Ringworm

[JRPAGV]

I believe my four month old DS has two ringworms on his chest/upper belly. We called his doctor this morning and described it, and he said that's what it sounds like. He said it's common in babies where they drool constantly. I feel terrible about this. I feel like a horrible mother for not keeping his chest more dry... for not keeping a bib on him at all times. :(

Anyway, we have started putting anti-fungal cream (Lotrimin) on the spots, and plan on making an appointment to see the doctor tomorrow afternoon. But, I have a couple of questions. I'm hoping some of you may be able to answer them.

1) Do we need to do anything special when bathing him? Should we cover the area or anything? I'm scared to use the same washcloth or that the water will spread the fungus.

2) Do we need to wash his clothes and everything in hot water? His doctor said no, that it's only spread through direct contact and not spread through clothes. But, everything I've read says otherwise (except Dr. Sears' website says it spreads through direct contact). All of the articles on the Internet (including medical websites) say that it can be spread by touching a towel or clothing that's been used by the infected person.

3) Also, my DS woke up with yellow goop in his eye this morning. He keeps getting more yellow goop in it too. We forgot to ask his doctor about it on the phone this morning. DS had clogged tear ducts a few months ago, but they went away. Could this be another blocked tear duct, or could he have touched the ringworm and then spread it to his eye?

Thanks for your help! I'm so frustrated and paranoid about this.

[lorbo]

ummm, do you know that your son has been exposed to ringworm? i ask that because in my profession, i'm exposed to ringworm fairly often...now if i wasn't working in the veterinary profession, i'd think exposure would be very unlikely, unless there was a playmate who had it. ringworm is a fungal infection. there could be a fungal infection from the drooling...but it wouldn't be ringworm! so, i'm confused. with ringworm, it can be on your clothing. i would keep the area clean and DRY! unlikely that the goopy eye is related. clogged tear ducts can come and go. does that help?

[cartersmommy]

i used to work in daycare and now have a 7 month old. i used to get ringworm all the time, and DS had it on the back of his knee about a week ago. it's not fun because it looks bad, but it's really not a big deal.
1. no, i don't think you need to do anything special when bathing him.
2.no, it's not that contagious. only if it is watery is it contagious and will spread. just put an antifungal medicine on it and you'll be good to go.

[Sarah]

You're not a bad mother! This type of thing happens. No big deal, it's not like you left him on the subway or something. :) Feel better.

[jbemommy]

Ringworm can look very much like eczema, and in a 4 m/o, that's really more likely. Ringworm is spread person-to-person, so if he's in daycare he could have gotten it, but otherwise seems less likely. Anyway, you didn't do anything wrong that made him get it. And I agree that the eye goop is unrelated.

[annie]

I agree with PP, it really doesn't sound like ringworm, unless your DC has had direct contact with someone with it, or you have an animal in your home.

Ringwormhttp is often mistaken for nummular eczema, since both are circular raised rashes. From what I have seen, the biggest difference is that ringworm rashes often have a central clearing, meaning a red circular ring,then clear skin inside, then redness in the middle. Eczema tends to be red all over. Both rashes can be itchy.

I would have your pediatrician take a look at it. Most peds won't make diagnoses over the phone, especially with rashes, because they are so difficut for a layperson to describe.

Here is a web site on nummular eczema. Hope it helps.

http://www.aocd.org/skin/dermatologic_diseases/nummular_eczema.html

[JRPAGV]

Thanks for your replies so far, ladies! :)

I'm pretty sure it is ringworm and not eczema, because the inside of the circle is skin-colored. I had a couple of ringworms years ago, and they looked exactly like this. :(

I don't think he got it from somebody or something else. He stays at home with me, so he isn't exposed to many people. I think he developed it because his chest was staying moist all the time. He would sleep on me at night and during some of his naps (you gotta do what you gotta do to get some sleep) too, which caused his chest and belly to stay warm and sweaty for long amounts of time. We transitioned him to his crib last night, so that won't be a problem anymore.

We do have two small dogs, but they never touch DS and he doesn't lie (with his chest exposed) in areas where they lie. I will check them out, though, to make sure they don't have any ringworms. That's how I got ringworms years ago... one of our dogs gave it to me.

cartersmommy: Did you wash your son's clothes, etc. in hot water and dry them on high heat? I'm reading conflicting things about this. His ped and nurse both said that it's only contagious through direct contact, not through clothing.

Thanks again for your thoughts! Anyone else want to reply?

