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Fungal Infection?

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Anne2016

Anne2016

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hello,
We have two lovely guinea pigs (got them in December).
A month ago my little girl aged 3 and a half started to develop a rash on her chin, as she was in contact with the guinea pigs. I noticed their noses touching her chin as she was carried them, until I instructed her not to let them touch her face.
The rash has got out of hands it is red and infected and spreading in other parts of her face. The GP gave antibiotics and when they didn't work they gave a second course.

I suspected one of the Guinea pigs has a fungal infection which it passed onto my child (when I said this to the doctor they almost made fun of me)

I wanted to ask if anyone else has experienced this before with their Guinea pigs. I am thinking to take them to the vet but my husband thinks we should rather spend the money on a skin specialist for our child, and get rid of the guinea pigs. My children really love the Guinea pigs and would be very sad to see them go. Do you think a vet will be able to establish what the Guinea pigs are carrying and how much would it cost?
Many thanks in advance for your help
Anne
 
One of my sons caught ringworm from one of our guinea pigs. It was on his back and the typical ring shape of sores with a gradually spreading clear centre. I've seen pictures of people with ringworm on their face and it can just look like a spreading rash. Do your guinea pigs have, or have had, any signs of fungal infection, crusty, sore or bald/thinning patches? It cost us £22 for a sample from our guinea pig's 'crusty' area to be sent away for testing and took about 10 days to get the results by which time my son had developed the rash. The vet also said that they can brush through the hair and send a sample to test if there are fungal spores if there is no obvious area of infection. As far as I know ringworm is the only rash you can catch from guinea pigs. Otherwise your daughter could have an allergy which may or may not be guinea pig related. Excema can become infected. If you think it is ringworm be very conscious of the need for hygiene as it is easily transmissible.
 
Thank you very much for your reply, it is very helpful.
The rash definitely started as ringworm and then became infected. I think antibiotics made it worse, the skin became very dry and bleeding

However both Guinea pigs do not appear to have crusty areas. (One of them loses a lot of hair when handling him but there aren't any thinning patches) I thought it got transmitted from their mouth or nose, because I actually saw the piggy's nose touching my daughter's face several times. Does the vet check the mouth/nose for the fungus, or is it only the Guinea pig's skin that carries it?

Also may I ask how you treated your son's rash? I know it is a Guinea pig's forum, but it would be really helpful to know what worked with others. And yes it is highly contagious, she started to develop the rash on her neck, where the infected chin comes into contact with her chest

Thank you very much
Anne






Mummy's boys said:
One of my sons caught ringworm from one of our guinea pigs. It was on his back and the typical ring shape of sores with a gradually spreading clear centre. I've seen pictures of people with ringworm on their face and it can just look like a spreading rash. Do your guinea pigs have, or have had, any signs of fungal infection, crusty, sore or bald/thinning patches? It cost us £22 for a sample from our guinea pig's 'crusty' area to be sent away for testing and took about 10 days to get the results by which time my son had developed the rash. The vet also said that they can brush through the hair and send a sample to test if there are fungal spores if there is no obvious area of infection. As far as I know ringworm is the only rash you can catch from guinea pigs. Otherwise your daughter could have an allergy which may or may not be guinea pig related. Excema can become infected. If you think it is ringworm be very conscious of the need for hygiene as it is easily transmissible.
Click to expand...
 
You really need to take them both to vet to get treatment for ringworm, it is easily treated in piggies but until they are treated they will remain infectious to every family member & other pets.
 
Agree they need to see a vet to be checked for Ringworm, however, I would have thought it would have been very clear that they had it, and by this stage would have been well developed. I have linked to our Ringworm guide that highlights the different stages and hygiene measures that are needed. If it is Ringworm, and it is left untreated your daughter will keep getting infected. The other possibility is an allergic reaction of some kind, so you may need to look at antihistamines for your daughter or restrict how she holds them (ie, not touching her skin).

Ringworm: Hygiene And Pictures
 
Thank you very much for your replies, the guide is very helpful. I will see a vet to make sure it is ringworm, as they have no visible patches. How can I find a good vet? I had a look at the forum but couldn't really find something near me. I am in North London. Thanks again
 
If you can get to Camden there is the Beaumont Sainsbury hospital?
 
Brilliant, let us know how you get on. Another forum member works there as a nurse so you will be in good hands.
 
