Where To Begin With Corn Treatment?

[Guest brindlebutt]

I am feeling so down. I'm here mostly for advice, but I really need to cry a little too.

 

My 5 year old Forrest has a corn on his hind left foot, a foot that he lost a nail on sometime before I adopted him.

 

I took him to a nice greyhound-knowledgable vet, and she hulled it, but warned me that it might easily return.

 

It did -- and far worse than ever. This one is significantly larger. I am presently protecting it with a baby sock with his Medipaw on top of it, while I think about what the heck to do next.

 

I searched through the GreyTalk archives last night, and there was so much advice, quite mixed, that now my head is spinning and I have no idea how to proceed. But I have to do something ASAP, because my darling is in pain.

 

I guess my first plan would be to take him back to the vet, have her hull it again, and then follow it up with Abreva or Dr Scholl's or some other topical treatment, and keep it covered with the baby sock and MediPaw.

 

Or should I just start trying the various methods I've seen in this forum one by one myself and see what happens? Corn treatment seems to so hit or miss -- that's what's got my head spinning. I want to help him so bad, but I don't know where to start.

 

1) Should I start with duct tape, and if so, how the heck do you duct tape a greyhound corn? I bought what was said to be industrial strength, cut off a small piece, but it doesn't stick at all.

 

2) Should I start with Dr. Scholl's OneStep Corn Removers, or another Dr Scholl's product? The nice padding they have seems like it would help, in addition to the medicine they have on them.

 

3) What do Epsom Salts do, anyway? Someone had a really cool idea about using an old IV bag and taping it around the foot to make the soaking easier. But how often does one have to do this?

 

4) Does Abreva need to be applied after hulling, or can it be applied to the un-hulled paw?

 

5) What the heck is dremeling? I am familiar with the tool, just not sure how it is used on corns. Forrest's corns do not protrude; instead, they seem to be deep within the tissue.

 

6) I've also seen reference to emollients like Bag Balm, but do not understand how they would help, and also do not understand when they should be applied.

 

7) I wouldn't dare hull it myself. And, from what I read here in the forums, surgery to remove the toe is out of the question.

 

Can someone point me in some direction, and help me decide how to proceed?

 

 

[Burpdog]

How long ago was it hulled? Usually it's done every couple of months. Did she do it in the office while you held him?

[Guest brindlebutt]

How long ago was it hulled? Usually it's done every couple of months. Did she do it in the office while you held him?

 

1 month ago

 

She did it in the office, while he was held by a vet tech.

[Burpdog]

Is he limping yet?

 

I'd have it hulled and use the stuff mentioned Abreva (I had to look ).

 

Check his other feet. How old is he?

[Batmom]

Our experience:

 

Zema's had to be hulled @ every 3 weeks. My vet charged $5-$10 for this service (I held the dog, no tech needed). In January she had to be anaesthetized for something else so vet hulled it again and just touched the surfaces with the laser. It is coming back now but she has had 5 corn-free months.

 

I tried duct tape (did more harm than good as it would not stay put for long and when it shifted it damaged healthy tissue), Kerasolv (no effect whatsoever), soaking (helped the corn margins separate from the rest of the pad so we could hull it), filing the corn and surrounding callus level with the pad (provided some relief sometimes but not always).

 

I didn't try corn remover. I don't think you would want to use corn remover AFTER hulling as the corn is no longer there -- you'd be applying caustic stuff to good tissue. Abreva can be applied after hulling because it's meant to treat sores, not dissolve tissue. Don't know if Abreva would do much good without hulling but it wouldn't hurt to try -- stuff is expensive but the teeny little tube goes a long way.

 

Hugs and luck with your corn.

[Guest brindlebutt]

Is he limping yet?

 

I'd have it hulled and use the stuff mentioned Abreva (I had to look ).

 

Check his other feet. How old is he?

 

Yes, he is limping very badly.

 

I checked all his other toes -- no sign of corns.

 

He is 5, going on 6 (next month).

 

[Guest brindlebutt]

Thanks to all who replied.

 

Here's what I think I shall start with:

 

1) Trip to the vet to get corn hulled.

 

2) Treat topically with Abreva. To keep the Abreva in place, and to cushion his toe, I will keep his baby sock all the time and TheraPaw all the time but at night.

 

I am also wondering whether an UNMEDICATED Dr Scholl's corn patch might help. They look like little donuts -- I am guessing they may take the pressure off the center of the corn/area that was hulled.

[Guest brindlebutt]

Just speculating on the cause -- as it is growing only on the toe missing a nail, might it infer that, lacking the protection and support of a nail, that pressure from a bone in his toe is the culprit?

 

If so, looks like he's going to be wearing TheraPaws forever. (He hates them. I may take the advice to buy another one for his uneffected foot, in the hope that the symmetry is more comfortable for my baby baby.)

 

[Guest KennelMom]

I'd go the hulling/abreva route. I've tried pretty much all the home remedies...had success with some, but the hulling, by far, had the fastest results. No experience here with regrowth...unfortunately, Cass went to the Bridge shortly after the hulling. Grandpa's went away with Dr. Scholl's only and hasn't returned

[Guest meandmygreys]

Speaking from experience...I have a corn and it kills me !! I'd rather get beat up than deal with this damn thing...anyway..Another thing I would try is a thing called sole pack. You should be able to buy it at a feed/tack store. Horses also get corns/absesses and are very painful. we pack the sole of the hoof and wrap it in vet wrap..sole pack is medicated..pine tar..etc. it has menthol in it I think...I would put it on the pad and wrap it up after the corn was hulled..the medicinal properties might help relieve some of the pain..I don't think it would hurt any to try it..I've never used it on a dog..but it is'nt caustic to surrounding tissue, so it should'nt hurt.

