 We both have ringworm.....
I got my new Yorkie, Oliver on the 7th of November. On the 18th we went to the vet for our last set of shots and she noticed some flaky skin around his ear (like it had been shaved off) and some flakes around his back. She mentioned it could be a little staph infection and gave me some ointment. Last Wednesday I went to the dermatologist myself for some round patches of redness on my chest and she gave me some antifungal cream and sent out a culture. Yesterday I noticed a huge patch of dry skin around Oliver's leg and because it was Saturday, went to my backup vet. He used what I think is called the Woods test (ultra violet light) and saw his little body was riddled with flaky skin and patches of matted hair. Based on both of our conditions (haha), he took a sample of hair from Oliver to send to the lab and concluded it was probably ringworm. He gave me Chlorhexaderm shampoo (bathe Oliver 2x a week and leave on for 10-15 minutes) and Conofite Lotion to put on affected areas (he shaved the area around his leg). He was very hesitant to prescribe oral meds for him because he's only 5 months old and weighs 3.5lbs. He also knew I had a really tough time with my last yorkie who was diagnosed with underdeveloped kidneys and I treated him till he died of kidney failure at 17 months. Based on my experience and how some of these oral meds can damage the organs, he wanted to try this first.
Oliver sleeps with me and last night I had to crate him. I tried restricting him to the laundry room but he was barking and creating chaos, so I crated him and put it at the edge of my bed. He was miserable but we toughed it out. During the day though - do I restrict him to the laundry area...or do I lay a blanket over the couch and wash it every night? I also bring him to work with me every day....and leaving him at home may be a bit of a problem. How long is he contagious? Ughhh.....I keep reading that ringworm is just awful to get rid of and often comes back. What should I do - I've had a hell of a year and this is just another blow....i'm even considering moving and throwing out all the furniture once this clears up so that I don't have to deal with this again - any suggestions on what I do with him while he's being treated??? Has anyone tried the oral meds - I'm very hesitant to give it a go.....
On another note - I let a neighbors cat in my home in July - he left me fleas as a parting gift (haha). No joke - it was an awful experience, especially since I had no pets at the time. I was riddled with flea bites and it took forever to clear up. I vacuumed every night, did laundry ever day, got Fleabusters out and finally got rid of them. Is it possible that the cat left behind some spores? is it possible Oliver could have gotten such a bad case of ringworm from the time I brought him home on the 7th and took him to the vet on the 18th. Seems like the timeline is a bit coincidental.
Any suggestions would be so helpful....i'm grateful this is not life threatening (like with my other 2 yorkies) but ughhh....i'm so tired of dealing with these funky little micro-organisms.... |