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Canine Ringworm

canine ringworm



Canine ringworm accompanied by a rash can cause a variety of symptoms with some veterinary medicine and medications used to treat the dry skin infection causing chronic diarrhea in puppies & dogs.

The skin infection is quite similar to mange and dog scabies.

The skin infection is caused by a collection of organisms known as dermatophytes. It is actually a fungus that can affect dogs, humans and even cats.

There are different variations of the fungus including Microsporum Canis, Microsporum Gypseum and Trichophyton Mentagrophytes.

It is highly contagious and can pass from dogs to humans and from dog to dog. It can even be passed from contaminated soil and even objects.

Canine Ringworm


Symptoms...

The symptoms of canine ringworm includes...
  • Hair loss and lesions.
  • The fungus lives in the hair follicles of your dog which break off close to the skin's surface.
  • Lesions that appear on your dog may also be very itchy.
  • The lesions can start off small and circular in shape but can also get bigger with a scaly appearance at the center.
  • Bold patches may appear and spread.
  • Dry and crusty skin is quite normal.
The skin infection has a very similar appearance to mange also known as scabies.

Diagnosis...
  • Your vet will examine your dog visually and may also use a woods lamp which will use a black light to look for fluorescence in any hair that has been infected.
  • Although using a woods lamp is often used, sometimes the infected hairs and fungus don't appear fluorescent - consequently the most effective and accurate method to diagnose the infection is to take a biopsy from an infected area of skin.
Treatment...
  • If your dog is infected locally i.e. in small areas normally on the head, legs, tail and feet a topical application of anti-fungal medication may need to be applied. Sometimes anti-fungal ointments are used in conjunction with a 2% chlorhexadine shampoo can be very effective.
Your dog may also be prescribed an oral anti-fungal veterinary medicine including Griseofulvin or Fluconazole.

It is important to mention that there are some quite nasty side effects to Griseofulvin veterinary medicine including...
  • Diarrhea.
  • Vomiting.
  • Birth defects.
  • Suppression of bone marrow.



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