I'm so happy I found this site! Hopefully, your help will be able to put my mind at ease.
To begin, I'm young, but I've been having some health problems which have made me more susceptible to some common diseases. I recently came down with my first ever episode of RINGWORM!! It turns out I had an active infection for over a month, but didn't notice because I wasn't exhibiting the common signs for a while. Once I saw the rings, I knew.
Okay. Fine. I can treat myself. However, I am very concerned for my poor kitty, Vortex. Vortex is short-haired, male, ~4yrs old, and loves cuddling with me at night and has been since I adopted him as a kitten.
Since my rings I have been:
1. Cleaning my sheets, PJs, and clothes worn that day every night before going to bed.
2. I swept, vacuumed, scrubbed my tub with bleach, generally cleaned.
3. For ~36 hours I have been treating my lesions with Lamisil 2x daily and washing my body and hands with Selsun Blue.
4. I have been cuddling much less if at all with my Vortex and he is noticing. But he still sleeps on top of my comforter at night (me under it).
5. I am very careful to keep my lesions away from him. The only way I have spread them on myself was by scratching, vigorously. I haven't scratched since a few days ago once I became suspicious. So far so good.
So my question is, (1) could Vortex have spores on his fur? (2) is He at risk? (3) what are the odds my ringworm can even infect him?
While ringworm is contagious, its far less contagious than a common cold. But, I'd hate to have to quarantine my cat. I live in a studio, so his space would be very limited if I had to block him off.
I'm going into see a doctor today to confirm the infection is ringworm. It's pretty much obvious, but even as a scientist, I'm not qualified to make that call all on my own. $100 says I'm right.
I'm also calling the Vet this morning to have Vortex checked out later this week, hopefully. Currently, he looks as vivacious and healthy as ever, with his beautiful, radiant black coat. We'd both hate to see patches form!
Help!!!??? I don't want to make my kitty sick!
PS: my new ring popped up immediately and after, my friend gave me a look over. No more latency in ring development and (knocks on wood) no more rings.
To begin, I'm young, but I've been having some health problems which have made me more susceptible to some common diseases. I recently came down with my first ever episode of RINGWORM!! It turns out I had an active infection for over a month, but didn't notice because I wasn't exhibiting the common signs for a while. Once I saw the rings, I knew.
Okay. Fine. I can treat myself. However, I am very concerned for my poor kitty, Vortex. Vortex is short-haired, male, ~4yrs old, and loves cuddling with me at night and has been since I adopted him as a kitten.
Since my rings I have been:
1. Cleaning my sheets, PJs, and clothes worn that day every night before going to bed.
2. I swept, vacuumed, scrubbed my tub with bleach, generally cleaned.
3. For ~36 hours I have been treating my lesions with Lamisil 2x daily and washing my body and hands with Selsun Blue.
4. I have been cuddling much less if at all with my Vortex and he is noticing. But he still sleeps on top of my comforter at night (me under it).
5. I am very careful to keep my lesions away from him. The only way I have spread them on myself was by scratching, vigorously. I haven't scratched since a few days ago once I became suspicious. So far so good.
So my question is, (1) could Vortex have spores on his fur? (2) is He at risk? (3) what are the odds my ringworm can even infect him?
While ringworm is contagious, its far less contagious than a common cold. But, I'd hate to have to quarantine my cat. I live in a studio, so his space would be very limited if I had to block him off.
I'm going into see a doctor today to confirm the infection is ringworm. It's pretty much obvious, but even as a scientist, I'm not qualified to make that call all on my own. $100 says I'm right.
I'm also calling the Vet this morning to have Vortex checked out later this week, hopefully. Currently, he looks as vivacious and healthy as ever, with his beautiful, radiant black coat. We'd both hate to see patches form!
Help!!!??? I don't want to make my kitty sick!
PS: my new ring popped up immediately and after, my friend gave me a look over. No more latency in ring development and (knocks on wood) no more rings.