we have a child in our club that has been fighting ring worm for almost 7 weeks. Any suggestions on ways to get rid of it other then creams?

Actually yes. You can send him to the doctor for a prescription of Diflucan. It was originally made to fight yeast infections. But it also works wonders with ringworm, out team used to take it as a precaution and no one ever got ringworm during the season.

Aside from that you have to keep him off the mat for at least a week or more, change his bed sheets and pillow cases every night! and wash them. Make sure he showers both in the morning and immediatly after wrestling practice. That should clear him up .

For ringworm going on that long I would definitely go to the doctor. Griseofulvin (sp?) is an oral medication that is taken for 30 days.

As a preventative my pediatrician told me to have my kids use Selsun Blue as soap, from head to toe, twice a week during wrestling season. I also heard that if you have your wrestler use lotion every day to prevent dry cracked skin that it could also help avoid ringworm.

Unless the ring worm is in the hair, it should not take 7 weeks to clear up. I'd suggest getting another opinon from a dermatologist. Maybe it isn't ring worm. Over the counter lamisil should take care of it in a week. The skin damage from the ring worm may be visible for another week but it is no longer contagious.

Go to the doc, do what they tell you. Then shower every night immediately after practice. There is all kinds of debate as to what is the best soap and what to use or not use, many will say just shower. Prevention is key. Keep your mats clean. We make sure that wrestlers with ringworm are covered or don't wrestle if they can't cover the ring worm until the ring worm is no longer contagious. There are also a number of good products available to cover up with before you wrestle. This time of year I get on to my son so much he can't stand it to make sure that before every tournament and every practice he puts on a product called 99 from head to toe. It costs about $10 and will last the duration of the year.

Links:

http://dermatology.about.com/cs/fungalinfections/a/ringworm.htm

http://www.astdhpphe.org/infect/ringworm.html

Thanks for the tips. He has been to the dr. for a perscription. He also uses selsen blue, and his sheet and pillow case are washed daily. The ring worm is on his hair line so that may be what is taking so long. How ever I will suggest the oral med. - had never heard of that.

Once in the hair line one of the only ways to get rid of it is with the oral medication.

Our doctor told us that tinea cannot be transmitted from mat to person. Showering immediately after is the best prevention. There are orals available but docs are very reluctant to prescribe as they are hard on kids. We picked up some stuff called FUNGRX off of an internet site, fungrx.com. It has worked very well this year. It is expensive but worth it.

Tinea capitis is ring worm of the scalp. It cannot be treated with cream once it gets to the hair follicles. The oral is the best bet if you want it to clear up quickly. It is fairly agressive and some Doctors will not recommend it as the first treatment. Other meds are available but will take longer or fail. Request the oral if you want your kid back on the mat, and be prepared it is expensive. Also we have had the best luck with a dermatologist versus general practice Physicians for skin issues. This is their specialty and they do it all day and actually perform culture tests. We have dealt with this stuff for many years and this time of the year it starts to peak and show up. Like Mike said prevention is key, but early detection and proper treatment can turn it around inside of a week. Good Luck!

Many doctors will not perscribe the oral medication unless it is asked for. As stated before, if the ringworm is in the scalp or scalp line, it can be treated no other way. Is your club cleaning the mat before and after practice? We had lots of ringworm before our coaches took charge and made sure our mats were always cleaned. Now we have a few cases, but they are few and far between. Now most of the problems come from kids who do not shower or wash their practice clothes regularly. Moms and Dads, make sure this gets done and you won't have to bother with ringworm.

Will, this is interesting, our Dr. told us the opposite several years ago. It would be nice to know, I know that there is always those that talk about picking it up. It seems that certain tournaments always have a reputation for passing along ringworm. On the sites I listed, they indicate that ringworm can come from infected surfaces, other individuals, and pets.

I believe the quote from Mr. Cokeley's Dr. to be far from the truth, in fact medical evidence has already proven that ringworm which is a fungus can be transmitted by wrestling mats just like any other fungus, and indeed pretty much any other surface.

I have included a link below which backs up that claim, and there are probably thousands more just like it

http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/9339/10733.html

This is why it is important to keep your mats as clean as possible and any other surfaces that wrestlers come into contact with. I don't know Mr. Cokeley's Dr. But if he did truly say this, I think I would have to question his credentials, that right there is enough for a malpractice claim, not that anyone would ever do that.

