It's war.
I think it is fair to say that I have been treating this ringworm for four weeks now. Before I knew it was ring worm I was putting nystatin on it, and grapeseed extract, tea tree oil, cleaning it with vinegar, cloromotrizal and then I used the tolnaftate. I even started using a combination of the nystatin and tolnaftate along with a bit of hydrocorotisone (to stop the itchy), and nothing seems to be working. Tim keeps saying "It's only been a week." No in fact, it's been almost two weeks, and it doesn't seem to be going in away, in fact the rash is expanding. It seemed like it was getting better a couple days ago but then ... it came back with a vengenance. For the record, I did not slack on attacking it either.
It's time for some serious home remedies. I did some research and found several home remedies that I am willing to try before I hit the last stage of desperation, which is using bleach (diluted at least). Tim is very opposed to the bleach treatment -- though it is highly recommended among boxers and wrestlers who don't have time to deal with constant cream applications. Tim however, is not dealing with a painful case of ringworm now is he?
Tonight I made a paste of sea salt and cider vinegar and applied it to both rashes. Oh yeah, I forgo to mention this nasty fungus moved to a spot on my back. I left it for 30 minutes and then soaked the front breast patch in cider vinegar for about 15 minutes. Then I washed it with water (after all I do have to nurse and didn't want Athena to taste any vinegar that might have sloshed down) and dried the area with a blowdryer. At first I had the setting on hot with a low blow.
Oh. My. Goodness. As soon as that heat hit the rash I swooned in ecstasy. It felt so unbelievably good. It was like some kind of drug and I just sort of waved the heat back and forth, closer and closer until I realized "Crap! The heat is going to make it blister and pop and make it all contagious again. Something this good feeling is super bad, I just know it." It was like the best scratching session ever...all done by heat. Once I cut myself from that I applied iodine and then blow dried it with a cool setting (all the fun was gone then).
I have to admit, it's the best it has felt all week. Except for my back. That section didn't get iodine. I am going to have Tim apply it. I am trying the less drastic solutions first before moving up. Here they are:
- Cider Vinegar
- Sea salt
- Bleach straight up and/or diluted
- Clear nail polish
- Vinegar and a penny (soak penny in vinegar and then rub on lesions, or tape penny over the lesion)
- Grapeseed extract
- Tea tree oil
- Antifungal cream (all that stuff I've been trying)
- Mudmask
- 1 Sheet of white notebook paper, burn it, blow ashes off and use remaining residue as salve
- Juice from a figleaf
- Mashed garlic paste
- Green walnuts - cut open and smear juice on lesions
- Wasabi paste
- Tiger balm
- Gentian violet (First thing I tried and it failed)
In other news, I went to the grand opening of the new Hy-Vee store here on Madison's east side. The place was packed. It was a total zoo. I couldn't believe how busy it was - don't people in this city have to work? Morella and I had a ton of samples as Athena slept. I got a few things -- namely butter for only 97 cents and diet pepsi for 1.97. My biggest complaint was that they didn't have anything for children to drink. Milk in jugs -- but no juice boxes. Since Morella can't drink milk I had no choice but to buy her a smoothie from the Caribou coffee shop. Their small smoothie is $4 and huge! It was a mistake to give that to her in the car because she dropped it and it spilled all over ... oh crap I forgot to go back and clean that up. Nutz. Anyway. It was a disaster. I talked to someone about it and left a complaint in a comment box regarding their lack of drink options for children.
Is it sad that I was looking forward to the grand opening of a grocery store and that it was the high light of my day? :P
Okay. Time to burn some paper so Tim can apply it before bed.
posted by hadjare @ 9:40 PM
5 Comments:
I don't want to seem lecturesome, but...it's just because I Care. Didn't you note earlier that ringworm can take four weeks to clear up? I would imagine that's with consistent application of a treatment routine -- choose one medication and stick with it for a while. Give it a chance to dig in to your skin and work -- rather than flipping through the home remedies so quickly.
I also want to say, see a dermatologist for a prescription. I know dermatologists tend to be booked up for months. Might be worth a try, however. Tell the scheduler that the ringworm has gotten severe and resists treatment. You don't need this misery as you try to handle a toddler and a newborn.
-SECP
wow - you've really done your research. that's quite a list of home remedies.
ah - NO, I don't think it's sad to have a grocery store be a highlight! I, too, would have made it a higlight if only I had known they were having their grand opening!!! (instead I stayed hoem and ripped apart cabinets).
ANYWAY --- *I* have a black light that you can borrow. I'll put it on my porch tonight so I remember to drop it off at your place on my way to work tomorrow. to turn it on, you just have to hold down the "on" switch until it starts to glow.
By any chance does your bra have metal on it?
I don't think that necessarily looks like ring worm. I think it looks more like eczema or contact dermatitis... In which case, keeping it dry and applying heat is the worst thing to do. I suggest seeing a doctor. Your PCP should be able to tell.
And Sarah has a good point about sticking to a treatment.
Good luck!
It actually doesn't look like ringworm to me either. A black light might be a good idea. Ringworm glows under black light. I thing I spent about $10 for mine at Petsmart..It is actually called a "Stinkfinder" for find pet urine. But it is still a black light.
My ringworm didn't itch at all so I was kind of surprised that you were having such a rough time of it. My vet is the one who saw it and told me I had it.
Bleach does work but it hurts and leaves a scar. It took a couple of years before my scar faded.
The best home treatment I found is a black walnut. But it only works when the walnut is still green. There is something in the green shell around the nut that does the trick. I think it is the wrong time of the year to find them green though.
Good luck!!
Childlight
OMG I just realized that I think what you have on your back is what I get on my arms and hands. I thought it was fungal or maybe eczema, I don't know if you remember i posted about it in my LJ about a year ago. I went to the doctor and he told me it was allergic hives and induced by stress and I said he was a complete crock.. he prescribed me allergy medicine and I thought he was crazy but I took them.. and in 3 days it all went away. And my spots are raised and red like yours and in a ring and bumpy.. and once you scratch it it itches so bad, just like crazy I can't stand it. Can you take benadryl while nursing? Just try it for a few days and see if it helps.
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