ringworm question

On Saturday I noticed that I had a small, red circle on my wrist. After a consultation with my mom (a nurse) she confirmed that I indeed had ringworm. I took my kitties to the vet on Monday--my vet looked them both over with a blacklight and didn't find anything. So, my question is, where did I get ringworm? I haven't had any contact with any other cats recently.

http://dermatlas.med.jhmi.edu/derm/IndexDisplay.cfm?ImageID=-1290060823

In my early 20s I went to my Gen Practitioner doc, and showed him a bright red, perfectly circular ring on my skin. He immediately diagnosed it as ringworm. It looked just like ringworm, and I had 2 cats. Well, after slathering myself in anti-fungal medicine to no avail, I went to a Dermatologist who promptly diagnosed it as Granuloma Annulare, not ringworm. He biopsied it (just scraped a few skin cells off w/a Q-tip) and confirmed the diagnosis. Then prescribed me a topical steroid cream that cleared it up.

Not all granuloma annulare looks exactly like ringworm, but mine did. Above is a pic of what it might look like if it spreads to be more than just one ring.

It is benign and they don't really know what causes it. Mine does flare up in the hot summer months and can get quite ugly on the backs of my knees - I'm sure everyone that sees it (when I wear shorts) thinks I am awash in ringworm! I had to convince my husband that it was okay to sleep in the same bed as me, it's NOT contagious :blush:

Anyway, think about a quick trip to your dermatologist, who can diagnose either condition in a jiffy.

Granuloma Annulare does look just like ringworm. I've been using anti-fungal meds for the past few days, and the red circle is practically gone, so I'm guessing I have ringworm, not Granuloma Annulare. But, I could be wrong. :shrug:

it will turn into a spreading, ugly mess! LOL

Glad it's improving. It's usually quite self-limiting.

a fungus that normally lives in the soil (and housedust). They come in three varieties: those that LOVE living in the soil (geophilic), those that LOVE living on animal skin (zoophilic), and those that LOVE living on human skin (anthropophilic). You may very well have caught one from the soil or dust, rather than from your pets or another person. An anthropophilic strain is going to be red and inflamed and aggressive on human skin. The others, much less so.

These guys live everywhere, and are part of life. They have trouble infecting normal healthy skin, but just love traumatized or escessively damp skin. I got it for the first time when we lived in OH and it was a warm and damp spring that year. Ringworm is an occupational hazard for us veterinarians, but here in SoCal I rarely see it, and catch it from my patients even less often.

Doctors always love to blame the cats for this stuff, but they are not involved in many cases. BTW, YOU can give it to THEM if you aren't careful! (then it's called a reverse zoonosis)

I asked my vet about giving it to my cats, and he said it could happen. My red spot is almost gone--is there anything I can do to keep it from spreading to my kitties?

it is unlikely to spread. Basic handwashing should suffice.