Ringworm is actually a fungi and not a worm. It can infect humans as well as animals. If you are in doubt that your dog might have ringworm, taking it to a vet is most likely to do since visible signs are not really observable.
Ringworm is medically known as tinea capitis caused by the fungi dermatophytes. Scratching can be an indicator among dogs, but it does not really guarantee that its ringworm that’s been causing the itch.
Ringworm can be directly transmitted to your dog from another infected animal and it can be transmitted to you, so it would be best to treat the infection of your pet before it gets even worse.
Healthy dogs are not likely to get infected with tinea capitis but puppies and young dogs are prone since their immune system is not yet ready to resist infection. Most lesions found in healthy dogs will heal on their own in 4 months’ time.
For severe lesions, it can be treated with topical anti-fungal creams provided that the animal should be thoroughly disinfected before applying the said cream.
You may buy over the counter solutions such as 0.5 chlorhexidine shampoo or a 2% miconazole shampoo. These anti-fungal shampoos should be used by your dog 3 times a day before lathering any anti-tinea capitis topical cream.
If there are any other uninfected pet in your house, it would be best to bathe them as well using anti-fungal shampoos but only for one time in a day. Don’t forget to use gloves when shampooing your dog especially on the part of the lesion to avoid transmitting the infection to your skin.
After thoroughly shampooing, you can now rinse off your dog and lather on the topical cream all over its body.
Here are some common medications prescribed to treat infection caused by tinea capitis. To be safe, do not use these before consulting a vet:
- Terbinafine
- Lamisil
- Fluconazole
- Diflucan
- Grifulvin V
- Gris-PEG
- Griseofulvin microsize
- Zeasorb AF
- Antifungal (Tolnaftate)
- Tinactin
- Terbinafine-hydroxy chitosan
- Tolnaftate
- Antifungal Spray
- Jock Itch
- Antifungal combo products
- Fungi-Guard
