How to Treat Ringworm in Cattle - Morning Ag Clips -

Did you know ringworm can survive on surfaces for months waiting to infect another cow or even you? That is why it is super important to isolate infected animals and disinfect everything they touch once they are healed.

GREENWICH, N.Y. — Ringworm is unfortunately a frequent problem many cow owners face that plagues barns across the United States. Whether you own beef cows, dairy cows, young cows, or old cows, ringworm can wreak havoc on your herd. Knowing how to treat and prevent ringworm can help mitigate its effects on your herd, and your show season.

There are many products available and myths floating around about how to treat ringworm and prevent it from spreading. Read on to learn about the best way to treat ringworm in your herd and to get a better understanding of what it is.

What Is Ringworm?

Many farmers are familiar with the term ringworm. The annoying red, circular infection that takes a long time to go away on cows and humans. However, what is ringworm exactly?

Ringworm is a fungal infection of the skin that causes a circular rash that is red and itchy. It can infect humans and all domesticated animals, as well as live on a variety of surfaces for months or even years. 

Ringworm is also known as "tinea" or "dermatophytosis." In humans, it is sometimes called athlete's foot when it occurs on feet. In fact, it goes by several other names including jock itch, tinea barbae, and tinea manuum. No matter what you call it, it is still an annoying infection that can take some time to heal on your cows.

Will Ringworm Go Away on Its Own?

Ringworm can heal on its own but can take up to 9 months to do so. However, treated ringworm can heal within 2-4 weeks. So, if you realize your favorite show cow has ringworm a month before the show, there is time to get their hair growing in the affected area before you load them on the trailer to go compete. As long as you are consistent with your treatment, the ringworm should heal quickly without too much of a hassle.

Rule Out Other Factors

Before you begin ringworm treatment, make sure your cow's ailment is not caused by a different factor. Sometimes, lice, flies, ticks, cattle grubs, and mites cause irritations on the animal's skin that may look like ringworm at first. Ensure you can clearly see a red ring on their skin and not bumps or dry patches that can be caused by other parasites.

No matter what parasite your animal has, bathing them is a good first step. However, depending on the external parasite your animal may have, you will need to treat each type of parasite differently. Therefore, besides a bath, do not complete the rest of the following steps until you are positive ringworm is what your cows have.

Consult with a vet if you are unsure what is causing the symptoms your cow is displaying.

Treat Ringworm in Cattle

Once you determine ringworm is what is afflicting your cattle, you can begin treating it. Start by washing your animal with an antifungal soap to remove scabs from the ringworm. Afterward, you can use povidone iodine and/or topical creams 1-2 times daily until the ringworm is gone. Then, be sure to disinfect your barn to prevent the spread of ringworm.

Here is a quick step-by-step guide to help you through the process.

Wash the animal
Remove scabs from the ringworm
Apply povidone iodine or topical creams 1-2 times daily
Repeat the above process until ringworm shows signs of healing
Clean the surrounding environment to stop the spread of ringworm

When you have an animal with ringworm, it is best to isolate them to prevent them from giving it to others. Make sure they have their own halter, feed tubs, buckets, and scrub brushes used only on them. Once the animal is clear of ringworm, you can disinfect these items to use them with other animals again.

Many farmers do not have the time to do this step. However, if it's a show animal you want to take to the next show, we highly suggest taking the time to complete this step as often as you can.

When washing your animal, you can use an all-natural fungal shampoo like Terminator. These types of shampoos can also be used to prevent the spread of ringworm if your animal does not have it yet but has been in contact with one that does. Scrub the fungal shampoo on your cow, being sure to really scrub the ringworm, and then leave it on for ten minutes before rinsing it out. Check with your vet to make sure the fungal shampoo you are using is legal to use on food-producing animals.

We recommend washing your cow every day with an all-natural fungal shampoo, or as often as you can.  The more you wash and scrub the ringworm, the faster it will heal. Be sure to not use the same scrub brush and buckets on cows without ringworm, as this is what will spread it. After washing an animal with ringworm, be sure to thoroughly disinfect the scrub brush and buckets before using them on other animals.

Sunlight Heals Ringworm

Ringworm cannot survive under prolonged exposure to U.V. light, which is why you should let infected animals outside in the sunlight to heal as quickly as possible. A great time to increase their sunlight exposure time is during and after a bath if they are usually housed inside. Hence another reason why bathing your ringworm-infected cattle can be helpful.

The more sunlight your cow receives, the quicker their ringworm will heal. So, take your animals out for a walk, let them out on pasture, or just tie them up outside to bathe them.

2 Remove Scabs from Ringworm

While washing your animal, make sure you remove the flaky skin and scabs from the ringworm-infected areas. The treatment you use in the following steps will be of no use if it cannot reach the infection. The scabs that form over the ringworm will prevent the treatment from reaching the infection, thus slowing down the recovery time.

