Sudden Hive-Like Reaction

[Guest itsagreytlife]

Just thought I'd throw this out there, in case someone else may have had a similar experience. We don't know yet what actually caused this. This past week, Selah developed large lumps (quarter-size on avg), like hives, all over her back with a few on the sides of her legs. This occurred in less than a 24 hr period during the daytime. No swelling or lumps or redness around neck, face or belly. Initially the lumps were just flesh colored, and soft, making her fur stick up. Over the next 24 hrs. the lumps started crusting over and a few started oozing pus (hate that word!!). She managed to lick just one raw, which is not too bad--but because of her chronic allergies she sleeps in a t-shirt, which I'm sure helped.

 

I should add at this point, that Wed. at bedtime she started acting a bit strange, probably due to discomfort, but also was trembling and panting. I was freaking out and was on the verge of waking my kid up and taking her to e-vet, when she finally settled down with some Benadryl. Early next a.m. she had a bit of trouble going downstairs and looked at me funny when I put down her breakfast (usually is the typical voracious hound). After a few minutes she did begin to eat with gusto. She never lost her appetite during this time. Different opinions as to the cause of this disorientation--from the severe secondary staph infection that resulted or from the possible severe allergic condition...

 

Took her to vet as soon as they opened Thurs a.m. They prescribed her antibiotics and took blood & urine for tests. OF COURSE, I had been planning on going out of town this weekend (this was Thurs I took her to vet) so I wasn't sure what to do. By pure happenstance, I had put her on prednisone on Sunday, in anticipation of our weekend trip, in hopes it would keep her from itching, licking, knitting herself due to what I understand to be a combo of her allergies and anxiety when we leave town. I also put her on Benadryl once the lumps started forming. I am grateful she had been on the pred, b/c IF this was a severe allergic reaction to something it could have been a lot worse!

 

Vet gave me benzoyl perioxide shampoo, which I gently used that afternoon on her. They instructed me to gently lift the crusty parts off. Well, that was an extremely disturbing and gross experience, as a bunch of (here it comes...) pus came out too (ick! ick!) and then her fur came off and underneath it all were just raw bloody wounds. Lots of them. It was awful! I was hyperventilating for awhile. Then I applied antiseptic to the wounds (so many!) and a bit of neosporin and then as the vet instructed, a t-shirt to prevent any licking. She was trembling and panting, but finally settled down and conked out.

 

I then had a moment to contact our vet dermatologist up north. Selah has had allergy shots for about 6 weeks now with no reactions. Her last shot was on Mon. and the derm vet was quite sure this could not have been a reaction to the vaccine since those always happen within 24 hrs. This was 2 days after the shot for that week. She is allergic to every category under the sun, but has been doing beautifully for several months--haven't had to use pred or even benadryl at all. I wipe her off after being outside and wash her with a special shampoo every couple wks, etc. Then, suddenly this! She is on the Z/D diet and has not been out of my sight, so its not something she ate.

 

The vet dermatologist has doubts about allergic reaction since she had no reaction around her face or belly, etc. My local vet doesn't know either, but ruled out ringworm, cancer, and some other stuff when her bloodwork came back perfect. He did not do a biopsy, saying he was going to wait until this cleared up. The derma vet said that steriods can change the makeup of the tissue being tested, thereby giving an incorrect reading (or something). Needless to say, my husband and son went on the trip without me. By Thursday nite she was still a bloody, gooey mess and I changed her t-shirts like they were bandages. The bit of disorentation went away by Thurs p.m., but she was lethargic for a couple of days. Thankfully, her sores are scabbing over now and she is acting normal. She's had 3 full days of antibiotics and they are doing their job. The regular vet gave me an iodine wash to dab on the sores 1x a day. I did that twice now, but am going to leave them alone from here on out, as the derma vet said it wasn't necessary. She said let the antibiotics do the work.

 

We are going up north to see the vet dermatologist this coming week. I have been taking pics every day of the sores and hopefully she will be able to determine some cause when she sees it in person. She will do a biopsy too. This has never happened to Selah--the most she has experienced is a few hot spot-like sores resulting from itching/licking which turned into staph. Her beautiful black fur is a total mess and the sores will eventually turn into many bald spots--right when we are going on a parade to show off the greys! It'll look like she had a bad case of mange. Oh well, she was a trooper thru it all, bless her sweet little heart. I just worry about another occurrence, esp. if I am out of town. Anybody see or hear of a similar condition?

 

Here's a pic of her back. This was yesterday, the day after her shampoo & vet visit.

And here's a closeup of one sore--same day (sorry for the grossness).

 

Thx.

[JohnF]

Most likely Staph Pyoderma which is usually secondary to fleabites or similar irritations.