Nigel,

You are right about the mat to person transmission, but you don't have to get so fanatical. I am a P.A. and I deal with this everyday at work, at home, at practice, in the Bronze Clinics, etc. etc. etc. YOU CAN AND WILL GET RINGWORM FROM A MAT THAT IS NOT CLEANED PROPERLY. We borrowed a mat once that had ringworm and we had never had a problem because the HS coach cleans the mat, then we clean it before kids club again. We actually had people get ringworm from the infected mat just by sitting on it rolled up in our room. Simple ringworm on the skin, no hair involved can be treated with antifungal cream, twice a day for about two weeks. Keep it covered at practice or contact sports. If it is in your hair you actually get a triple therapy from me, nizoral shampoo, grifulvin-the oral med, and a lotion for the scalp. It takes one to two months to treat tinea capitus(ringworm of the scalp). Once you have been on meds for 48 hours you are good to go back to practice but the HS skin form says 5 days. Also, the most important thing is to treat the infection completely so it doesn't keep coming back. I have actually used oral meds for prevention at times of big tourneys when there has been a problem in the room or at a tourney we are going to but it is not a medication without risk. I doubt the Dr. in question was very familiar with wrestling and was trained to be afraid of the oral meds. It does help to have a medical provider that is knowledgable of your sport and its problems. I have picked up a few patients because they are aware of the fact that I know wrestling so well. Ok, that's all so my two cents. Have a great day!

Ms. Jenni

What about other skin infections that keep wrestlers out? Exactly what skin infections prevent a wrestler from being able to compete?

I'd like to clear up a few facts regarding ringworm-first of all I have been involved on the medical side for quite some time and have discussed and researched this issues with several of the world's leading authorities in infectious diseases, pediatrics and NIH and the CDC.
In the 1990s Dr. David Vasily and Jack Foley of Leigh (dermatologist and director of sports medicine) wrote the original NCAA guidelines and were the major factors in mandating skin inspections and developed protocols for various skin problems.
In their research, and others, ringworm was shown to be spread from person to person contact. In review of the literature, the only published study of looking at wrestling mats as a source of infection (Thomas Kohl, M.D. Journal of Athletic Training,2000;35(4)427-430 showed that wrestling mats were not the source of ringworm infection. In that study, mats were cultured on a weekly basis immediatly after practice and before cleaning and no ringworm was cultured, however, there was still significant ringworm outbreaks. Also, in that study, ringworm applied to the mats was not viable past a very short period. Enough said-
there are still multiple studies showing the spread of other diseases from dirty mats and cleaning before and after practice is imperative! Skin inspect wrestlers daily and use other preventative measures as astutely outlined by others. One of the better preventative medication options includes fluconazole 100mg once a week to help prevent ringworm. Also note, there is no good data to truely say when a wrestler is non-contagious but probably within about 72 hours of topical treatment.

Oh I wasn't being fanatical I was simply sharing the fact. Studies have shown that wrestling mats and several other surfaces can indeed transmit tinea. Its been rehashed here by a few other people. Im not saying that the transmission from the mat is a major cause or that it even happens on a regualar basis, but it certainly never hurts just to make sure your mats get cleaned. By the way the sweat that comes from your kids as they roll around on the mat, from their shirts, kneepads, etc etc. That is all the moisture you need to start the spreading. Also if you are in a hot room with high humidity although you may not see actual moisture droplets on the mat it is still there. Its the same principal as when you go out to your car in the morning and there is a thin layer of frost on the windshield, the moisture is in the air and on the surface, the coldness of the surface causes the moisture to frost. All in all as a former coach and as a person who's been around wrestling for 14 years now, I encourage coaches to clean their mats both before and after practice every day.

Oh that reminds me NurseKS,

The answer to your question. By rule (Rule 4-2-3) "a participant who has a communicable skin disease or any other condition that makes participation inadvisable" Basically this is alot of things. Such as.. visible Hepatitis strains i.e cold sores, warts. HIV/AIDS is included in that, although the visible compications of HIV are not usually seen until late on into the AIDS stage these include Karposi Sarcoma. Bascially if a person knowingly has HIV/AIDS they should self exclude themselves from the sport of wrestling because of the shear nature of bodily contact involved. Other things include Chicken Pox, Tuberculosis, and a number of other things.

To put it more simply, anything that looks nasty, is oozing. And if a wrestler is sick although most wrestlers don't actually go out on that mat if they have a serious condition.

proudpop- do you think your wrestler could be reinfecting himself with his headgear? just a thought.

yes, i have had this happen too. most headgear can be machine washed if you are careful.

Thanks for all the tips. He went to a different Dr. and got the oral med. They were a little concerned about the affects on his liver at the pharmacy but the dr. didn't say anything.