# Is this ringworm? Need help FAST!



## ProvidenceHill (Sep 9, 2013)

My daughter clipped her 4-H market wether today and we were horrified to find this spot. Because it is circular I assumed ringworm, but it was not crusty or hairless -- you can see from the photos there is hair throughout. Could it be healed ringworm? I told her to put some antifungal cream on it just in case. A little while later I went to check and he had chewed on it so now it's a bloody spot and even more ugly than these pics! She is supposed to show and sell him at the fair in 12 days. What is this, and how can we get it dealt with in time? What can I put on it to (1) heal it and (2) keep him from chewing at it? She has worked so hard since April and will be utterly devastated if she can't take him to the fair. PLEASE help!


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## LAIR-goat-farms (Aug 6, 2015)

If he is chewing on it then it is ringworm because it itches when the anti fungal cream is applied it causes it to itch/burn


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## janeen128 (Dec 31, 2012)

Blue Kote works for ringworm... Not too certain if that's what it is. However, blue Kote works well for a lot of things..


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

Put bleach on it. You can soak a cotton ball in it and apply it that way, some do it straight, some mix it 1:1 with water.


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## top_goat (Sep 16, 2014)

If you have a black light (like a bug light?) take it out there at night. Ring worm has a fluorescence to it. I have a goat with a spot like that...really weird...but it failed the black light test. It doesn't seem to bother her...hasn't spread or changed in months, but no hair re-growing either. Very wierd. Still don't know what it IS, but I'm satisfied it's not ringworm (at least on my doe).


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## ProvidenceHill (Sep 9, 2013)

Can we still do the bleach even though now it's bloody/raw? Seems like it would really sting. 

I had also read to use iodine, but I'm worried that will permanently stain the hair and if there's any possibility we can get this cured she won't want him stained for the fair. Same with the Blu-Kote, won't it stain the spot blue?


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## ProvidenceHill (Sep 9, 2013)

Also how do we keep him from chewing at it?


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Yes, bleach will sting, yes it kills ringworm instantly, It is about like giving a ivomec shot. He shouldn't chew once the bleach has burned it. If he does cut the bottom out of a tall plastic coffee can and lace it around his neck so that he can't turn his head well.


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## J.O.Y. Farm (Jan 10, 2012)

I agree on the bleach... Just treated myself and my doe herd that way.. Works like a charm! I just put it on a cotton ball and dab it on them 

Blu-Kote didn't work for my guys... It just made them crusty and purple LOL! It still spread and they still itched..


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## ProvidenceHill (Sep 9, 2013)

I put straight bleach on it this morning - he jumped and I know it stung. Then I followed with a good soak of an athlete's foot spray. I repeated again this afternoon and he didn't flinch at all, I guess it wasn't as open. I was thinking I would do it again this evening. How often do I need to apply the bleach -- at some point am I going to overdo it? Should I stop the bleach soon and just do the antifungal spray 3x a day or so? Or do I need to continue both?

She has 2 market wethers, so this afternoon we washed them both in a 1:10 bleach solution, cleaned their pen, and sprayed all the hard surfaces (buckets, feeders, fence, shelter) and the bare ground with 1:3 bleach. The second wether shows no signs but I'm worried he will get it too and she will be left with nothing to show. How quickly can we hope this spot will heal up enough so that it won't be an issue?


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## milk and honey (Oct 31, 2010)

I like nustock ointment to quickly heal skin issues


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## ProvidenceHill (Sep 9, 2013)

I'm concerned about the possible withdrawal time on Nu Stock, I can't find any info. on that.

Still wondering how long to keep up the bleach treatment. This morning was the 4th time we did straight bleach followed by antifungal spray. Do I just keep up the bleach the whole time in addition to the spray? I don't want to interfere with it starting to heal. Also wondering if at some point I should put an antibiotic cream on it to promote healing....?


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## ariella42 (May 22, 2014)

I believe that the bleach should have killed it immediately if it was ringworm (or many other things - bleach is powerful stuff). I think that continuing to use bleach would just irritate the skin further. Nu stock is just sulfur, pine tar, and mineral oil, so there shouldn't be any withdrawal time for it.


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## ProvidenceHill (Sep 9, 2013)

Goathiker, I sent you a PM!


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## ProvidenceHill (Sep 9, 2013)

I'm thinking maybe now, after 4 treatments, we should drop the bleach and alternate the antifungal spray with an antibiotic spray (to promote healing). Does that make sense? Anyone with experience please chime in, the stakes are really high for my daughter!


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

I recommend Lucas' Papaw Ointment. You can find it on Amazon. My goat got ringworm and gave it to me two years ago, and none of the Blue Kote, bleach, or anti-fungal medicines from the pharmacy really worked on either of us. A friend from Australia had sent me some papaw ointment for Christmas so I tried it as a last resort since nothing else was clearing us up. Our spots began to clear up right away, and it was gentle on our skin and didn't stain anything. I highly recommend it!


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## ProvidenceHill (Sep 9, 2013)

This is how it looks today, after 5 treatments of bleach followed by antifungal spray. He worries at it which is why it looks like a bloody scab. I'm thinking of dropping the bleach this evening and just doing the antifungal spray 3x day. 




It's maddening to think this one little spot could wreck my daughter's whole summer's worth of work, not to mention the $$ she put into buying and raising him.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Definitely stop the bleach. I would think it would keep it from healing.


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## ProvidenceHill (Sep 9, 2013)

I was thinking the same thing. I also wondered if I should put Neosporin on it, but worried it would trap moisture in there, which is what we don't want. Plus I wasn't sure if it would interfere with the antifungal spray. What do you think? It would be hard to keep him from licking the cream off I think.


