - only tablets & cupsules, but Sporanox (brand name) is. Estimated price from "Longs Drugs" - $125 for 4 weeks!
Was it a Sporanox liquid, you were treating Oliver with?
Thank you so much for helping me, VWill!!!

[vwill]

Originally Posted by Yorka

You wrote "formulated it into a liquid"... I checked with pharmacy today, they said Itraconazole (generic) isn't available in liquid form - only tablets & cupsules, but Sporanox (brand name) is. Estimated price from "Longs Drugs" - $125 for 4 weeks!
Was it a Sporanox liquid, you were treating Oliver with?
Thank you so much for helping me, VWill!!!

The pharmacy my vet used only had pills too. BIG pills and he couldn't cut them small enough. He works with a lab though that will "formulate" (convert) pills into liquid. So he got the pills from the pharmacy and sent them to this lab. I wish I would've kept the bottle. The name of the lab was on it, but I can't remember what it was now. It was definitely Itraconazole though. I just looked up the invoice:
"Itraconaole 25mg/ml Suspension"
(I gave 1ml a day for 25 days)

[Yorka]

Thanks VWill, your info and experience was very helpful!!!
I asked vet about flavored liquid and he ordered it from vet pharmacy somewhere in Texas. We received med in 2 days in chicken flavor, so far Bella takes it with no problem. Hope we will have positive results soon!
Thanks again for your help!!

[YorkieChick1]

Brooke had it and it took 3 months to get rid of completely and she gave it to me and my 2 chihuahuas, but not my hubbie or other 2 yorkies!! I use Roadrunner Pharmacy in AZ for all my compounding needs and they add flavors and ship for free!!

[princesskl]

cali had it for 3 freaking months! our vet was seeing a lot of it w/ the yorkies in our area- she wasn't from the same litter (he asked where we got her). unfortunately she had it when we got her. it was a tiny little bump. we thought it might have been a boo boo from a litter mate. nope! so no puppy classes or friends all that time! only daddy, mommy & her big sister- 10 yr old kitty. but she has friends now! yeah!

treatment for cali. . . first malaseb (medicated shampoo), after 2 wks we moved on to clavamox & still used the shampoo. still not working- stubborn fungus! so then fluconazole & still the shampoo. she got an infection on top of it (probably from the scratching) & was on clavamox. my poor kid!
we & her doctor didn't like having her on meds for so long, but the ringworm needed to be gone! thankfully it's gone. she's had pre-op for surgery & there's no damage from the meds.

you know it's gone (besides doing a culture, which we did a total of 3 times! our choice) the hair starts growing back. it'll look like peach fuzz. that's when your little one can be around other dogs. the flaky stuff your seeing is the fungus! when kept a shirt on her to "contain it". wash everything regularly w/ bleach or bleach alternative.

fyi- ringworm is in the same family as athlete's foot & jock itch

[Yorka]

Originally Posted by princesskl

cali had it for 3 freaking months! our vet was seeing a lot of it w/ the yorkies in our area- she wasn't from the same litter (he asked where we got her). unfortunately she had it when we got her. it was a tiny little bump. we thought it might have been a boo boo from a litter mate. nope! so no puppy classes or friends all that time! only daddy, mommy & her big sister- 10 yr old kitty. but she has friends now! yeah!

treatment for cali. . . first malaseb (medicated shampoo), after 2 wks we moved on to clavamox & still used the shampoo. still not working- stubborn fungus! so then fluconazole & still the shampoo. she got an infection on top of it (probably from the scratching) & was on clavamox. my poor kid!
we & her doctor didn't like having her on meds for so long, but the ringworm needed to be gone! thankfully it's gone. she's had pre-op for surgery & there's no damage from the meds.

you know it's gone (besides doing a culture, which we did a total of 3 times! our choice) the hair starts growing back. it'll look like peach fuzz. that's when your little one can be around other dogs. the flaky stuff your seeing is the fungus! when kept a shirt on her to "contain it". wash everything regularly w/ bleach or bleach alternative.

fyi- ringworm is in the same family as athlete's foot & jock itch

How old was Cali, when she had ringworm?

[princesskl]

11 wks. sad huh? but she's a.o.k. now. yeah!