Ringworm - help!

[Illbefinejustbloodyfine]

Ds developed a small dry red patch on his back 3 weeks ago. No obvious ring. Over the next 10 - 14 days it got slightly larger. I took him to the pharmacy, she said ring worm and gave us an anti fungal cream, clotimazole. Told to apply it twice daily, wash hands. I asked if I needed to do anything else, she said no. Ds has been away for 3 days (cream applied twice daily still) and has cone back covered all over his back, and starting on his front.

Should I take him to the drs for something else ir is this cream the only treatment? It looks awful for him, and I'm concerned about it spreading through the family.

My DS has RW years ago.
We were told anti fungal twice a day with a good margin. I was using the canisten cream before Dr appt. Dr told us that probably made the RW worse and to stick to antifungal. He got it somewhere else months later, I got a cream over the counter but ended up back at drs for prescription strength. I'm sure it was daktarin.

I'd take him to the docs- my (adult) DS got it and the clotrimazole worked straight way - it reduced in redness and eventually faded to nothing- no spreading. I read you should be careful as it could spread - we all have separate towels anyway. He was told to keep it covered at work and had a dressing over it.

I've successfully used Nizoral shampoo - ketoconazole - on large areas of ringworm on my son. Lather it on in the shower and let it sit for a few minutes before washing off. This was prescribed by a Dr as there was some on the scalp too. (It is an antifungal shampoo.)

Clotrimazole (canesten) or miconazole (daktarin) can also be used at other times of the day. These are both antifungal creams available off the shelf or over the counter, usually labelled for athletes foot.

In fact, I think a fluconazole thrush tablet might have been taken too, as it was a persistent case. This probably wasn't prescribed, so not taken on medical advice but did the trick.

Thanks, I'll call the Dr in the morning. I can't believe how much it has spread. The cream doesn't seem to be helping at all.

Eeeek!! Oh God, it's a bloody nightmare to get rid of! 😲

Has he caught it from school do you think? Or do you have animals - could he have caught it from them?

Could be pityriasis rosea, starts as a single scaly patch(herald patch) then more patches appear over days/weeks. It's a self-limiting viral infection which eventually clears

Just googled, could be this. Dr app this afternoon, thank you!

We do have animals, but none have it as far as I can tell. And ds is the only one with it where I'm the one who handles /touches tge animals most.

I can only think if it is ringworm, he's picked it up when swimming?

It's can't be ringworm as those creams usually work pretty well. My cat had it and passed it onto my mum! Daktarin cream got rid of it quickly.
He could also be having a reaction to the cream?
I hope the doctor gives him some suitable treatment.

OK so it was 9th April we got the cream and it's been applied twice daily since. So you'd expect it not to have spread in that time?

The GP can prescribe stronger cream. DS had it on his arm last summer and we could not get rid of it and it went on for months! I was at my wits end and didn’t understand why it kept coming back/not fully going. Got a stronger cream form GP. Tips we were told were to spread it widely on and outside the affected area and once you think it’s gone, keep going with the cream for another 10 days-2 weeks to make doubly sure! We were applying a cream from start of July to September, basically the whole summer hols. GP told us to wash all clothes with a disinfectant like Napisan to kill the infection on the clothes, until DS was clear of it. Wash bedding and towels frequently (we used a new towel after every use and changed his bedding every few days). Keep the area completely covered (we had DS in long sleeves during the hot weather last summer, it was frustrating) as it can spread through it touching surfaces. No swimming. We also applied the GP cream 3-4 times a day, different to the pharmacy cream we got to begin with. In terms of it spreading, you don’t have any pets or he has been in contact with any animals? We didn’t realise DS had managed to infect our pet rabbits (who vet said don’t usually get RW and it was only picked up during a routine vet health check) but he rarely had contact with them anyway and we’d kept them separate once we knew about the RW. But obviously it was somehow getting passed back and forth. If he goes to childcare is there another child there who may have it but not know and it’s getting passed back and forth? If it keeps spreading go to the GP and make sure it’s definitely RW.

DH and I got it from a rescued kitten. The usual creams didn’t work. It just spread and got worse. I think we were given two different sorts. So, the dr prescribed a course of tablets which cleared it up within a couple of weeks.

They may not be suitable for children though.

It could also be discoid eczema rather than ringworm

@Illbefinejustbloodyfine What did the GP say?

Have you got to scrub him with wire wool & sheep dip?! 🤣

I do feel like I need to. Just looking at him makes me itch.

Hmmm, that's called psychogenic itch, that sensation. Quite common.

Keep applying the cream - liberally; worst case I saw was all over a person's pubic area - horrific.