PYODERMAS ( Skin infections )

[Dobified]

BACTERIAL SKIN INFECTIONS (PYODERMAS) Causes
- Staphylococci (‘Staph bacteria’) are the most common organisms found in bacterial skin diseases (pyoderma's) in dogs. Fortunately, these bacteria (S. intermedius) are not contagious to humans or other pets.

Signs
- Commonly itchy, yellow pustules are often observed early in the disease, and the dog’s skin can be reddened and ulcerated. Dry, crusted areas appear as the condition advances, along with loss of hair in the affected areas (lesions) and an odour.

All areas of a dog’s body may be involved, but most cases are confined to the trunk. The chin is one area commonly affected. Called chin acne, this condition is actually a deep bacterial infection. Obese dogs and dogs of the pug-nosed breeds are frequently affected by pyoderma in the skin folds on their face, lips and vulva.

Other areas where pyoderma may occur include between the toes and on the calluses of the elbows that mostly affects the abdominal area in young puppies.

Diagnosis
- This is usually made from the case history and appearance and location of the lesions. In some cases, it may be necessary to culture the skin (grow the bacteria) and conduct sensitivity tests to determine which antibiotic will be effective in treatment. Most bacterial skin infections in dogs are secondary to another disease such as parasitism, allergies, endocrine (hormonal) disorders or abnormalities in the immune system. Therefore, in recurrent cases, it is important to search for underlying causes. It may be necessary to do blood tests, allergy tests or skin biopsies to achieve a complete diagnosis.

Treatment
- Initial treatments may entail removal of the hair in and around the lesions, washing of the whole dog with antibiotic shampoos such as benzoyl peroxide, careful drying and the application of an antibiotic ointment to local lesions, in most cases, antibiotics will also be administered orally for 3-4 weeks. Bandages or a protective collar which prevents the dog from mutilating the lesions may be applied.
Some pyoderma involving skin folds can require corrective surgery. In recurrent cases where testing reveals no definable underlying cause, special staphylococcal vaccines as an alternative to long-term antibiotic treatment can be tried.

It may be necessary to continue treatments such as antiseptic shampooing, antibiotic ointment applications and giving antibiotics orally at home. While most cases respond to treatment, recurrences of pyoderma are common, particularly if treatment recommendations and follow-up visits to your veterinarian are neglected. Glucocorticoid steroids cannot be administered

[Aria]

good, info, this is a hard one for most people to understand when we ( as techs) see their animals, its hard for them to grasp the full effect of it... good post!!!

[Dobified]

Rudy has issues with Staph infrections. His low thyroid doesn't help matters. So I think it is important for people to see this and maybe they can figure out what is going on with their dog.

[kaortiz]

I'm wondering how much diet plays when your dog continually is affected by these bacterial infections. Any suggestions?

[rubyred]

Good post Dobified. We are treating Yancey for a bacterial infection. Apparantly there are many many kinds.

Originally Posted by kaortiz

I'm wondering how much diet plays when your dog continually is affected by these bacterial infections. Any suggestions?

I am not sure about the diet. If a dog were on a poor food, I would think it may have a lot to do with it, but that is not the case for me. My dog Yancey has had some type of bacterial infection since May 08. It is only in one spot, on his right hip and is about the size of a grapefruit. The whole time he has had this he has been on 2 different foods, Canidae and now Taste of the Wild. I wouldn't think it was the food, but then who knows.

He was originally given Cephalaxen which almost cleared it up in about 6 weeks. When he was out of the meds, he was almost healed and I mistakenly thought it would clear up on its own. It did not. It stayed the same a few weeks and then I thought it looked like it was getting worse again. I went back and forth on whether it was getting better, worse or staying the same. So in July, we went back to the vet and saw a different dr. who prescribed a different antibiotic, which made it worse and at an accelerated rate. So now we are back on Cephalaxen and it is getting better again, but VERY slowly.

[kaortiz]

Originally Posted by rubyred

Good post Dobified. We are treating Yancey for a bacterial infection. Apparantly there are many many kinds.



I am not sure about the diet. If a dog were on a poor food, I would think it may have a lot to do with it, but that is not the case for me. My dog Yancey has had some type of bacterial infection since May 08. It is only in one spot, on his right hip and is about the size of a grapefruit. The whole time he has had this he has been on 2 different foods, Canidae and now Taste of the Wild. I wouldn't think it was the food, but then who knows.

He was originally given Cephalaxen which almost cleared it up in about 6 weeks. When he was out of the meds, he was almost healed and I mistakenly thought it would clear up on its own. It did not. It stayed the same a few weeks and then I thought it looked like it was getting worse again. I went back and forth on whether it was getting better, worse or staying the same. So in July, we went back to the vet and saw a different dr. who prescribed a different antibiotic, which made it worse and at an accelerated rate. So now we are back on Cephalaxen and it is getting better again, but VERY slowly.