 

Just my thoughts.

[inugrey]

I am also wondering whether an UNMEDICATED Dr Scholl's corn patch might help. They look like little donuts -- I am guessing they may take the pressure off the center of the corn/area that was hulled.

 

We did that early on and the sticky stuff adhered to the pad and when we removed it some of his pad skin came with it. I don't recommend that. Go with the therapaws for padding and yes buy a second one to give him symmetry and to give him no choice but to use both feet for walking. He can't "fake" it by limping on the paw wearing the therapaw.

 

One of the theories out there about corns, besides the bacterial thing and thus treatment with Abreva, is that greys don't have as much padding in their, well, pads as "other" dogs. The corn is thus a result of rubbing inside their pad. If he's missing a toenail he MAY and I only say MAY be rubbing funny when he walks on that foot.

 

Corns suck! Some go away with treatment some never go away and you just maintain. Good luck.

[Guest LancePearson]

Kate's corn was probably the result of having an exposed aggregate concrete driveway which is very attractive looking pre-dog but is actually very rough and uneven at the surface. We bought indoor outdoor carpet runners from the garage to the lawn so she doesn't have to wear her Thera Paw to go out to do her business.

 

I've hulled it...three times but can't get it really deeply

 

I've used my Dremel tool to grind it off down into the pad area...it's just a big hard callous and isn't living skin so it doesn't hurt her if you are careful with a pointed dremel grindstone tool

 

I've put duct tape on it..a 1/2" square piece...for a week now and it seems to do nothing. If it does it will because it acts like a pad I think. I'm pretty resigned to just sanding it off or hulling it or both every three weeks or so. Tried the Abreva as well and that didn't work.

 

Maybe the outdoor carpet will keep her off hard, uneven surfaces and it will resolve itself over time with the hulling/dremel tooling?

 

don't know but I'm now convinced our driveway is the cause as it is the most uneven surface her paws see.

 

Lance

[Guest caro]

Here's an easy trick for duck tape if you decide to try it. Take a piece of duck tape stick it to wax paper (I used the waxy side of an old sheet of address labels). Then take a hole punch and punch out a bunch of duck tape dots. You can use your fingers or tweezers to remove the wax paper. And voila. perfect size for a corn. Then you can apply the ducktape with the tweezers. You have to check the duck tape daily to make sure it's in the right place. If it's on the healthy pad you want to remove it immediately and put a new one on so it doesn't soften the healthy pad. You want the duck tape to soften the corn and then when you change it ducktape you want it to take corn tissue with it. I think duck tape is only advantageous when a corn is returning but hasn't started hurting the dog yet. It's more of a proactive treatment. You can basically use it to slow the corn down.

 

I gave up on the ducktape after a while because it takes too long to work and HB's corns were bad. I started using dr scholls. It did a pretty good job of aoftening the corns. sometimes I'd even dig them out myself but that's only when the corns protruded like a nasty hook.

 

I think your plan sounds good. Definitley get 2 TheraPaw boots so that the feet are even. Good luck.

[Guest brindlebutt]

We did that early on and the sticky stuff adhered to the pad and when we removed it some of his pad skin came with it. I don't recommend that. Go with the therapaws for padding and yes buy a second one to give him symmetry and to give him no choice but to use both feet for walking. He can't "fake" it by limping on the paw wearing the therapaw.

 

Thank you so very much for the warning about the unmedicated Scholl's donuts. You saved Forrest a lot of pain.

 

I gave up on the ducktape after a while because it takes too long to work and HB's corns were bad. I started using dr scholls. It did a pretty good job of aoftening the corns. sometimes I'd even dig them out myself but that's only when the corns protruded like a nasty hook.

 

When you say you started using Dr Scholl's -- which product are you referring to?

[Guest brindlebutt]

I've used my Dremel tool to grind it off down into the pad area...it's just a big hard callous and isn't living skin so it doesn't hurt her if you are careful with a pointed dremel grindstone tool

 

Any time I try to touch the effected toe, Forrest pulls it away, indicating to me that it is extremely painful. Yikes -- what is he going to do if I try a dremel?

 

On the other hand, when his corn was hulled by the vet, he just stood there stoically, and didn't seem to mind one little bit. It must be those white coats that makes them think -- "oicks! I better behave myself!" I worry that he would never let "Mama" do it.

 

A question: when you say "Gring it off down into the pad area", what exactly do you mean? Forrest's corns are flush with the surface of his pad, indicating to me that they are sunk deeply into the pad tissue, and there is nothing that is sticking out. Do you mean dremel into the corn, like a kind of modified hulling?

[Guest caro]

When you say you started using Dr Scholl's -- which product are you referring to?

Sorry. It was the liquid corn remover. It came with the donut pads but I never used those.

[Guest hamiesmom]

Hiya, sorry to hear about Forrest's corn. My boy is 9yrs old and he has a corn on each of his front paws. He used to have them on his rear paws as well but they seem to have cleared up. He has had them since I got him over 3yrs ago. The corns have never been at the point where my vet could hull them. So, what I do is once every two weeks, I put Dr. Scholl's Freeze Away on. I like it better than the liquid. It is a freezing agent, just put on top of the corn for about 20-25 seconds. I also keep it dremeled flat to his foot pad and when we go out he wears therapaws. Most corns, regardless of what you do, will keep coming back. They are a nuisance, otherwise, my boy who has just had his annual vet visit is healthy, happy and looks awesome, then, I guess I can put up with the corns. For us its a return at night, after he has eaten, that I look at his feet to see how they are and he is very stoic and puts up with it all.