My kid gave me ringworm

It was the little guy. He seems remarkably sweet and innocent. I could see Stormy giving me ringworm...He's not too big on the whole personal hygiene thing, but Gabriel likes to be spotless. It all started with a little rash that looked innocuous enough. Probably just a bit of dermatitis or eczema, I thought. Then it started to spread.

For those of you with multiple kids, you'll know that the more kids you have, the more cavalier you tend to become with illnesses. By kid number four, there's very little you haven't seen. You've been barfed on, teeth have been lost, dog food has been consumed in vast quantities (but not by the dog), falls have been survived from higher and higher locations. You get the idea. My wife is fond of saying that your first kid is like your best china, your second kid is Corel Ware, your third is Chinette, and your fourth is a napkin held as you eat over the kitchen sink.

The point being that we didn't exactly rush to the doctor when kid #4 got a rash. This isn't the sort of thing you get fussed about if it isn't accompanied by anaphylaxis. Once some hydrocortisone didn't take care of it, though, we decided to take him to the doctor.

She diagnosed him with ringworm. Really? Apparently, just one of the lesions had the ringlike structure of dead skin associated with ringworm, but the other bumps and such were ringworm, too. Did you know that ringworm is caused by the same fungus responsible for jock itch and athlete's foot? It's not actually caused by a worm. It's also highly contagious. That's fun, huh?

So a few days later when the back of my leg started to burn and itch, I was suspicious. Trying not to look like a dog chasing his tale, I tried to see what was on the back of my leg. As I spun around, I caught glimpses of a couple of red lesions, not unlike those on Gabriel's belly.

My kid had given me ringworm. There was a fungus amongus and it stinks. It didn't help when a friend of mine said, "Ringworm? He's got ringworm? That's the biggest pain in the ass. Make sure you put cream on it every day...it can take months to go away!"

Great. So now I've seen ringworm too. Noah was itching last night before bed. I have to wonder if it's just his mild case of hypochondria or if Gabriel infected him too. The little rugrat.