Thanks for letting me know. Here's a little bit of why we've done.

Our vet said we should bathe him in Selsun Blue dandruff shampoo and then once he's completely dry rub some Lotrimin Anti fungal cream on the affected areas (you can buy the store brand - much cheaper - called Clotrimazole). What I failed to do was really stay on top of it because while I was doing this it did make a big difference. He was also on chidlren's Benadryl (for the itching) which also helped.

I just read somewhere else that the Selsun Blue really does work but you need to bathe the dog at least every 4 days until it goes away completely so we just started that too.

Our vet also changed his diet, switching him to Venison and Potato dry and canned food. This seemed to help too. They also have treats. It got a little expensive for me though and then I was talking with a friend who had seen a holistic vet (who knew?) who was treating her dog for cancer and he had her feed her dog rice and boiled chicken (adding vegetables and fruits for variety; carrots, green beans, apples). He told her that this was a healthy diet for any animal, sick or healthy so she has kept her dog on it. So I thought I would try it. It's definitely more work for me but he loves it and he's lost some weight too (which he needed to do) and his hair looks better.

I'm reading so much stuff online and it's hard to decipher what's a good idea or a bad idea. Like I just read yesterday that it's a good idea to add a little olive oil to their food for their skin and coat. Don't know about that yet tho.

Sorry - didn't mean to ramble on and on. Hopefully we'll both have healthy dogs soon......

[linda8055]

Hmmm... Interesting information. Yes staph can be dangerous if it is not treated.

[Cearbhaill]

Originally Posted by kaortiz

I'm wondering how much diet plays when your dog continually is affected by these bacterial infections. Any suggestions?

Staph is a lot like demodex in that both are normally present on a dog and both can cause problems when they get out of hand. I know one is bacterial and one is mites, but the real question in both (IMO) is "what causes/allows them to get so out of hand to begin with"?

It is my own personal feeling that diet and condition play a huge role in situations like this where it is not a foreign invader, but something that is out of balance. Strengthening the dogs immune system so the body can find its own balance can be extremely helpful. Both of these conditions tend to strike dogs in high stress periods of their lives, or when their general health is poor. Once they get hold they are chronic, usually lingering just under the surface waiting for a chance to surge and present themselves as full blown episodes. Then treatment gets them somewhat under control, everyone relaxes, and then at some point in the future it blooms again.

I am not necessarily saying forgo traditional treatment, just that better food and immune system support can be a great help and can often turn the tide towards eliminating the problem rather than merely controlling it.

IMO

[rubyred]

Cear, where to start on building the immune system? What tests do I need to ask the vet to perform, if any?

[Cearbhaill]

Originally Posted by rubyred

Cear, where to start on building the immune system? What tests do I need to ask the vet to perform, if any?

If it was me I would start with food and provide as fresh a diet as possible and make every effort to weed out any treats or other foods containing dyes, chemicals, etc. If I was not feeding raw then I would certainly add raw components as enzymes are vital to life and destroyed by processing. I would add a non rancid essential fatty acid supplement like cold pressed salmon oil- this is most important as it supports the structure and integrity of every cell in the dogs body. I would use the highest quality digestive enzymes I could find to make sure the dog was actually absorbing the good nutrition I was running through it- all the good food in the world is useless if the dog isn't utilizing the nutrients. If antibiotics have been given I would reinnoculate the system with Bene-Bac or FasTrack probiotics.
I would give a fair amount of good exercise in fresh air and plenty of opportunity for good, deep sleep.
These things would be the most important.

In addition to all this depending on how deeply you want to delve into things you can supplement with a cycle or two of a variety of herbs like astralagus, milk thistle, goldenseal, echinacea, and foods like bee pollen and kelp. I would also perhaps suggest that you look into Ox-E-Drops (chlorine dioxide) which is added to food or water (or even applied topically) which is a bactericide, viricide and fungicide and also keeps the body's pH in balance which in turn allows good things to flourish and bad things to die. If there are any particularly irritated areas on the dogs body I would use medicinal grade honey which has a remarkable affect of healing wounds. You will have to bandage if it is in a lickable area

None of these things are contraindicated by any standard medications or treatments (except probiotics and antibiotics- finish the meds before you start the probiotics) but it is always a good idea to run things by your vet to make sure you are on the same page. I have mostly found my vets to be agreeable to my supplementation- worst case they are mildy amused and dismissive, but I have never had anybody forbid me to supplement.

The only test I would consider asking for is thyroid function,because if that is low then all systems are operating at a deficit.