Nail Bed Problems

[Guest desertlady]

My female is having problems with her feet. What appears to be an infection begins at the nail bed and makes the webbing on her feet sore, inflamed, open, and "oozing". We have tried everything from foot cleaning and soaks, with various products, to foot wrapping, feet in booties, homeopathic ie: like gentian violet applied topically, and antibiotics. She has just started on another round of 2 types of antibiotics. We have been battling this problem for a year. The antibiotics will clear up the infection but once the antibiotic is out of her system, about 3 weeks later, I notice the beginning of irritation again to her nail bed. Our vet has taken pictures and cultures and has consulted a dermatologist in the Phoenix area for help. My girl, BlueBaby, wants to lick at her feet so I try to keep her in booties, or on occasion a cone to stop licking. I'm open to all suggestions please.

[Guest Gweneth06]

I wonder if it might be SLO (Symmetrical lupoid onychodystrophy)?? Have her nails fallen out at all??

[BauersMom]

This sounds like SLO. It's treatable (one of our fosters was recently diagnosed) once the right diagnosis is made.

 

Here is some additional information:

 

http://www.grassmere-animal-hospital.com/SLO.htm

[cleptogrey]

but i have had numerios sessions of really infamed nail beds. the only thing that worked after cleaning it well- then powdering it w/ a medicated powder- gold bond or ammends, and KEEPING IT DRY! lots of powder, no more washing and with in a week it dried out and healed. my adoption rep who happens to be an excellent vet told me to do this. it's worth a try. my standard vet- who i have used since the late 70's and is also into "home remedies" likes desitin, the oinments for babies tushes. it's the same theory- keep it dry. but the powder works faster and doesn't get all over the place.

 

it's really frustrating, it looks like an oinmtent and antibiotics should do the trick, but the moisture is the cultprit. before more tests or drugs, why not give it a try?

 

if you can look up "cracked bleeding nail bed" topic from last fall, felix did a job on his nail bed and it got worse after traditional common sense treatment. then i finally called my rep.

 

are is nails falling off??? that's the true sign of slo. there also is a good section on care of nail beds in the care of your racing and retired greyhound book, worth a peek.

[BauersMom]

I would recommend getting SLO diagnosed and treated rather than wait for every permutation of "home" remedies because it is a very painful condition for the dog. No need to extend that while you play guessing games with other stuff. SLO, being an autoimmune disease, is only hidden by antibiotics/lotions/etc. Until you get the immune response under control, SLO will continue to be an issue.

 

And two - dogs can have SLO without losing the nails, or before the point the nails fall off. Regardless, it's still painful and uncomfortable for them and should still be treated.

 

Good luck

[DesiRayMom]

DesiRay has nailbed problems as well. Fought it all summer. Thought it was SLO at first; never lost a nail, though, just yucky coming

from nail bed causing him to lick & lick & lick until he had sores. Tried all the SLO protocols; never any improvement. Finally did a

culture, did a month-long dose of Cephalexin, changed his food to grain-free.

 

All that helped, but it's flaring a little again this winter. I've finally decided that it's some kind of immune system thing, we'll

have to deal with it forever; sometimes better, sometimes worse. The big thing for us it to keep his feet DRY and NO LICKING.

He wears boots outside at all times; he has no problem with them; seems like his feet (nail beds?) are very sensitive to cold & wet.

 

Also, when it flares, & he gets in that licking mode, he wears a toddler sock with some medical tape around his "wrist" to keep it on.

Amazingly, he doesn't bother the sock at all. Also the shorter his nails are, the better he does. His nails get dremeled every 2-3

weeks, to keep them from hitting the ground when he walks.

 

So far, this has been a mild flare-up, if it gets worse, I'm going to try epsom salt soaks, which were suggested to me here, &

sounds like it might help.

 

It's an aggravating situation. Also, his nail beds flare up on only one or two feet at a time; and usually not ever the same feet...

 

Good luck & let me know if you find anything that works well; I'm always open to suggestions.

