Need Quick Advice -- Vet Trip?

[Guest ArtysPeople]

I just found this injury on Arty's foot. No idea how, but he sliced a bit of skin on the top of one of his back toes so that there's about a 1/2" long flap with raw skin underneath. It's still very attached at the base and is probably about 1/16" thick. Sorry for the crappy pics, but I couldn't manage to take good pictures without the flash, etc. I photoshopped them a bit to show off the image, so that's why it may look a bit weird on top of poorly exposed.

 

 

 

 

However, unless you bend his foot or pull it up, you wouldn't even know it's there. In fact, I'm fairly certain he did it yesterday, since i found a few spots of blood on his stomach last night but wasn't able to figure out where they came from. He even went for a walk last night and this morning without a complaint. I only noticed it today because he was licking his paw, which is unusual, so I took an extra close look. It's not bleeding at all, and doesn't seem to be causing him significant pain.

 

For now, I washed it out, put some anti-bacterial cream on it, put the flap back down, and then used a non-stick pad and some wrap around the whole foot to hold it on. He doesn't seem to want to put weight on the foot now that it's wrapped but I'm certain that's just because it feels weird he'll get used to it soon.

 

The vet is open for a few more hours this afternoon -- should I try to get him in for stitches or staples ASAP, should I wait and watch, should I use some kind of glue to put the flap back down, should I just let it heal on its own, or what??

 

Thank you in advance for sharing your experience.

[Cheryl2]

Not a terribly uncommon injury. Usually in the kennel, we just soak it several times a day in epsom salt water and let it heal on it's own.

[iluvgreys]

It doesn't look like something that could be stitched up. However, you wouldn't want it to get infected, and he might need to be on antibiotics. Might want to have your vet take a look at it.

[Guest ArtysPeople]

Not a terribly uncommon injury. Usually in the kennel, we just soak it several times a day in epsom salt water and let it heal on it's own.

 

Yeah, it looks like the kind of thing that happens fairly easily. What does soaking it do?

 

It doesn't look like something that could be stitched up. However, you wouldn't want it to get infected, and he might need to be on antibiotics. Might want to have your vet take a look at it.

 

That's one thing I was wondering -- I wasn't sure if it's the kind of thing that even could be stitched. Are prophylactic antibiotics a common thing for greyhound injuries, or is it reasonable to just watch for infection?

Edited April 12, 2008 by ArtysPeople

[iluvgreys]

Probably depends upon how clean you can reasonably keep the wound. See http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/cuts.html for info about epsom salt soak, and think about adding a little tumeric too. Might want to put a baby sock on his foot when he goes outside.

[Cheryl2]

The salt soak will keep it clean and disinfected. You really want to do it after they come in from outside. Keep an eye on it but they rarely require anti-biotics.

[Batmom]

I'd be inclined to let the vet have a look. Mine would probably give a couple staples a try, or else a bit of surgical glue (after a good cleaning). Wouldn't need general anaesthetic, local would do fine.

[Guest ArtysPeople]

Well, we didn't opt for the vet today. It really doesn't seem to bother him at all, and I'm hopeful that it will heal on its own. I bought some epson salts and was going to soak tonight, but it occurred to me that wouldn't it really hurt him to put a big open sore in salt water? The package says it's for soaking for sore muscles, etc., but says nothing about soaking wounds. Anyone want to assure me that I'm not going to hurt him if I put his foot and the open wound in salt water?

[MerlinsMum]

Sorry to hear about Arty's foot injury. He might not like the salt water, as it may make the wound sting, but I'm sure it's not going to hurt him. It's a shame you're an hour away, or I would drive over to yours with some of the disposable booties I bought for Merlin's first aid kit. They were great when he ripped his nail out and I wanted to keep the wound clean!

 

Arty - this is for you -->

[Guest ArtysPeople]

Sorry to hear about Arty's foot injury. He might not like the salt water, as it may make the wound sting, but I'm sure it's not going to hurt him. It's a shame you're an hour away, or I would drive over to yours with some of the disposable booties I bought for Merlin's first aid kit. They were great when he ripped his nail out and I wanted to keep the wound clean!

 

Thanks, but it's OK. Since the wound is on the top of his foot and it has a flap that comes down over it, it really isn't getting dirty at all. I cleaned it with H2O2 when he came back in after his evening walk, and there was no real dirt that I could see. I hope that if I don't lift it up each time I clean the wound, the flap will heal back down.

 

Arty - this is for you -->

Aw, no kisses for me?? Just kidding. I'll give Arty a kiss for you.

[MerlinsMum]

Sorry to hear about Arty's foot injury. He might not like the salt water, as it may make the wound sting, but I'm sure it's not going to hurt him. It's a shame you're an hour away, or I would drive over to yours with some of the disposable booties I bought for Merlin's first aid kit. They were great when he ripped his nail out and I wanted to keep the wound clean!

 

Thanks, but it's OK. Since the wound is on the top of his foot and it has a flap that comes down over it, it really isn't getting dirty at all. I cleaned it with H2O2 when he came back in after his evening walk, and there was no real dirt that I could see. I hope that if I don't lift it up each time I clean the wound, the flap will heal back down.

 

Arty - this is for you -->

Aw, no kisses for me?? Just kidding. I'll give Arty a kiss for you.

 

:lol :lol

[Guest TheDoggfather]

Anyone want to assure me that I'm not going to hurt him if I put his foot and the open wound in salt water?

 

I will. As Cheryl pointed out, mishaps like this happen in kennels (and in homes obviously) and epsom salt salt soaks are a simple way to address minor issues. We use them on our racers for a multitude of reasons... small wounds like the one your hound has would fall under this catagory. Make it warm enough that you can get a good 5-10 minute soak on the site.

