Ringworm and hot tub parties

[Sadcatlady69]

So, my eldest daughter turns into a teen soon. I have splashed out, hired a hot tub, gazebo and fairy lights for the occasion. She has school friends coming for a sleep over one night, guides friends the next, family the next etc etc.

Yesterday, one of the invitee school friends for the first night announces that she has Ringworm on her calf. She has had one treatment yesterday, but the party is in two weeks.

From what I have read, Ringworm takes 2-4 weeks to recover from. This is not within our time frame. I told my daughter last night to tell her friend that she is most welcome to the party and sleepover, but she cannot share the hot tub with the other girls. The girl is upset, naturally. But this skin condition is spread by direct contact and that is surely going to occur in a hot tub environment.

Long and the short of it, is that I am not prepared to expose other kids, friends and family to this sort of contagion.

The girl in question is lovely, and I don't want to hurt her feelings, but at the same time I would be irresponsible to allow the possibility of cross infection to other guests.

I don't believe my stance is unreasonable, so I am not really asking whether I am being unreasonable. Rather, I am hoping for some ideas and suggestions about how I might proceed.

Thanks in advance.

I saw a pharmacist this afternoon and she said that as long as it's completely clear, it's no longer contagious, but UNTIL it is, then it can still be passed on.
Hope this clears things up for all of us.
Like you say, Wolfie, I know it's relatively minor, but it's irresponsible of me to ignore it and put kids - and their pets and other humans - at risk of inconvenience at least and discomfort at worst. Come to think of it, I just remembered one of the girls coming has a mother with cancer too, so yeah. Better safe than sorry.

Definitely. I caught it from an horse and took it home. Was allergic to the treatment. Bald spot on cat. Vets bills, pain and hassle.

Sorry, you told a 12yo to go to school (presumably) and tell another 12yo "my mum says you can't join in my party fully 'cause you've got ringworm" and you're wondering why that child is upset?

Why on earth didn't you ask your child to get the phone number of the other child's parent so the adults could sort it out without any potential embarrassment or upset for any of the children involved?

No yanbu to restrict hot tub access. The rest of it...

Did you ask about a waterproof dressing and if that will work? It's going to be miserable for the poor girl to watch all her pals having fun in the hot tub while she looks on.

Ringworm is the least of it. If you take a sample of water from a hottub there will be plenty of faecal bacteria in it. No one seems to mind that though.

Bufferingkisses

I did ask my DD to get the mother's phone number, but she wanted to talk to her friend herself about it anyway. She's a very kind girl and was sensitive about the way she handled it. I don't think of ringworm as a stigma anymore than if she'd had measles or a verruca. I'm not sure why it should be embarrassing. It's something anyone can get and it's treatable. Sadly, it's also infectious. I wouldn't sugarcoat it to my own kids either, if they had it. Surely if we make more of this by calling parents (who I have never met or spoken to before), this encourages the idea that these things are embarrassing, instead of just facts of life.

I'm going to ask about a waterproof dressing but really I'm hoping it will be gone completely and it won't be an issue.

My son recently had ringworm on his scalp, was a nightmare!!

Took minimum one month to get rid of it.

I'm cringing at a hot tub though.