The vet should be able to give you a diagnosis of ringworm by brushing through the piggy's hair and sending off a sample of loose hairs for analysis if there are no obvious signs of infection.
Like other animals and humans they can carry it anywhere on their skin. It can't grow on mucous membranes so won't be inside their mouth or nose. My son saw a pharmacist and got a topical ointment for his ringworm. He was told that after using it for 48 hours he would no longer be shedding spores. Your daughter is very young so may need to see a doctor for treatment although you could ask at a chemist for advice. We discovered that a friend of my son had transmitted the ringworm to our guinea pigs and he had got it from his cat who got it from the boy's cousin who got it from a friend. Obviously while your daughter is infectious you should not let her handle your guinea pigs and the vet will probably advise you to treat them so that the cycle doesn't carry on. I know what a pain it is to go through all the hygiene procedures. The most important ones are washing things at at least 60 degrees, wiping surfaces with F10 and lots of vacuuming to get rid of spores. Good luck. We are 14 months down the line and so far no recurrence thankfully.
 
Hello,
Thank you very much for the post, sorry I didn't log back in and only saw it today!
We took the piggies to the vet on Wednesday, he took a sample of hair and examined under a microscope but said he couldn't find anything, not even parasites (they are still scratching) He said the treatment for ringworm is unpleasant for Guinea pigs and he wouldnt recommend it unless we are absolutely sure it is ringworm. I preferred not to do the costly lab culture, actually I am not even sure it was ringworm in the first place because no one else in the family caught it and I didn't do anything more regarding hygiene precautions.

It is all very puzzling because I saw several times the Guinea pig's nose and mouth touching my daughter's chin and then the rash developing, but as you said ringworm is not in the mouth or nose. And although it did start as a round red patch exactly like ringworm it then produced little white spots that burst and now healing very gradually. (The doctors I have seen haven't been very helpful)
Thank you very much for all the support
 
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Anne2016 said:
Hello,
Thank you very much for the post, sorry I didn't log back in and only saw it today!
We took the piggies to the vet on Wednesday, he took a sample of hair and examined under a microscope but said he couldn't find anything, not even parasites (they are still scratching) He said the treatment for ringworm is unpleasant for Guinea pigs and he wouldnt recommend it unless we are absolutely sure it is ringworm. I preferred not to do the costly lab culture, actually I am not even sure it was ringworm in the first place because no one else in the family caught it and I didn't do anything more regarding hygiene precautions.

It is all very puzzling because I saw several times the Guinea pig's nose and mouth touching my daughter's chin and then the rash developing, but as you said ringworm is not in the mouth or nose. And although it did start as a round red patch exactly like ringworm it then produced little white spots that burst and now healing very gradually. (The doctors I have seen haven't been very helpful)
Thank you very much for all the support
Click to expand...
It's also possible that your child picked up ringworm from another source and contact with the guinea pigs was incidental. My son had ringworm when he was in grade school and the rest of us and the animals were unaffected. It can spread pretty easily between children. His was on the side of his forehead around his eyebrow. Putting an antibiotic or hydrocortisone on a fungal infection actually causes it to flare more and become less easy to diagnose, as it no longer looks like a typical ringworm rash after the failed treatment. I would just see that your daughter gets treatment and keep the guinea pigs as well- unfortunately kids come home with all kinds of stuff and who knows where it all comes from! We've dealt with head lice three times in the past couple of years- ick!
 
Freela said:
It's also possible that your child picked up ringworm from another source and contact with the guinea pigs was incidental. My son had ringworm when he was in grade school and the rest of us and the animals were unaffected. It can spread pretty easily between children. His was on the side of his forehead around his eyebrow. Putting an antibiotic or hydrocortisone on a fungal infection actually causes it to flare more and become less easy to diagnose, as it no longer looks like a typical ringworm rash after the failed treatment. I would just see that your daughter gets treatment and keep the guinea pigs as well- unfortunately kids come home with all kinds of stuff and who knows where it all comes from! We've dealt with head lice three times in the past couple of years- ick!
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for that. I also thought that the antibiotics had the wrong effect (aren't they supposed to kill the good bacteria and cause yeast) but I was unsure because there might also have been a bacterial infection with the fungus. I am using an anti-fungal cream and it seems to be working, although slowly

The vet said the Guinea pigs didn't have ringworm, but could be carriers. I am so glad that they are not ill - in fact they are very healthyI had been told I should get rid of the poor animals!
 
Anne2016 said:
Thank you very much for that. I also thought that the antibiotics had the wrong effect (aren't they supposed to kill the good bacteria and cause yeast) but I was unsure because there might also have been a bacterial infection with the fungus. I am using an anti-fungal cream and it seems to be working, although slowly

The vet said the Guinea pigs didn't have ringworm, but could be carriers. I am so glad that they are not ill - in fact they are very healthyI had been told I should get rid of the poor animals!
Click to expand...
Anti-fungals are slow to work on ringworm, and you have to use them for awhile after the rash is gone. As long as you're seeing improvement, you are going in the right direction. Once the skin is clear, keep on using the cream once a day or so for another couple of weeks. It's a pain in the butt... one of the nuisance ailments that comes with small kids!
 
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