How does ringworm work?

mrfairy

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I understand that oral medication helps to kill the ringworm that has already taken root on the skin, however is it possible for reinfections to occur without bathing with medical shampoo (even if the environment has be sanitised) because the spores are still present in the fur?

Previously my cat had ringworm and was on a 2 month course of itraconazole, it healed but after a month it came back on the EXACT same spots. I did not bathe her during the 2 month treatment. I read that spores can stay hidden in the fur.
 

amethyst

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Ringworm is a fungous, so yes if you don't wash all the fungal spores off everything, including the cat itself, it can come back. Ringworm grows when conditions are right, it needs warm, dark, and damp conditions, if the conditions aren't met it can stay in nonactive state for a year or two before it dies on it's own if not cleaned up. To infect the skin though it needs to actually touch the skin, so if it's in the fur it might not reach the skin for awhile until the cat scratches or you brush the cat causing active spores in the fur to fall down to the skin. Ringworm is also very contagious, so if your cat goes outside, you have any other animals, or even humans in the house that have it, they can reinfect the cat too.
 

moxiewild

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Yes, so long as there remain spores in the fur and the environment, it remains possible that the infected kitty, any other pets, and any people (particularly children, the elderly, and immunocompromised) may be re/infected.

Lime sulphur dips (not medicated shampoo) are arguably the most effective treatment when combined with environmental treatment (frequent vacuuming and disinfecting). Especially 2x weekly dips with spot treatments on lesions on the days off.

Effectiveness is further increased by taking medication, Itraconazole being preferable efficacy and safety wise (also the most expensive).
 

Bikersnez

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I have been dealing with a ringworm outbreak in my three cat household. I've done a lot of internet research. For what it's worth, I read that when a cat's own immunity cures a ringworm infection, cat becomes immune to reinfection. This is apparently not the case when the infection is "aborted" by medical treatment.
I also read in multiple articles that reinfection mostly happens when treatment is stopped too early. So it actually comes back.
I myself don't feel comfortable giving the oral medication for more than a couple of weeks, so I am sure I will have some firsthand experience on both of these claims. 🙄
 
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