Skin Ringworm (Child)

Home care

Your child’s health care provider may prescribe a cream to kill the fungus. Or you may be told to buy a cream at the drugstore. Some creams are available without a prescription. Ask the pharmacist for help choosing the right over-the-counter medicine, and follow the directions on the package label. You may also be advised to use medicine to help ease itching. Steroid creams to treat ringworm are not recommended by the CDC, since they aren't effective and may make the condition worse.

Follow all instructions for using any medicine on your child. In difficult cases, such as those involving hair follicles, medicines by mouth may also be needed to treat the infection.

General care

• If your child was prescribed a cream, apply it exactly as directed. Be sure to not touch the rash. Wash your hands with soap and clean, running water for at least 20 seconds before and after applying the cream. This is to help prevent spreading the fungus to others.

• Make sure your child does not scratch the affected area. Scratching can delay healing and may spread the infection from one part of the body to another. It can also cause a bacterial infection. You may need to use “scratch mittens” that cover your child’s hands. Keep the child's fingernails trimmed short.

• If there are blisters, apply a clean compress dipped in Burow’s solution (aluminum acetate solution). This is available in stores without a prescription. Use disposable cloths, or wash the cloth well after use. This keeps the infection from spreading.

• Wash any items that may have touched the infection, such as clothing, towels, blankets, bedding, or toys, in hot water and detergent.

• Keep the infected area clean and dry. Clip your child's fingernails and toenails short, and keep them clean.

• Apply wet compresses to the rash to help ease itching. Wash these before reusing. This keeps the infection from spreading.

• Use two towels to dry your child after the bath. Use one towel on your child's body and the other towel to dry the infected area. Don’t use this towel on the rest of the body. Before reusing these towels, wash them.

• Check your child’s skin every day for blisters and patches that aren't improving or are getting worse.

• Have your child take antifungal medicine for as long as it's prescribed. The infection may become hard to clear up if the medicine is stopped too soon or used incorrectly.

• If a skin treatment (topical) is prescribed, use it everywhere the ringworm is found.

Special note to parents

Ringworm of the skin is very contagious. Keep your child from close contact with others and out of day care or school until treatment has been started unless the rash can be covered completely. Any child with ringworm should not take part in gym or other close contact activities that are likely to expose others until after treatment has begun or the rash can be completely covered. Athletes should follow their health care provider's recommendations and the specific sports league rules for returning to practice and competition. Your child should not use public swimming pools, lockers, or showers until the provider says it's safe to do so. Wash your hands well with soap and clean, running water before and after caring for your child. Teach all other people in the house to follow the same hand-washing method. This is to help prevent spreading the infection.

Ringworm gets easily transferred from infected animals to humans. Children are more likely to get ringworm from infected pets. If you suspect that your pet has ringworm, contact a veterinarian.

Follow-up care

Follow up with your child’s health care provider, or as advised.

When to get medical advice

Contact your child’s health care provider right away if your child has:

• A fever. (See “Fever and children” below.)

• A rash that doesn't improve after 10 days of treatment.

• A rash that spreads to other areas of the body.

• Redness or swelling that gets worse.

• Fussiness or crying that can’t be soothed.

• Bad-smelling fluid leaking from the skin. 

Fever and children

Use a digital thermometer to check your child’s temperature. Don’t use a mercury thermometer. There are different kinds and uses of digital thermometers. They include:

• Rectal. For children younger than 3 years, a rectal temperature is the most accurate.

• Forehead (temporal). This works for children age 3 months and older. If a child under 3 months old has signs of illness, this can be used for a first pass. The health care provider may want to confirm with a rectal temperature.

• Ear (tympanic). Ear temperatures are accurate after 6 months of age, but not before.

• Armpit (axillary). This is the least reliable, but it may be used for a first pass to check a child of any age with signs of illness. The provider may want to confirm with a rectal temperature.

• Mouth (oral). Don’t use a thermometer in your child’s mouth until they are at least 4 years old.

Use the rectal thermometer with care. Follow the product maker’s directions for correct use. Insert it gently. Label it, and make sure it’s not used in the mouth. It may pass on germs from the stool. If you don’t feel okay using a rectal thermometer, ask the provider what type to use instead. When you talk with any health care provider about your child’s fever, tell them which type you used.

Below are guidelines to know if your young child has a fever. Your child’s provider may give you different numbers for your child. Follow your provider’s specific instructions.

Fever readings for a baby under 3 months old:

• First, ask your child’s health care provider how you should take the temperature.

• Rectal or forehead: 100.4°F (38°C) or higher

• Armpit: 99°F (37.2°C) or higher

Fever readings for a child age 3 months to 36 months (3 years):

• Rectal, forehead, or ear: 102°F (38.9°C) or higher

• Armpit: 101°F (38.3°C) or higher

Call the healthcare provider in these cases:

• Repeated temperature of 104°F (40°C) or higher in a child of any age

• Fever of 100.4° F (38° C) or higher in baby younger than 3 months

• Fever that lasts more than 24 hours in a child under age 2

• Fever that lasts for 3 days in a child age 2 or older