Ringworm - am I treating this right?

[Sazzz13]

Hi there,

Looking for advice on what to do for my 10 week old girl who has suspected ringworm.

About 2 weeks ago I noticed hair loss on her nose with scabbing. I asked the lady I got her from for her opinion as she has owned pigs for years. She advised to apply athletes foot cream twice daily as well as ivermectin. I have 4 other girls so she said to give them all ivermectin too, however I had only recently given them a course of ivermectin so opted not to do this as the bottle says once every week for 3 weeks for an outbreak otherwise once a month as a preventative.

I’ve been giving the little one the cream for nearly two weeks now and she has had ivermectin twice, her last dose will be this Sunday. The hair loss on her nose is larger now and I can see a scab creeping up to her eye as well as some flaky skin on her ears. There is a big scab still on her nose too. The lady did say it will get worse before it gets better, but I want to make sure I’m doing this right as I’m not sure how much longer I should apply the cream for, and I certainly don’t want to get any in her eye. She gets quite agitated and wriggly when I apply the cream so I’m not managing to inspect her properly or get the cream everywhere it needs to go.

I’ve read the forum guide about ringworm and off the back of that have ordered an anti fungal shampoo as well as F10 disinfectant spray. My plan was to bathe them all once she has had her last dose of ivermectin (so next week).

Also their cage is in my bedroom and they are free roaming so can leave their cage anytime and roam my room which is carpeted. She has had ringworm for 2 weeks+ now and so far I have no symptoms nor do my other girls.

Do I keep going using the cream, ivermectin and bathe them all next week as a final prevention along with giving the cage a proper deep clean? I’m concerned about how to disinfect my room, should I not allow them to leave the cage for a couple of weeks (they will NOT be happy about that!).

Advice would be really appreciated as I’ve never dealt with a ringworm outbreak and I feel I’ve been lucky so far that my other girls seem fine…

 

[Mrs Tiggy Winkle]

Welcome to the forum.
I'm really sorry you're dealing with this, and I'm sorry for your little guinea girl, she must be pretty uncomfortable.

I'm surprised about the suggestion of using athlete's foot cream but I'm not the most medical savvy on the forum, on the contrary.

The medical thread is checked daily by the most knowledgeable on the forum about medical matters. I'm sure somebody will get back to you tomorrow with some proper answers.

 

[Piggies&buns]

I’m sorry to hear this

Using athletes foot cream is not the right thing - the person who told you to do it has given you very out of date and ineffective advice.
We would always advise a vet check before and not to use any on spec treatments. We will still advise you to go to the vet now for a diagnosis and correct treatment rather than trying to home treat - but now creams and ivermectin have been given it can make diagnosis harder as defining markers a vet uses for diagnosis are lost.

Creaming is the least effective way to treat ringworm. This is because when you cream, you only cream the area where you see the affected skin. However ringworm spores are shed from a much larger area on the body than you can see and therefore where you put the cream meaning spores continue to be shed so the issue spreads.
Ringworm has to be hit hard and properly from the beginning. Spores can live in the environment for up to two years so it is not something to go at lightly.

Shampooing or dips is the second best treatment as at least it gets the whole body. Malaseb or Imaverol are best used. However you cannot get this anywhere near the eyes so if that is where the areas are, then that makes things difficult.
Nizorol shampo is best avoided where possible (it’s only recommended to be used if there is no access to vet care) as it is very harsh on their skin.
The best treatment is a prescription only oral medication called intrafungol and then with one bath at the end of treatment to catch any loose spores.

It’s really good it hasn’t spread so far. The incubation period is 10-14 days but if they have picked up any shed spores, then you are not out of the woods until spores stop being shed (ie when no new areas are forming on her).
It is usually recommended that all cagemates are treated too.

Ivermectin is not a treatment for ringworm.
Also, It is never necessary to use it routinely as a preventative - we do not advise anybody to do so. Those kinds of pet shop treatments are too weak dosed to fully deal with a case of parasites and should not be used as a routine preventative as they can cause resistance. Ivermectin resistance is becoming an issue and we have had a few members find us when treatment for diagnosed cases is not working.
Only ever treat with a course of prescription strength medication if there is an active parasite outbreak and then immediately stop once the outbreak has ended.

I hope you can get on top of it and they are all ok

Ringworm: Hygiene, Care And Pictures

 

[Truffolo]

It is necessary to take your piggy to an exotic vet as an infection near the eyes is very serious and needs professional treatment. I hope everything works out OK