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

Are you sure there isn't a Warble in that. It sure looks like a Warble hole from up close.


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## ProvidenceHill (Sep 9, 2013)

Do you think so, even after seeing the first pics (my original post)? Does a warble start like that, and how is it treated?


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## ProvidenceHill (Sep 9, 2013)

It looks like a hole in the pic, but it's a red scab. I think it's because he's worrying at it. But am I wrong?


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## goathiker (Apr 14, 2011)

If there is no hole then it's just a really thick ring worm or the fly has already gone. Either way it will heal up. It just struck me... We see a lot of these on wild rabbits and such in our area.


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## ProvidenceHill (Sep 9, 2013)

And thinking about it, there never was any swelling or anything, which a warble would make. If it is ringworm, does it look like it's moved into the healing stage?


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## sassykat6181 (Nov 28, 2012)

Looks like a bot fly hole to me


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## ProvidenceHill (Sep 9, 2013)

There's not actually a hole there though, just a scab. The time between the photo in my original post and the photos I posted this evening is about 48 hours and there has never been any swelling at all.


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

Hmm... that really doesn't look like ringworm in the second photo. At least, it looks nothing like the ringworm me and my goat had. As far as I know, ringworm doesn't usually form a scab, and if it does, it's around the outside of the circle, not in the middle. Ringworm also shouldn't itch badly enough to make him tear holes in his skin. It itches, but not like that. This could be an atypical case, but you definitely want to consider other causes besides ringworm at this point.


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## ProvidenceHill (Sep 9, 2013)

Could it be a sting or bug bite that got infected? Or maybe an injection site, he did have some antibiotics for a cough a while ago, but I am not completely certain that was the site, although it was on that side and given by a novice (DD). I don't think there's any way we could have missed an abscess or significant swelling though. He's been handled every day and if there was a major swelling or a burst abscess I can't imagine we would have missed it. But the sequence of events was (1) we clipped off 3" or so of hair and found that first pic; (2) we immediately put an antifungal cream on it; (3) within an hour he had chewed off the hair and it looked pretty much like the pic I just sent. DD thinks it is getting smaller though (I sure hope so!!). Maybe it was just an irritated spot and he couldn't get to it through all the hair -- and clipping and exposing it to air made him able to get to it. He's not chewing at it all the time though, it never looks raw when we look at it, just scabbed. I would put Neosporin on it but I'm worried the cream will block the antifungal. Maybe spray it first and follow that with Neosporin?
For reference, here is the first pic again, followed by how it basically looked about an hour later (and looks now):


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## ProvidenceHill (Sep 9, 2013)

DD gave the shots, so she is definitely a novice. I had a vet show her how to do a sub-Q - I figured since these are her animals she needs to learn to medicate them. I usually do sub-Q in the skin behind the front elbow, but it is possible she gave the last one there -- I was busy restraining the goat so I'm not positive. But I do remember telling her once she gave it a bit high. I wonder if that's it. It was at least a month ago though, we were very careful about withdrawal times.


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## top_goat (Sep 16, 2014)

That looks eerily similar to a spot one of my Nubian's got in reaction to a CDT. This was the spot (which I referred to in an earlier post) that "failed" a black light test that an old vet taught me to use for ringworm. I therefore treated it as an abscess, using gentle hibiclens washes daily (2x at first) followed by patting it dry (no rubbing...you don't want to disturb that scab) and an application of RED spray (just my preference as it seems to address a thing or two more than blue cote, though it is runny and doesn't "stay put" as well). It's healed beautifully...but I confess the hair is slow to return. At this point, I'd say preventing secondary infection would be very important. You might consider giving the hibiclens regimen 
a try. Good luck!


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## ProvidenceHill (Sep 9, 2013)

At this point I'm thinking it must be a healing injection site abscess. We are dropping the antifungal and going to a topical antibiotic. Hopefully it will heal enough in 8 days to be a non-issue at the fair!


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## HSA2012 (May 30, 2013)

*Try Essential Oils*

As certified aromatherapists, we use essential oils to treat wounds and skin conditions on our goats. For this, I would suggest Tea Tree and/or Lavender. Use real essential, not a fragrance oil. We have seen remarkable healing on a variety of skin conditions. Never had ringworm, but with tea tree being anti-fungal and anti-bacterial, it should work!


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## suzigoat (Mar 5, 2015)

Hello! Both my daughter and myself contracted ringworm from one male goat. We used Tinactin athletes foot spray (not powder) and we use it for about two weeks on the ringworm for ourselves. We got Jeffers First Aid ringworm remedy and that works too! The secret is to spray it for at least 2 weeks or it will come back when introduced to any kind of warm body heat. We get the Tinactin at Walmart for $2.50. Thanks


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## ProvidenceHill (Sep 9, 2013)

Thanks for the info! It turned out not to be ringworm, but a healing injection site abscess. It looks quite a bit better now although there is still a scar. 

I'll file all these suggestions away in case we ever do have to deal with the dreaded ringworm (I hope not)!


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## TCOLVIN (Sep 22, 2014)

ariella42 said:


> I believe that the bleach should have killed it immediately if it was ringworm (or many other things - bleach is powerful stuff). I think that continuing to use bleach would just irritate the skin further. Nu stock is just sulfur, pine tar, and mineral oil, so there shouldn't be any withdrawal time for it.


One time does it. Just get a good soaking the first time.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Glad she is better.


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