If your kid has ringworm Do you just need to get a doctor to sign the skin release or is there more involved

Well first he has to be under treatment for at least 5 days before you shoudl even bother going to see a doctor.

I started treating it saturday night when I noticed it. It is already starting to dry up.

Nigel's statement is incorrect!

See your family physician as soon as possible.

Be certain to take the approved skin form to the appointment and have the form filled out and signed by your doctor. Without the properly filled out form, if your child does not pass the skin test at weigh-in, he/she will not wrestle.

Ringworm is fairly easy to diagnose and treat. Most of the time, the doctor can diagnose ringworm based on how it looks. Sometimes the doctor will scrape off a small sample of the flaky infected skin to test for fungus.

If your child does have ringworm, the doctor will recommend an antifungal medication. A topical ointment or cream usually takes care of skin infections, but ringworm of the scalp and nails require oral antifungal medication. Your doctor will decide which treatment is best for you.

Thank You Richard. why would you wait five days to go to the doctor. That makes no sense. If you're sick with Pneumonia you don't wait for the condition to worsen before going to the Doc. Treat it immediately. and get to the doctor immediately. Or it can spread like wild fire. It might be some other much worse skin disease.

Where did Nigel come up with that recommendation??? Richard is absolutely correct. A diagnosis should precede the treatment. It won’t hurt to start treatment for ringworm but as Richard stated you need to get a Doctors diagnosis and release as soon as possible. Most doctors will sign a release for competition following 48 hours of treatment.

we have like 10 tubes of that creamy crap. so im set for life.

Thaks for the info, I have beren treating it with Lamisil and it seems to be working, I will take him to the doctor tomorrow

Nigel please correct me if I am wrong. I think he means that someone with ringworm shoud be under treatment 5 days prior to taking a skin release form to a Dr. for signature.
I have 2 sons that wrestle. 1 has acquired ringworm 3 times over the last 6 years. I am not sure how it works. Just because you have used an antibiotic for 48 hours - does NOT make you "NON CONTAGIOUS". We have been to several different physicians! I find it very very sad that doctors will allow atheletes to wrestle with ringworm - " Its only a fungus" ! I guess it depends on what MD you talk to!

bubbagump yo uare absolutly correct in your assesment of my last comment. I did mean to say that if you suspect you have ringworm you should begain topical treatment at first sight, then you should visit with your doctor so that he/she may make a proper diagnosis and give you a skin release if he deams the situation to be non contagious.

Now many experts suggest that ringworm is no longer contagious after 48 hours once treated HOWEVER this only applies to lesions already present, it does not account for places on the skin which have not broken out as yet and could later because of scratching, etc. SO what I am saying is even if you have put cream on a spot that you found for 48 hours that does not mean that you don't have the fungus on other parts of your body that have yet to show up.

So in my original comment I said 5 days because that should be plenty long enough time to see if more spots break out.

Now on to more important business. Technically a skin release form means very little in practice. Ultimatly the decision to let a wrestler on the mat who has visible skin infections is at the descretion of the official. He CAN overrule any Drs. skin release and even an onsite physician if he so chooses. Obviously 99.9% of officials would not overrule an on-site physician because obviously they are in the position to know better. However I have seen officials overrule skin releases that were signed the day before, and in those situations I was not the official on the mat, but had I been, I would have done the same thing. The skin form covers spots that a doctor has seen, it does not cover spots that he did not see. Also if the things are still wet and/or oozing, etc, You can bet no official is going to let them on the mat.

Basically what I am saying is skin forms are mearly a procedural thing that very little attention is paid to, just because you put cream on for 48 hrs does not mean you aren't contagious, or that you will be allowed to wrestle even if you have one. Keep that in mind before you go rusing into a Doctors office 2 days after you find a spot and possibly obtain a note, you may still not get to wrestle.

The skin form suggests 7 days of treatment, oral or topical, before returning to wrestling. Also, you need treat for 2 more weeks after the lesions are no longer visible to prevent a reoccurence.

Nigel,

I believe your wrong about a ref making a medical decision. I have the new approved form and component 5 states This form contains the inclusion of all components discussed has the potential to remove the referee from making a medical decision. If a lesion is questioned, the referee's role should appropiately be to see if the coach can provide a fully completed medical release allowing the wrestler to wrestle.

bubowski, Unfortunatly you interpreted what comp 5 says incorrectly. The components section is basically a guideline so there will be less mistakes made when filling out the form. Component 5 is a summary of the first 4 "Guidelines/Components" What it says in simpler terms is "If all of the components listed above are filled out correctly, a referee should not have to be placed in the position of having to make a medical decision" In other words its saying that if everything on the form is filled out correctly, then there really shouldn't be any reason for an official to doubt its documentation. Furthermore if the lesion is questioned and the form is filled out correctly, the referee need only show that form to the person questioning the lesion to end the debate.

