Back From Another Derm Vet Visit

[Guest greytmonty]

We returned to our derm vet today as his skin infections are terrible and he has a big bullseye in addition to multiple lesions and bumps. She did a very thorough (ca-ching!) exam. She is running a culture and sensitivity blood test to see what the infection is to decide what antibiotic to use, he has not improved on Simplicef and Cephexalin. She also did skin scraping (no mites) and skin cytology. The cytology report reads " neutrophils with cocci bacteria". I am not sure what this means beyond the fact that he has infection.

As Monty is losing hair in many places I pushed her to do a full thyroid panel. He may have iatrogenic Cushings from his steroids. augh. The cultures and panel are pending.

She is holding off on a tick panel as she doesn't think this looks like Lyme or other tick borne disease.

She will call me in a week or so to tell me about the test results and to recommend a treatment plan.

Poor Monty is all poked and prodded. He is not a happy boy....

 

I like the vet however. She ends every written report to our regular vet with, "Monty is a very good boy."

Edited July 31, 2007 by greytmonty

[Guest Tenderhearts]

Well of course he is a good boy! He just can't stay away from the vet's for long!

[Greytlady94]

Poor Monty, he is really having a bad time. I hope the tests, cultures, etc. reveal what the problems are so he can be properly treated.

 

I would ask Monty's vet to consult with Dr. Couto at OSU. OSU has a lot going on with greyhound health and wellness and they may have seen something like this before, or done studies on antibiotic resistant infections.

 

http://www.vet.ohio-state.edu/1872.htm web site

greyosu@osu.edu e-mail

 

C. Guillermo Couto couto.1@osu.edu

(614)292-3551

(614)292-6464 to fax test results

[Guest greytmonty]

Poor Monty, he is really having a bad time. I hope the tests, cultures, etc. reveal what the problems are so he can be properly treated.

 

I would ask Monty's vet to consult with Dr. Couto at OSU. OSU has a lot going on with greyhound health and wellness and they may have seen something like this before, or done studies on antibiotic resistant infections.

 

http://www.vet.ohio-state.edu/1872.htm web site

greyosu@osu.edu e-mail

 

C. Guillermo Couto couto.1@osu.edu

(614)292-3551

(614)292-6464 to fax test results

Thanks, I was actually going to ask the derm vet for a full printout report from these tests and cultures and fax them myself to Dr. Couto. I know he consulted with Rhonda whose Bodie has staph that is antibiotic resistant so I would definitely like his input once we get the results. Thank you for the contact information, that is so great.

[RileysLegacy]

Try bathing Monty with Chlorhexiderm shampoo. Riley has antibiotic resistant, recurring staph also. He has been drug free for almost 2 years now because I bathe him with this shampoo. Onrushpam gave me this advice, and it has been a lifesaver for us. It cannot hurt and can possibly help, so it is definitely worth trying. My vet has been very pleased with the results and now recommends this to his patients before prescribing steroids/antibiotics.

 

You give Monty a bath every other day for a week, leaving the shampoo on for 15 mins before rinsing. You should see noticable improvements after just a couple baths. If it is working, keep bathing him every few days for a few weeks, and slowly reduce the baths to once a week.

 

Good luck!

 

eta - try to find the 4%. It is harder to find, but your vet should be able to order it for you if all they have is the 2%.

Edited July 24, 2007 by RileysMomma

[Guest WarmheartedPups]

Poor Monty...I am sorry

[Guest LadyChester]

Poor Monty ... he has sure had more than his fair share of health worries! I hope he heals quickly and that he doesn't have Cushings. Keeping both of you in our thoughts.

[Guest K9_Lady]

Healing thoughts for Monty!

[ml529]

Awww...poor Monty....just can't catch a break can he?

[kjw]

My Romi had an antibiotic resistant staph infection in his foot, we tried 3 rounds of AB over 3 months with very little improvement. Then I called my herbalist and asked for some help. His tincture plus some colloidal silver cleared the infection up in a week. Administering the herbal tincture was no fun, tho.

[Wonder]

How many rounds of meds has he had?

 

Sparks had a bad staph infection a couple of summers ago. It took 3 rounds (10 days each) to finally clear up. I also was giving him some herbal stuff (can't remember what) and putting grape seed oil on each spot.

[MarcR]

I hope they dtermine what's wrong, start the appropriate treatment and that Monty is well very soon.

[nyGreys]

Sending prayers for your Monty, and hugs to you.

:hope

[Guest PhillyPups]

YIKES Karen, poor Monty, and he IS such a GOOD BOY!! to you and sweet Monty.

 

 

[Guest LindsaySF]

What is he on the steroids for? Steroids depress the immune system, so it makes it harder to fight infections unfortunately. I hope he improves!

[Guest greytmonty]

What is he on the steroids for? Steroids depress the immune system, so it makes it harder to fight infections unfortunately. I hope he improves!

He is on Temaril P for severe environmental allergies. It was the itchiness from his allergies that caused the skin infections in the first place, augh.

 

Try bathing Monty with Chlorhexiderm shampoo. Riley has antibiotic resistant, recurring staph also. He has been drug free for almost 2 years now because I bathe him with this shampoo. Onrushpam gave me this advice, and it has been a lifesaver for us. It cannot hurt and can possibly help, so it is definitely worth trying. My vet has been very pleased with the results and now recommends this to his patients before prescribing steroids/antibiotics.