[Sophia]

This is intriguing. I've never heard of getting ringworm except from an infected animal or person or while doing gardening. Wouldn't your son have needed some sort of exposure? I can see how the ringworm would have liked the moist, drooly areas, but the fungus would have had to have come from somewhere in the first place.

This website (http://www.dhpe.org/infect/ringworm.html)says you can get it from indirect contact.

People can get Ringworm from: 1) direct skin-to-skin contact with an infected person or pet, 2) indirect contact with an object or surface that an infected person or pet has touched, or 3) rarely, by contact with soil.
Ringworm can be treated with fungus-killing medicine.
To prevent Ringworm, 1) make sure all infected persons and pets get appropriate treatment, 2) avoid contact with infected persons and pets, 3) do not share personal items, and 4) keep common-use areas clean.


More info at link.

IME, ringworm is pretty contagious.

[JRPAGV]

Thanks for posting that, Sophia! Yeah, his doctor agreed that it's pretty contagious.

This is what Dr. Sears (http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/t083200.asp) says about it:

The fungi in the rash are contagious by direct contact with the rash or from the hands of an infected person who has been scratching the rash. Your child can also catch it from infected pets, especially dogs and cats.

I'm a "germ" freak anyway, so you know this is stressing me out. I *really* hope these articles that say you can get it from indirect contact are outdated. I'm hoping our ped and Dr. Sears are going by some new studies that have come out or something. :rolleyes: :D Ugh, this sucks. He already has two distinct ones. It's so hard trying to change his clothes, because he draws his arms in and puts his hands on the ringworms. It's also hard trying to to spread it when we're putting onesies on.

If you can get it from indirect contact (or contact with exposed surfaces), then how the heck do you get rid of it?! If for some reason one of our dogs has it, they've laid all over our furniture, bed, carpet, etc. There's not enough Lysol at the grocery store to cover the areas that might have been exposed. :p

Anyone know how long fungus (and germs just because i'm curious) can live on toys, cloth, furniture, carpet, floors, etc??

[cartersmommy]

Well, I made sure that I didn't let him wear anything a second time before I washed it. I didn't do anything special, other than that. I just put antifungal cream on at every diaper change, and it went away. and same for you, if you were to get it. your baby may not notice, but on you it will be itchy and red, so just watch for that. it's really not a big deal (IMO), and you are NOT bad mommy!! you're wonderful!! :)

If this is the worst thing that happens to your little man, you're in good shape :)

[Sophia]

I have no idea how long the fungus can survive on surfaces. That "indirect contact" thing really threw me. But in your case, I guess it would explain his exposure, because otherwise, he'd have to have had direct contact and it sounds liek he hasn't had any. Very weird.

I'd wash his hands with soap & water & then dry them well if they get near the ones he has on his chest. It'd be awful if he got some on his hands and spread it around to his face or something. IME, that's the main way it's spread--scratching, licking (talking about cats & dogs there-LOL), etc. Even with animals that continued to lick and scratch, it did go away eventually. I applied the ointment as directed, tried to keep my own hands and arms very clean (washing after I'd apply it to them) and although I did get ringworm from a kitten once, it was minor and went away quickly. I think it'd be easier to treat it in a baby than a kitten because you can keep it covered with clothes and it's not like he can lick his own chest. ;)

[emschwar]

Ringworm can live for a very long time on surfaces. The only thing that kills it on surfaces is bleach. We had a ringworm outbreak when I was teaching school and it got passed from kid to kid for months. A lot of them had it on their legs, and they'd sit on a chair (it was summer and they were wearing shorts) and if another sat on the chair later, they could pick it up. Ringworm is horribly contagious and takes a long time to fully get rid of.

Your son could have picked it up anywhere. You're definitely not a bad mom.

[JRPAGV]

Ringworm can live for a very long time on surfaces. Aack, don't tell me that! :eek:

Lysol and Clorox spray kill Athlete's Foot (ringworm on the feet), so I wonder if it kills ringworm. :confused:
That should kill it. Just give it a good dousing. I know we had some "anti-viral" spray (no name brand) at the day care, and it DIDN'T kill ringworm. I don't think the clorox wipes kill it either, but I can't remember for certain.

[Sophia]

A lot of them had it on their legs, and they'd sit on a chair (it was summer and they were wearing shorts) and if another sat on the chair later, they could pick it up.

Ewww! I'm not normally a germaphobe, but ringworm is so nasty. I had no idea it could be passed like that.

[emschwar]

Ewww! I'm not normally a germaphobe, but ringworm is so nasty. I had no idea it could be passed like that.
Yeah, it's awful. We had ringworm for literally 3 months in our class. We were like the leper colony of the day care. None of the other classes would play with us.