I hope this makes better sense to you. This form is not saying that it superceeds another opinion. In fact an onsite physician can overrule a skin form that was signed by a off-site doctor 10 minutes before, if the on-site physician is desiginated by the tournament committee. But more than that the Referee has the absolute final decision as to who can wrestle and who can not when it comes to skin infections. We went over this at the District I officials meeting, and Mark Anderson whom I know most everyone here knows and is one of the most highly respected officials in our state said the exact same thing I'm telling you now. And that is if an official feels that an apparent skin infection is still oozing, bleeding, etc etc Than they are not to wrestle regardless of any notes they have. It is the referees descretion. Don't put too much faith in skin forms, they are useful so that in 99% of cases an official does not have to intervene, but always remember that they do have the right to not let a wrestler on the mat. If you don't understand this I suggest you contact Rick Bowden, Mark Anderson, or anyone else on the rules committe.

Nigel,
His ringworm is now drying up and is not oozing, bleeding or anything of that nature, The doctor said it was no longer contagious and signed off on the skin form. What are the guidelines for refs, ringworm is still visible up to three weeks after treatment.

A doc once told me that it was not contaigous, and you could only get it from a cat (which is obviously false). So if this is the kind of doctor that is signing the forms, I'd trust official like Anderson's word that has seen ringworm forever over a lot of docs.

From the NFHS 2004-2005 Wrestling Rules Book

Rule 3 Officials and their Duties

Article 4 . . . Before the dual meet begins, the referee shall:

a. Visit each team dressing room to inspect contestants for presence of oils or greasy substances on the body or uniform, rosin, objectionable pads, improper clothing, all jewelry, long fingernails, improper grooming, skin condition, health and safety measures;

and

Rule 4 Wrestlers' Classification and Weigh-In

Section 2 Wrestlers' Appearance and Health

Article 3 . . . If a participant is suspected by the referee or coach of having a communicable skin disease or any other condition that makes participation appear inadvisable, the coach shall provide current written documentation from a physician stating that the suspected disease or condition is not communicable and that the athlete's participation would not be harmful to any opponent. This document shall be furnished at the weigh-in or prior to competition in the dual meet or tournament. Covering a communicable condition shall not be considered acceptable and does not make the wrestler eligible to perticipate.

Article 4 . . . If an on-site meet physician is present, he/she may overrule the diagnosis of the physician signing the physician's release form for a wrestler to participate with a particular skin condition.

The Rule Book does not provide discretionary authority to the referee to overule a physician's statement or disqualify an athlete from participation who provides a properly signed communicable skin form.

Richard,
Thanks for clearing that up. I was wondering how an official can overrule a physician. Unless they are also a doctor they don't have the training or expertise to evaluate a medical condition.

Interesting conversation. I was wondering when I was working a table at Sub-districts how a child was allowed to wrestle with ringworm from head to toe. All we were told was the kid had a signed medical release, but I can't imagine letting my own kid even touch this kid with the massive amount of ringworm. I even had a kid come back to the table after wrestling this kid and spray himself down with the alchol bottle. I don't blame him. Nigel, I believe you were the ref for me on this day.

I think everyone needs to remember that the damaged skin caused by ringworm is what you see not the ringworm. Therefore for several weeks following treatment you may think someone has ringworm when in fact you are seeing the resultant skin damage. That is why we keep each week's skin form to show the history and diligence of treatment if ever questioned.

Richard as I am sure you know the official on the mat has the final say so to everything going on out there in all matters of judgement adnd otherwise, which is Rule 3-1-2. If in the opinion of the official, it is not advisable for a wrestler to be on the mat he may not allow him. As I said before this has been reiterated by both Rick Bowden and several high ranking officials. There have been situations in the past where a wrestler got a note signed by a family doctor who was pursuaded by friendship ties. Now this is not strictly ethical, but it happens. In fact I've heard people brag about it.

tjesse, you are correct I was on the mat that day and I did see that kid and I was absolutly disgusted by what I saw, and I myself sprayed my hands off with bleech after the match was over. This just reemphasizes what I said above, I could have denied this kid to wrestle even though he had a skin form and I don't see how he got it since he had at least 30 spots on his body, some of them as big as a fist. But I did not want to cause a bid controversy and none of the opposing coaches raised a concern.