[Guest courser]

One of my greyhounds had a problem with infection around the nail bed for about a year. Anytime he would run the skin would pull away from the nail and bleed. Couldn't get it to heal up even taping around it to protect it when he played. He was also on several rounds of antibiotics. Finally asked for an Xray to see if anything was in the toe that could be causing a problem. Turned out there was a small bone chip from an old injury. The toe had never been broken to my knowledge or even really swollen. The vet removed that chip and once that healed we never had a problem with that toe again. The vet really didn't think the xray was necessary when I asked for it because neither of us had ever seen any sign of a break or toe injury other than the nail bed problem.

 

The same dog did have a dislocation and amputation of two other toes at other times. Each time we had issues with infection. We found with him that he needed antibiotics for a month rather than 2 weeks after surgery on his toes to prevent infection.

[Batmom]

If it's the nailbed and webbing only, could be allergy.

 

I'm not one to jump rapidly on the food allergy bandwagon, but ... my angel Batman developed red, itchy feet. Primarily one foot (that was the one he could get to easiest); had to look close to see that all four were affected. Weird-looking, slightly weepy, orangey, miserably itchy. Several hundred dollars later, accidentally discovered the problem: He was allergic to fish and fish oil. No fish or fish oil, his feet cleared up in days. Fish or fish oil, it'd be back within 48 hours. Who knew.

 

Grain free wouldn't've helped.

[DesiRayMom]

Hmmmmm... Now you've got me thinking. DesiRay's foster mom did tell me that he got significantly worse on a TOTW fish diet.

 

I do still give him a fish oil supplement for his dry skin....makes his skin & coat beautiful, but maybe that's what is

aggravating his nail beds???

 

Maybe I'll just stop those supplements for a while & see what happens.

 

Thanks for the input!

[HoundHeavenAZ]

Poor Blue Baby and Mom. I have watched you both suffer with this mess for what seems like forever. This dog is sooooo tough! She rarely complains about it unless someone steps on her foot and even then, she just yips a bit and takes it. And you KNOW it has to hurt from the looks of it!! I've seen stoic hounds, but this girl is amazing.

This is about the third set of antibiotics for her. The last set worked very effectively and removed all but the tiniest crusty bit along one cuticle, but it returned with a vengeance within about 2 weeks after the meds were completed I think. So you know, Blue tested positive for Erlichia when she was adopted from the Tucson track about 3 years ago, so her immune system is no doubt compromised. Other than this mess with her feet though she has been a happy and healthy five year old girl.

I've read Dr. Stack's article on SLO and I'm not clear on why our vet, who we have great confidence in for our hounds, has disregarded it as a possiblity. Maybe because it has not affected her nails? Short of a nail bed biopsy it seems there is no way to diagnose SLO and that seems like it would be a last resort for me. I think I'd prefer to try the recommended drugs first to see if they'd work. Has anyone had any experience with the combo of prednisone and chlorphenerimin? I have been told that it is an antihistimine but am not sure that it makes sense for Blue since she has never shown any indication that her feet were itchy or bothering her until the sores appeared. Then of course, she licks them incessantly.

I know she has sent off cultures and was told that the second one had 4 or 5 nasty critters in it. And it seemed that the last course of antibiotics really was going to solve it, but no such luck.

 

Lets hope that the dermatolagist can come up with a solution. I hate to see you and Blue going through this again...or still.

Leah, Chip and Aunty

 

 

-

My female is having problems with her feet. What appears to be an infection begins at the nail bed and makes the webbing on her feet sore, inflamed, open, and "oozing". We have tried everything from foot cleaning and soaks, with various products, to foot wrapping, feet in booties, homeopathic ie: like gentian violet applied topically, and antibiotics. She has just started on another round of 2 types of antibiotics. We have been battling this problem for a year. The antibiotics will clear up the infection but once the antibiotic is out of her system, about 3 weeks later, I notice the beginning of irritation again to her nail bed. Our vet has taken pictures and cultures and has consulted a dermatologist in the Phoenix area for help. My girl, BlueBaby, wants to lick at her feet so I try to keep her in booties, or on occasion a cone to stop licking. I'm open to all suggestions please.

[Guest desertlady]

I wonder if it might be SLO (Symmetrical lupoid onychodystrophy)?? Have her nails fallen out at all??

