Tell Me About Staph Infections

[Guest SusanP]

Spinner looks like he has a staph infection...again. This is probably the 3rd time in less than a year, and Wizard had one during that time as well. This one began to recur in a spot where he had it the last time, but when I began looking at him more closely, he has mostly eraser-sized black spots, only about 3 look pimply or crusty, all over his trunk, shoulder and hip on one side--didn't make him roll over to check the other side yet. Can staph spread all over his body like that? Is this getting dangerous? Our vet's office is closed til Thursday morning, and all I can do for now is dab the spots with the Animax cream she gave me for the small area he had last time (she didn't think it merited systemic antibiotics the last time and had me treat it topically). What is going on with this dog? Why are we having staph issues, and what can we do about it? Do we need to fumigate our house or something? It's kind of disturbing at this point.

[Guest SusanP]

Or could small, flat black spots all over a dog be something else?

[LuvAPuppy]

There are several different varieties of Staph bacteria. Most widely known is the well hyped MRSA which is one of the varieties of Staph Aureus. All people and animals have many varieties of Staph naturally occurring on their skin. When my Dane had recurrent Staph Epi infections it was the only sign we had of her onset of hypothyroid.

[Guest Stripeyfan]

Sorry to hear you're having problems with this! No experience personally, but this seems to suggest that there's no danger of contagion, if that helps to put your mind at ease any. Hope you can get it sorted out soon.

[Guest BlueCrab]

Don't know much about it, and I'm not a doctor (nor do I play one on TV...) but I've always been told that staph infections can be highly contagious on contact. I read Kelly's link, which talks about staph dermatitis - and which seemed to indicate it was not contact contagious.

 

But when I've known about people with staph infectins, the instructions have been for them to wipe down all possible surfaces (door handles, stairway railings, counters, etc) and for all bedding to be thoroughly cleaned, etc. So I'd double check the contact-contagion factor.

 

Contact contagion would answer the question of why it keeps recurring and why another dog has it in the family - that it's on a common surface (e.g. bedding, etc) and needs to be completely removed as a source in order for this to be beaten down once and for all.

[LuvAPuppy]

Don't know much about it, and I'm not a doctor (nor do I play one on TV...) but I've always been told that staph infections can be highly contagious on contact. I read Kelly's link, which talks about staph dermatitis - and which seemed to indicate it was not contact contagious.

 

But when I've known about people with staph infectins, the instructions have been for them to wipe down all possible surfaces (door handles, stairway railings, counters, etc) and for all bedding to be thoroughly cleaned, etc. So I'd double check the contact-contagion factor.

 

Contact contagion would answer the question of why it keeps recurring and why another dog has it in the family - that it's on a common surface (e.g. bedding, etc) and needs to be completely removed as a source in order for this to be beaten down once and for all.

 

This all usually applies to MRSA infections because in some people it can be deadly because it's so resistant to all antibiotics. I've never known of a pet to have this issue with any form of Staph or Strep or any bacteria.

 

Susan it's a concern because he seems susceptible to it. It would be nice to know why. I doubt he's going to become septic from staph dermatitis but it would be nice to know why he's so prone to it. Does he like to lay in the yard? Like I said, everyone has many varieties of Staph on their skin. If he's getting bug bites, the bacteria could be entering the bites and causing a localized infection. Staph usually looks like zits. They're raised cysts that thin down and show a head of pus usually. When they break open they leave a little crater of no hair that scabs over flatly. At least Echo's were, hers was Staph Epi which produces green/yellow purulent drainage when they open. (Staph Aureus is fairly green too).

[Hubcitypam]

All I know is that my foster had staph and it looked like fire ant bites to me. Almost three weeks on 1,000 cefelexin twice a day and he's good as new, at least outwardly. The vet was very firm in saying it was not contagious.

[Guest SusanP]

Yes, the main area is crusty, inflammed, pimples, but some of the spots turn black, and then I started noticing other black spots and panicked--now I think the others may be freckles I never noticed before (?) because they are not crusty. It's only just starting up again, so we gave him a bath with an antiseptic shampoo the vet recommended and put the cream on it, and actully, it's cleared up again--for now.

 

He spends a lot of time outside, often lying in the muddiest spots he can find and then jumping into his pool, which also becomes dirty. He may well get bug bites, but his problem area is on his chest, right where it rubs the ground. He also has summer allergies, and he's getting itchy, so that may be contributing. I'm giving him antihistimines for now, too.

[Burpdog]

Have you done a thyroid panel on him?

[Guest kydie]

Yes, staff can spread on a pup, let's non talk MRSA here, oral treatment is the best way to combat a staph infection, topical products work on the infected area, but even in a human with a staph infection of a small area, antibiotics are given. Staph is a nomal flora of the skin. but can cause an infection if a wound, or scratch occurs, you know wash a cut well after it happens, is not a old wives tale. MRSA is a whole other can of worms

Edited June 24, 2010 by kydie