Cure Ringworm in Dogs: Proven Causes & Safe Treatments
Ringworm is a fungal infection on the skin. It affects human beings and can also be found in pets such as dogs and cats. There are three main fungal species that cause this infection in dogs; microspore gypseum, trichophyton mentagrophytes, and microsporum canis. These are the same species that affect humans as well.
These fungi can be transmitted to the dogs when they get into contact with other infected dogs. Ringworm is not so common in dogs especially when they are older because they have a well established immune system. Never the less, it is still advisable for those who own dogs to know a little bit about this condition. This will helps them handle it best in the event it occurs.
Symptoms
There are a number of symptoms that indicate ringworm infection in dogs. The most common is loss of fur in the area affected. This leaves circular patches of bare skin. These areas are numerous and are spread throughout the body. In some cases, there is fur in the middle of the ring while the outer areas are bear. The hairs around the lesions are quite weak and can easily come off.
Typically, the dogs do not scratch the areas affected but there might be inflammation or development of a scab. Apart from the skin, sometimes the nails are also affected and become rough and break off. This nail condition is referred to as onychomycosis.
There are some dogs that can carry the fungi on their body without showing any hair loss or lesions. These are asymptomatic carriers and they can pass on the fungi to other animals or people.
Ringworm Infection Diagnosis
There are so many causes for hair loss in dogs and not just ringworm fungus. For a confirmed diagnosis, the dog has to be taken to the vet who will determine whether the lesion is actually due to ringworm fungi. In some cases, the condition does not manifest as lesions but appears as mange. It can also present itself as an autoimmune disease. In such cases, additional tests have to be done for a diagnosis.
One of the common tests used is exposing the dogs skin to special light which shows a fluorescent color on areas of the skin with fungus. Even so, this method cannot be used to test all types of ringworm since some fungi do not fluoresce under this light. So there is another option which involves getting some hair from around the lesion and examining them under a microscope. In order to get a diagnosis that is sensitive and specific, some of the scales from the skin lesions are scraped and cultured.
Treatment Choices
It is always mandatory to get ringworm treatment for affected dogs whether the conditions is serious or not. This helps prevent transmission to pet owners or other pets. It is advisable to get treatment immediately before the lesions spread. There are different options available for treating ringworm in dogs depending on the extent of infection.
Topical Antifungal treatment: this involves bathing the dog with shampoo that contains antifungal agents. This is done about three times a day, skip one day, and then repeated. For this to be effective, the shampoo should be left on the dog for a couple of minutes to remove the fungus from the skin. In some cases, the vet can also prescribe antifungal cream which is applied on the skin lesions.
Oral Treatment: this is administering of tablets to the infected dogs. There are many drugs that can be given such as griseofulvin. These have a dosage of one tablet per day for about a month. This drug is absorbed best in fat so the dog has to eat fat in its diet for the medicine to be effective. There are also other antifungal medications such as fluconazole, itraconazole and ketoconazole. Before administering any of these drugs, the vet has to check whether they will cause any side effects on the dog.
Fur shaving: in some cases, shaving off fur from the dog can be an effective treatment for ringworm. This is advisable when the treatment is severe. It helps remove the infected hair thus preventing spread of the fungi to other areas of the body.
In most cases, it takes a while before any changes are observed after treatment. Sometimes it might take up to a month before the dog gets back to normal. Pet owners need to take extra care of their dogs to prevent worsening of the situation. It is also advisable to isolate such dogs so that they do not get in contact with other people and pets. This helps stop spread of the ringworm to others.
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