 

[iluvgreys]

Actually, epsom salts is a gentler solution to use on a wound than hydrogen peroxide. That stuff (hp) can burn the skin if used undiluted. I personally would follow the advice of Cheryl and TheDoggFather, both of whom have plenty of experience with all the boo boo's that racers can come up with.

[gryhnd_adoptee]

I agree with many others here with regards to the Epsom Salt soaks. We use them here all the time for foot injuries. It really cleans and debrades the wound and promotes healing. I fill a bucket with warm water and salts and as my grey stands with the injured foot in the bucket, she gets lots of sweet talk and belly rubs so she stands still long enough for a good soak.

 

I also use a turkey baster to help circulate the water between the toes for tough spots. I just squeeze the bulb to create a current near the wound.

 

I also use baby socks wrapped with vet wrap at the top because I have a licker that will leave nothing alone. When she goes outside, a winter bootie goes over the sock to keep it clean.

 

Good luck.

[Guest nerak254]

Strangely, my kids and I were discussing this kind of stuff at Christmas dinner and I asked DD#1 what would be the best thing to do for an injury you knew you had to do something about but not necessarily stitches and she said Super Glue Gel. Apparently it isn't all that different than what happens in the hospital sometimes. We were talking about it at work today too when we were watching the Capitals hockey game and one of the players had a cut over his eye. I guess that is what often happens there too. Who knew.

[gryhnd_adoptee]

I'm not sure they actually use "Super Glue" for med injuries at the rink. There is actually a medical super glue which is used sometimes in place of stitches. Many years ago, my daughter got bit on her lip and under her eye by our grey. They were both laying on the bed and when my daughter went to get up, she startled the dog from a sleep and she came up snapping. It was nobodys fault really. She did not know the dog fell asleep behind her.

 

Anyway, in the emergency room they opened a vial of medical glue and glued the cuts closed. My daughter said it stung quit a but until it dried. It peeled off on it's own within a week leaving very little scar. The one concern though is to be certain the wound is absolutely clean or you would be gluing in stuff that could also cause infection.

 

Strangely, my kids and I were discussing this kind of stuff at Christmas dinner and I asked DD#1 what would be the best thing to do for an injury you knew you had to do something about but not necessarily stitches and she said Super Glue Gel. Apparently it isn't all that different than what happens in the hospital sometimes. We were talking about it at work today too when we were watching the Capitals hockey game and one of the players had a cut over his eye. I guess that is what often happens there too. Who knew.

 

[Guest nerak254]

That's pretty much what she said too, but that in a pinch the regular stuff would work too. I guess that appealed to me because it wouldn't mean anesthesia or a trip to the nasty "V" place.

[Guest Ola]

We've used epsom salt soaks for a number of cuts/scrapes also. I don't believe it stings (maybe someone can correct me on that) because when my grey had a fairly large wound that couldn't be stitched the vet recommended epsom salt compresses (couldn't submerge it because of the location). My grey didn't seem bothered at all when the wet cloth touched his skin, just kept sleeping.

 

Also, rather than wrapping it I would leave it open as long as he doesn't bother it because the air expose will promote healing. I'd put a sock or wrap it for going outside though so it stays clean, at least until it scabs over well. I've heard the same about peroxide, that it damages the edges of the wound and thus has a negative effect on the healing/scarring (you can probably learn more about it by doing a search on GT).

 

What I use for soaking feet in the epsom solution is one of those "family size" yogurt containers (but any tall plastic tub or jar would work too). Just don't fill it too high or it will overflow when you put the foot in.

[ahicks51]

The glue is either 2-octyl cyanoacrylate or 2-butyl cyanoacylate. The "SuperGlue" at the store is 2-ethyl cyanoacrylate. These compounds polymerize in the presence of water, forming acrylic (Plexiglas)- which is why the bond can be broken with a bit of acetone. They work very well on bleeding wounds, and are even used in commercial spray blood-stoppers. The big problem is accidentally sealing in dirt or other forms of contamination into the wound; if kept anaerobic, some very nasty bacteria can grow.

 

When Coco split the skin on his feet, I simply irrigated daily with dilute Betadine and wrapped very thoroughly. I taped the toes together to try to prevent the wound from re-opening, and then covered the entire foot in a sock. I checked it every 8 hours for any sign of infection. Had to do that for about a week, but it worked. I was surprised it healed over at all- it was in a very bad place, deep between the toes.

[Guest ArtysPeople]

Thank you all so much for the advice! It's so wonderful to have a resource like Greytalk and people like you all who are willing to share their experiences.

 

 

[Guest whatamasterpiec]

I have used epsom salts on hoof abcesses in a horse I used to have. It seemed like he could find every rock in the pasture to bruise the bottoms of his hooves on, which would then turn into an abcess. I finally put special pads on his front shoes to prevent it.

Anyway, he never minded the epsom salt soaks on his feet & he was quite the diva. If it had hurt he would NEVER had stood for it.

Good luck! Best wishes & healing thoughts coming your way.

[Guest ArtysPeople]

Just wanted to thank everyone who provided advice . . . pupdate is that he's got a nice scab holding the flap down and is healing up just wonderful! Thank you so, so, so much!

[Guest boni923]

Hope he's healing good.

[Guest MomofSweetPotatoes]

I would be inclined to go to the vet. My dogs are older and infections are not easily fought by their immune systems.

 

I see you've opted to watch and clean. Be sure to watch for any signs of infection, redness, warmth etc. to the area or limping (as you know) if you see any of these, do go to the vet.

 

Hope Arty is healing up well.

 

 

Edited April 27, 2008 by MomofSweetPotatoes

[Guest ArtysPeople]

He's still got a scab, but it's almost entirely healed and not even a hint of infection. Thank you again, everyone who suggested the saline baths.