If you choose not to wash your animal, this second step is still imperative. You will need to find a way to remove the scabs from the cow before you can begin treatment. Make sure that once you do, the infected scabs are removed from the living area to prevent infection of other animals. Some professionals recommend burning the scabs to ensure the spread is stopped, but you can also just toss them in a garbage bag where they will not come in contact with any other animals.

3 Best Ringworm Topical Creams

Once you have removed the scabs from the ringworm-infected area, it is time to apply a topical cream. Povidone-Iodine has been proven to help fight off ringworm, so if you have some of that laying around, you can use it. You can also use a chlorexidine solution.

Your local veterinarian may have suggestions for what they believe is best to fight off ringworm. It is always good to talk to them about what their suggestions are. However, we recommend using the all-natural fungal remover Dr. Habs Ringworm Cure. The Udder Chaos show team has particularly good luck using this product twice a day on our show heifers to clear up ringworm fast. Again, check with your vet first before using any fungal products on your animal to ensure it is legal.

4 How to Know Ringworm Is Healed

You will need to make sure all scabs are removed and apply the cream every day for a few weeks. Eventually, you will start to see the ringworm infection heal. It will stop scabbing over and start to fade away.

A good indication that your ringworm is healed and no longer contagious is hair starting to grow back within the circle. Most cattle shows will accept animals on their grounds that have a good amount of hair growth within the ringworm circle. There have to be more than a few strands present to pass the vet check though.

5 Removing Ringworm from Your Barn

Feed tubs
Gates
Halters
Pens
Scrub brushes
Wash buckets
Water buckets

To disinfect these items and the pens in which the animal lives, you will need to scrub them with disinfectant and/or use a pressure washer. Pressure washers work great for pens and enclosed large areas. You can use a foaming sprayer on the end of a hose to spread the disinfectant around the large area and then rinse it with a power washer to ensure the area is completely clean.

Some disinfectants that work great at removing ringworm from objects and pens include:

Be sure to completely rinse the area to ensure the disinfectant is completely washed away along with the ringworm.

What If the Ringworm Doesn't Heal?

Some strands of ringworm can be more difficult to heal than others. However, it will heal with time. If you are concerned that your treatment is not working, you may need to consult with your local vet. There may be another underlying cause of the irritated areas on your cow that is not ringworm.

How Long Is Ringworm Contagious?

Ringworm is contagious on surfaces for as long as it is alive (which can be for months), which is why it is important to thoroughly clean your barn. It is contagious on an animal until the hair starts to grow within the infected area. This is why many cow shows will not let you bring an animal that doesn't have a lot of hair in its ringworm for fear that it will spread it to others.

With that being said, if your animal has ringworm and does not have hair in its infected areas, do not attempt to bring it to a show in an attempt to get it to hopefully pass the vet check. You will unnecessarily infect other people's animals who may have more shows to go to after the one you are at, and they won't be able to bring their animal because your cow gave it ringworm.

Be a team player and leave your ringworm-contagious animals at home.

Can Cows Get Ringworm Again?

There is a myth that once you get ringworm, you can't get it again. Many farmers believe this to be true and are therefore not concerned about decontaminating their barns after a ringworm outbreak. However, the truth is that the cows may become immune to the strand of ringworm that they had, but not all strands.

There are about 40 different species of fungi that can cause ringworm. Becoming immune to one does not protect from becoming infected by others. 

Hence, why it is so important to isolate infected cows and decontaminate the environment to prevent the spread. Cows that have had ringworm in the past could be re-infected if the strand the currently infected animals have is different from the one they had.

Can You Get Ringworm from Your Cow?

Ringworm is a highly contagious infection that humans can contract from their cattle. To prevent the spread of ringworm from your cows to you, consider wearing gloves while treating the animals. Wash your hands and up your arms with an antifungal soap and be adamant about keeping your environment clean of ringworm.

If you contract ringworm, use an antifungal cream like Lotrimin. If your condition worsens or does not show signs of improvement, you may need to contact your doctor. They may need to prescribe you an antibiotic to help you fight off the infection.

Can Your Pets Get Ringworm?

Ringworm is transmissible to all domesticated animals, including your other pets. Keep this in mind if one of your cows becomes infected. They will be able to infect your other animals such as your dogs, cats, horses, chickens, and even pigs. To prevent the spread, be sure to isolate your infected cow and consider washing your other animals with fungal shampoo that is safe to use on them to prevent infection.

Don't Let Ringworm Ruin Your Day

Ringworm spreads fast in a barn full of cows. Get ahead of the infection by following the steps outlined above. By doing so, you will speed up recovery time and stop the spread.

There is no reason to let ringworm ruin your show day. You work hard with your animals, let's make sure you get the chance to take them through the ring. With that being said, be respectful of other exhibitors if your cow has ringworm that has not healed. You don't want to be the reason they can't take their animal through the ring at the next show on their list.

Be sure to check back next week for our next article in the Udder Chaos column to learn more about all things show cows!

Lila Nolan is a dairy farmer in White Creek, NY who works at Morning Ag Clips. She avidly attends dairy shows and draws from those experiences to write about the Udder Chaos that occurs.

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