A tribute to Uncle Doug
Several weeks ago when Marlo caught the cold that had already afflicted everyone else in the family, we were constantly chasing her around with a wipe to clean up her face before she rubbed it on a piece of furniture. Or on my shirt. Or — and I'm not kidding about this — on Chuck's head resulting in a tannish dog hair mustache on her upper lip.
Eventually a sore, chapped spot appeared on her cheek, and we tried to be careful to avoid that spot when wiping her face so that it could heal. Have you ever mud wrestled a wild boar? Me neither. But I imagine it would be safer and more sanitary than trying to wipe Marlo's face.
So her cold finally went away, and we kept waiting for that spot to clear. But that never happened. In fact, it looked like it was becoming more and more chapped. Like maybe she was secretly cuddling with a sheet of sand paper at night. Who knows! I wouldn't put anything past that kid. She doesn't learn from pain. Like that one time she was underneath the coffee table and for five minutes she kept hitting her head as she tried to sit up. MOVE TO THE LEFT, EINSTEIN.
Last week I got really concerned that it wasn't going away, and everyone in the house started making guesses and googling possible conditions. Eczema? Psoriasis? SHINGLES!? And then Tyrant starts telling me about a friend he had in LA whose kid had a rash on her face, and it got so bad that it ate through her cheek and left a gaping hole. I was on the verge of crying when he said that the kid eventually joined the circus as The Girl With Two Mouths because she had taught that hole how to speak and sing opera.
I'm thinking I should rent Tyrant out for parties.
I finally said, screw it, let's see what the doctor has to say about this and then immediately regretted that decision as I chased Marlo for an hour in the waiting room at the clinic. Last time we were there she wasn't walking. This time? Totally different. As in, I would rather spend another semester at BYU than an hour chasing my toddler around a waiting room where her sole goal was to put sick people in her mouth.
That bad.
We finally got in to see the doctor when she took one look at Marlo's face and was all, oh honey! Your kid has ringworm!
You have got to be shitting me.
How appropriate was that diagnosis? I mean, COME ON. My chipped-tooth baby Bobo done got ringworm on her face! Guess I'll just cover it up with some tape, dope her up with some hill juice, and we'll cuddle on the bed with some Cheetos and wipe our hands on the sheets!
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FM Living
Schnauzie_Mom said:
Poor Marlo!! Did you immediately Purell everything in your house? Ringworm is like my worst nightmare!! (Yes, I live a sheltered life:-P )
ETA: I love how Marlo's expression is all, Can you really believe I have ringworm?? A face this cute can't ACTUALLY have it!
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10.04.10 - 08:11 AM / 1slappyintheface said:
All of my girls got ringworm from the neighborhood cat when they were little. No fun at all !!! Be sure to take your doggies to the vet and make sure they don't have it.
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10.04.10 - 08:15 AM / 2Amy J. said:
You know it's just a fungus, right? LOL
I can one up you on this Heather...
A few months ago my oldest daughter told me her nose was sore. I said, "Ok" and proceeded to surf the Net. Two days later I noticed a red spot on the outside of her nose...she said it was sore. I said, "Don't touch it." A day later her nose was swollen...I got my husband's doctor light thingy and looked inside her nose. I saw a tiny pus filled blister, assumed it was a pimple...proceeded to do the gross thing and remove the pus (pop it..don't ask how, there was much screaming from my child) and put Neosporin on it (from my husband's clinical training days I knew "piss and pus must drain".
Anyway, I treated it for several days. It went away. The end.
Two weeks later she said "my nose is sore...".
I looked and the same pus filled spot was on the other side. I was becoming suspicious and automatically thought the worst (MRSA). My husband told me I was crazy (as usual), but I made the appointment that day. One culture later and we got the call that yes indeed it WAS MRSA!!! In my child's nose!! The stuff that can kill children and you hear on the news there is no cure for and is going to be the end of humanity eventually.
I freaked OUT. We figured she'd be banned from school and hooded with some kind of red cloak until it was gone. Nope. The doctor just gave me some ointment and some mega dose oral antibiotics and told me to tell her not to touch it!
Turns out that kids are petri dishes and that hand sanitizer and telling them to not pick their noses does absolutely no good.
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10.04.10 - 08:21 AM / 3dianaparkhouse said:
Well at least you know the spot isn't sore. Ringworm dun hurt :)
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10.04.10 - 08:28 AM / 4lovems said:
I don't know how they treat it now days, but when we were kids, mom used to just put clear fingernail polish on it (to smoother it) and in a few days it was always gone....
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10.04.10 - 08:30 AM / 5jewelsmum said:
After waiting weeks for a rash to clear, finally we went to the clinic. A parade of various interns and residents were brought in to inspect my daughter and then left to discuss the diagnosis (during which time I'm getting more and more freaked out thinking it's flesh eating disease or something worse). The winner? Ringworm! I was disgusted and briefly considered making her sleep in the garage until I found that it's not actually worms but a fungus (but ew! fungus? is that really better than worms?). No idea where it came from, none of our pets or friends pets have it. It cleared up and we've moved on, but yuk. I sympathize!
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10.04.10 - 08:37 AM / 6AshleyS said:
Yeah, how did the dogs/Leta/Jon/Tyrant/You manage to not get it? Because that shit spreads like...well, like fungus.
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10.04.10 - 08:44 AM / 7citypittie said:
Whoops. Better whip out the blacklight and check the dogs every couple days - you think treating a baby for ringworm is bad? They don't (normally) have fur.
