How can I tell if I gave my cats ringworm?… by AlleyC
I may, or may not have ringworm on my hand. I have both outside and inside cats. I suspect, if I do have ringworm, that I got it from one of my outside cats. My question is….how can I tell if I have passed this on to my inside cats. They all look normal. I don't see any patches of hair falling out or anything. BTW I have had this spot on my hand for about 3 weeks. It is scaly and round. I just thought it was really dry skin.
Best Answer:
Ringworm, contrary to popular belief is not “worms”. Ringworm is a fungal infection. You can treat it at home with nothing more than the cream that you use on jock itch or athlete's foot.
The term “ringworm” or “ringworms” refers to fungal infections that are on the surface of the skin. The early belief was that the infection was due to a worm, which it is not. It is a result of a fungus infection. Nevertheless, the name “ringworm” has stuck.
While you may have picked up the infection from your cat, it is just as likely you picked it up from a swimming pool,shower, locker room, and it is hard to identify the cause of a fungi
Examples of such preparations to treat ringworm include those that contain clotrimazole (Cruex cream, Desenex cream, Lotrimin cream, lotion, and solution), miconazole (Monistat-Derm cream), ketoconazole (Nizoral cream); and terbinafine (Lamisil cream and solution). All of these are available over the counter.
While both humans and cats can get ringworm, passing it between species is very unlikely,(less than 3%) although not impossible.
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