Thanks for all the information. No, her nails have not fallen out. They look strong and healthy. We've talked about SLO, but thought maybe this wasn't the issue because the nails have not fallen out or become snarly in appearance. Feet are looking better with the antibiotics in her system. One suggestion made on this link was to use a powder like Gold Bond. I think this makes sense as I too have found that when I was trying to keep an antibiotic ointment on her feet it keep the webbing moist which kept the infection in place. I've also wondered about her immune system (Eherlichia diagnosed grey)being compromised. Other than the foot problem she is a happy, healthy girl. Food allergy is another thought and possible culprit. I feed a good kibble and home cook meat with veggies for my dogs. She is wearing her booties now to keep her feet safe, and not allow licking. Most of her nails are the correct length, but the nails on the lateral and medial side of the foot are longer than they should be. I'll be correcting this issue when the feet are less painful.

[Guest desertlady]

DesiRay has nailbed problems as well. Fought it all summer. Thought it was SLO at first; never lost a nail, though, just yucky coming

from nail bed causing him to lick & lick & lick until he had sores. Tried all the SLO protocols; never any improvement. Finally did a

culture, did a month-long dose of Cephalexin, changed his food to grain-free.

 

All that helped, but it's flaring a little again this winter. I've finally decided that it's some kind of immune system thing, we'll

have to deal with it forever; sometimes better, sometimes worse. The big thing for us it to keep his feet DRY and NO LICKING.

He wears boots outside at all times; he has no problem with them; seems like his feet (nail beds?) are very sensitive to cold & wet.

 

Also, when it flares, & he gets in that licking mode, he wears a toddler sock with some medical tape around his "wrist" to keep it on.

Amazingly, he doesn't bother the sock at all. Also the shorter his nails are, the better he does. His nails get dremeled every 2-3

weeks, to keep them from hitting the ground when he walks.

 

So far, this has been a mild flare-up, if it gets worse, I'm going to try epsom salt soaks, which were suggested to me here, &

sounds like it might help.

 

It's an aggravating situation. Also, his nail beds flare up on only one or two feet at a time; and usually not ever the same feet...

 

Good luck & let me know if you find anything that works well; I'm always open to suggestions.

[HoundHeavenAZ]

Glad to hear that she is responding to the meds (again) and so sorry to hear how many others are suffering from similar problems. I had no idea how common this was.

As for the allergy possibility - wow, where would you start? Eliminating grains first seems to be the consensus, but as Batmom pointed out you could be working for a while to stumble on the right thing. Not that it wouldn't be worth the effort, but it could take a long time and she has already suffered too long.

 

 

 

I wonder if it might be SLO (Symmetrical lupoid onychodystrophy)?? Have her nails fallen out at all??

Thanks for all the information. No, her nails have not fallen out. They look strong and healthy. We've talked about SLO, but thought maybe this wasn't the issue because the nails have not fallen out or become snarly in appearance. Feet are looking better with the antibiotics in her system. One suggestion made on this link was to use a powder like Gold Bond. I think this makes sense as I too have found that when I was trying to keep an antibiotic ointment on her feet it keep the webbing moist which kept the infection in place. I've also wondered about her immune system (Eherlichia diagnosed grey)being compromised. Other than the foot problem she is a happy, healthy girl. Food allergy is another thought and possible culprit. I feed a good kibble and home cook meat with veggies for my dogs. She is wearing her booties now to keep her feet safe, and not allow licking. Most of her nails are the correct length, but the nails on the lateral and medial side of the foot are longer than they should be. I'll be correcting this issue when the feet are less painful.

[msjpk]

I have been dealing with nail bed issue since we adopted Plummer 3 years ago. He presents with crusty nail bed, oozing and some nails have that "white" look. He also has lost a nail.

He was biopsied last year and results were hard as tissue was so sparce.

So for now being treated as autoimmune and is on 125mg and 325mg Clavamox plus 0.3 thyroid as tested and borderline.

Since the beginning of this treatment there is improvement.

However, after reading this post I considered a no grain diet and Plummer is on Taste of the Wild and no grain treats. I am also using a super absorbent powder, Zeasorb, treated after walks in this snowy weather.

I am thrilled as I am sure Plummer is with the improvement. No more licking and he is so comfortable. Keep paws crossed this continues.

Thanks everyone for the info and I pray your greys have relief from this uncomfortable situation.

Edited January 9, 2011 by msjpk