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10.04.10 - 08:47 AM / 8The Dalai Mama said:
Could be worse. Now it really is time to get ride of the bobcat.
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10.04.10 - 08:52 AM / 9TexasKatie said:
LOL yeah - it is just a fungus that will go away with the cream they give you. It isn't like she has a real worm in her face, or anything. LOL. Although it does sound so awful - RINGWORM. WHY did they have to give it the same name as a WORM???? YUCKO YIKES!
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10.04.10 - 09:03 AM / 10MissCaron said:
POOR THING! I think your last paragraph is what sent me over the edge... I literally laughed out loud... at work... when I'm supposed to be doing work-like stuffs and not goofing off. THANKS. ;-)
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10.04.10 - 09:10 AM / 11vmc said:
I was away on a business trip and my mom called me to ask "Why does your son have a bald spot?" I said, "What bald spot! I just saw him yesterday."
I got home the next day and almost started crying when I saw this huge bald spot right on the crown of his little blond head.
The pharmacist said, "Ringworm!" and the cream she recommended said, "Doesn't work on scalp or nails."
That was July and you can still see the ring but it's mostly filled in with new short hair now.
The only good thing was that he couldn't see the ring by some miracle no one teased him about it.
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10.04.10 - 09:18 AM / 12Camille said:
Oh yea, I remember ringworm. Our doctor had all of us treated by applying undiluted Tinture of Iodine directly to the sores with a Qtip. No doubt the screams are still out in the atmosphere and circling the globe 40 years later. And those pinkish red iodine spots were real festive and purty lookin'...why it hardly drew ANY attention at all to the sores. Yup.
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10.04.10 - 09:44 AM / 13japrati said:
In addition to the Cheetos, please have her wash it down with some Mountain Dew...
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10.04.10 - 09:50 AM / 14kaethend said:
OK. So this is gross, but I'll admit: I had ringworm when I was in my early 20s. I was working with a bunch of kids and I had this funky rash on my arm. Couldn't figure it out.
I tried my best to hide it. But it was ITCHY.
Then one day a kid caught sight of it. She's like 9 years old. And she's all, "You got ringworm or sumptin'?"
Yeah. Guess so.
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10.04.10 - 09:57 AM / 15adamsrice said:
Shocker! not the hand gesture either. One can only imagine how that happened.
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10.04.10 - 10:38 AM / 16Amber_D said:
Thank God I'm not the only one who's kid gets a dog hair mustache when they have a cold. Seriously, if I don't hover over my daughter, tissue in hand, just daring the first drip of snot to make an appearance she has a mustache which is the envy of 13 year old boys everywhere.
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10.04.10 - 10:43 AM / 17luckymom22 said:
There's a fungus amongus!
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10.04.10 - 11:13 AM / 18Norabloom said:
Holy crap, how did your kid get ringworm?! I got that as a kid from playing with an infected goat! Still have the scars on my stomach to this day.
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10.04.10 - 11:36 AM / 19Ne11 said:
At least its not caused by worms *shudder*
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10.04.10 - 11:37 AM / 20greenplanner said:
You know you have to treat the dogs, too, right? They can be carriers without showing any symptoms.
Such fun.
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10.04.10 - 11:39 AM / 21lunacydress said:
Ugh! I got ringworm last March, just in time for my wedding dress fittings to start. Such a hassle. I volunteer at an animal shelter and it was probably an infected kitten that did it. I had to postpone dress fittings until I was sure it wasn't going to spread, because I didn't want to contaminate the dress.
It took several weeks for it to go away and stop itching (though, I think it stops being contagious almost as soon as you start the medication.)
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10.04.10 - 11:48 AM / 22The Prima Momma said:
Aw, poor Bobo. It should clear up in no time.
There are definitely worse fates: Scabies (EWE!) Pin worms (You have to spread their butt cheeks at night and try to catch the little worms unawares.) trench mouth (I can only imagine how bad that breath must be) MRSA (I would probably freak out and need to be institutionalized if my babies caught MRSA) Ebola...
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10.04.10 - 11:48 AM / 23npevey said:
I caught ringworm from my cats. I was in deep denial until my daughter's ballet teacher diagnosed me by screaming across the crowded room, "What's that on your face? You've got ringworm!" The thing you need to know is that it can take a really long time for the "ring" to go away. Like a year. So don't be alarmed if it takes a while to fade.
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10.04.10 - 12:10 PM / 24Norabloom said:
Sorry, I honestly didn't mean to sound so judgmental. Really just curious how she got it, although I know it's highly contagious so once she was exposed, it's not surprising that she caught it.
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10.04.10 - 12:11 PM / 25lavamama said:
I got ringworm from our newly adopted stray kitten when I was about 7 years old. I also got Cat Scratch Fever (that's right, it's not just a song) and spent a week in the hospital at the same time.
I second @aslapintheface about taking your dogs in. It's likely that's where she got it and they will just pass it back and forth if they aren't treated too.
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10.04.10 - 12:32 PM / 26genevieve said:
Oh, poor baby. I don't even know what ringworm is, but I know it has the word worm in it. And that makes it upsetting all by itself.
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10.04.10 - 12:41 PM / 27GreerPowers said:
Hahahaha! I love your Marlo stories! If this gives you any consolation, she may in fact have the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen. :)
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10.04.10 - 12:47 PM / 28thatton said:
Best Marlo story to date! Love it!
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10.04.10 - 12:59 PM / 29Ames422 said:
How is Marlo ( with ringworm on her face) still more precious than ALL of the kids I see at the grocery store?
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10.04.10 - 01:04 PM / 30