 

You give Monty a bath every other day for a week, leaving the shampoo on for 15 mins before rinsing. You should see noticable improvements after just a couple baths. If it is working, keep bathing him every few days for a few weeks, and slowly reduce the baths to once a week.

 

Good luck!

 

eta - try to find the 4%. It is harder to find, but your vet should be able to order it for you if all they have is the 2%.

Thanks I will ask about this today.

 

How many rounds of meds has he had?

 

Sparks had a bad staph infection a couple of summers ago. It took 3 rounds (10 days each) to finally clear up. I also was giving him some herbal stuff (can't remember what) and putting grape seed oil on each spot.

He was on Cephalexin briefly 2 months ago but it made him nauseated. He then had 21 days of Simplicef, off for 5 days, and now he is on day 15 of Simplicef.

[Wonder]

I hope he feels better soon

[Guest vahoundlover]

Poor Monty! Sending prayers this gets cleared up soon!

[Guest Bodie]

Poor Monty, he is really having a bad time. I hope the tests, cultures, etc. reveal what the problems are so he can be properly treated.

 

I would ask Monty's vet to consult with Dr. Couto at OSU. OSU has a lot going on with greyhound health and wellness and they may have seen something like this before, or done studies on antibiotic resistant infections.

 

http://www.vet.ohio-state.edu/1872.htm web site

greyosu@osu.edu e-mail

 

C. Guillermo Couto couto.1@osu.edu

(614)292-3551

(614)292-6464 to fax test results

 

 

I replied to your privately, but I forgot to add that I would definitely contact Dr. Couto at OSU. He will probably go over Monty's report with Dr. Hillier, the head of dermatology there, and they may be able to recommend something for poor Monty. If Dr. Couto wants to see Monty - take him there. It is well worth the trip.

 

Thanks also for the shampoo recommendation - I'm going to try that with Bodie to see if it helps his staph infection, which is slowly, oh, so slowly, getting better.

 

Rhonda

[Newgreymom]

When Dylan had a terrible staph on the skin, he was on Cephelaxin and then my holistic vet suggested adding Bovine Colostrum. It worked wonderfully and the staph never came back. The Cephalaxin alone was not doing the trick, but when I added the Colostrum it really took care of it. It is suppose to do something with the immune response. I give it every summer and fall when his allergies are bad and it really helps. Just a suggestion....

[Guest SillyDog]

I'm sorry to hear Monty's infection is so serious!

 

I found this site that might help explain some basic bacteriology stuff: http://textbookofbacteriology.net/medical.html

[Guest greytmonty]

Try bathing Monty with Chlorhexiderm shampoo. Riley has antibiotic resistant, recurring staph also. He has been drug free for almost 2 years now because I bathe him with this shampoo. Onrushpam gave me this advice, and it has been a lifesaver for us. It cannot hurt and can possibly help, so it is definitely worth trying. My vet has been very pleased with the results and now recommends this to his patients before prescribing steroids/antibiotics.

 

You give Monty a bath every other day for a week, leaving the shampoo on for 15 mins before rinsing. You should see noticable improvements after just a couple baths. If it is working, keep bathing him every few days for a few weeks, and slowly reduce the baths to once a week.

 

Good luck!

 

eta - try to find the 4%. It is harder to find, but your vet should be able to order it for you if all they have is the 2%.

Thanks everyone. I just ordered the 4% strength on 800petmeds site; Rhonda you can order it there for Bodie. They will call my vet for a scrip but I am sure she will approve it.

[fritofeet]

Poor Monty!

I hope the shampoo helps. I use it here too, but I think it is the 2%- it makes Hogan very shiney.

[Guest Bodie]

 

 

eta - try to find the 4%. It is harder to find, but your vet should be able to order it for you if all they have is the 2%.

Thanks everyone. I just ordered the 4% strength on 800petmeds site; Rhonda you can order it there for Bodie. They will call my vet for a scrip but I am sure she will approve it.

 

 

I came home and checked my pet supply catalog, which gave the active ingredient in Chlorhexiderm, and then I checked the shampoo the vet gave us and found it is the same active ingredient, but at 2%. I am going to keep using this until it is gone and then maybe switch to the 4%. Right now, I think the 2% is about all he can handle as it makes all of his scabs fall off. The directions on my shampoo say to use gloves - glad I did as it stained the gloves bright yellow! I shampoo Bodie outside, let him run around for 15 minutes, then hose him off. It's better than trying to keep him still in a tub for 15 minutes.

 

Rhonda

[onrushpam]

The Chlorhexiderm shampoo really does work... There's another one that has the same active ingredients, but also some "soothing" stuff in it.

 

I told Lucy about it because I had a cocker spaniel with terrible chronic staph... She had round after round of antibiotics and was on prednisone for it. A 'fill-in' vet at our regular vet clinic told me about the shampoo. We tried it and before long, our cocker was off all meds!

 

If you can't bathe the dog every other day, you can also get the Chlorhexiderm Wound Flush and just squirt it on every other day in between baths. You may need to dilute it, because it will REALLY dry out the skin. Just dilute it 50/50 with sterile water (boil the water, let it cool, then mix).