 

see

 

http://www.ehow.com/about_5399371_staph-dogs.html

 

and also

 

http://devinefarm.net/rp/rpskin.htm

[schultzlc]

Oh gosh, I have no thoughts on what it could be, but I wanted to wish your Selah well. I hope, for her sake AND yours, that everything clears up soon!

[tbhounds]

Quite obviously an allergic reaction-- you may never know to what. I would hate to see the lesions if she wasn't already taking pred.

[Rickiesmom]

Looks like staph to me too - that poor, poor girl! And poor you!

 

 

[Guest itsagreytlife]

Oh gosh, I have no thoughts on what it could be, but I wanted to wish your Selah well. I hope, for her sake AND yours, that everything clears up soon!

Thanks--me too. Just wanted to tell you we almost named Selah, Luna! Beautiful name for a beautiful dog!

[Guest FullMetalFrank]

Poor little girl! I have a tip that we used when Jewels had her big skin tear on her back, maxi-pads stuck in the right places under the t-shirt can be changed a few times a day and saves on laundry. Hope she feels better soon!

[jamngrey]

No advice but prayers they figure it out hugs to both of uou

[Guest grey_dreams]

Our situation is likely very different than yours, but just in case there might be some useful information for you, I'll share our experiences.

 

Zuki never had allergies of any kind in the four years he's been with me. But in the past half-year, he started getting skin lesions like those in your photos, except his are confined to the inner/outer thigh and butt area on the left-hand side. It's taken some time to understand what was wrong. Two extended rounds of antibiotic therapy cleared it up twice, but they did not cure it. Also, Zuki was diagnosed with mitral valve insufficiency and the start of heart enlargement (left ventricle) at the end of December, a couple months after he started developing these lesions. I now think that in some way, his heart disease and his allergies are linked.

 

What I have been able to figure out is that, for Zuki, it is definitely a food allergy. He is raw-fed, so he always gets a variety of things to eat. By a process of switching variables, I have been able to determine what things he is having a reaction to. He still sometimes develops a new reaction to something that was fine before, so I have to keep notes about what he is eating. He always develops the lesions within a few hours, so I am constantly watching to see if he is having a flare-up, then I can eliminate the untolerated food. For Zuki, one thing that is certain to induce an allergic response is almost all oils and fats (even if it's just a minor ingredient of something), but he can still tolerate peanut butter (which is a blessing, because that's how I give him his medicines and herbs).

 

In early March, we had a consult with Marta Williams (the intuitive communicator) about Zuki's heart. One of the first things she said was that she felt his body and metabolism was becoming too acidic. She advised me to add alkalinizing things to his diet. At that time, I had never heard anything about acid/alkaline. After talking with her, I did some research. I did find that a lot of people with eczema/psoriasis have had very good success with following an alkaline diet, many people have said that alkalinizing has cured their skin problems. To make a long story short, probably Zuki's diet was too meat-based for his changing metablism (because of his heart). Both of my dogs run away from any kind of vegetable or fruit, so that doesn't work in our house. But they do like grass, so now they both get wheatgrass powder added to their food at every meal, and I've also started feeding raw (frozen) green tripe. I've also started giving them both cooked oatmeal with every meal, and they love it and it is very beneficial for them both.

 

They are both doing great! Before, it could take more than a week for Zuki's allergic lesions to heal. Now they completely dry up and begin healing as fast as they appear, so by the next day they are already dry with a new layer of skin starting to grow over the wound. So although the wheatgrass powder hasn't (yet) completely stopped his allergic reactions, they are obviously less severe than they were before and they heal up extremely rapidly. Maybe with more time, his allergies will also decrease, we will have to wait and see.

 

If Selah likes vegetables, you might see if she will eat more of them. If she likes grass, you might try to give her some wheatgrass powder. You can find it in any health-food store, be sure to buy only organic and the highest purity you can find. Again, I'm not implying that alkalinizing will immediately cure her allergies, but it might lessen their severity, so that you don't have to keep giving her pred or antibiotics or other chemicals that only mask (but don't cure) the underlying disorder.

 

Allergies can be difficult to pinpoint. Good luck to you and Selah.

[Guest BrianRke]

Flea allergy dermatitis?

[Guest sirsmom]

To me, it looks like a fungal infection. Our cat onced developed lesions like that and it turned out to be Ringworm.

 

Just saw Ringworm ruled out; sorry

Edited April 23, 2012 by sirsmom

[carronstar]

No advice. Just hoping your Selah heals swiftly.

[DaisyDoodle]

Couldn't say what it might be, but staph does sound likely.

 

The question I would still have is what caused the initial insult to allow the staph infection to take hold. Since the spots are just on top of the back and an elbow, it seems like something the dog is coming in contact with something when she is upright. Do you know if she is "trancing"? Walking under hanging/weeping type vines, shrubs, etc and allowing them to brush gently on her coat/skin? Have you planted any new plants or hiked in new areas that might have exposed her to her plants?

 

I hope she is feeling better, even if you don't figure out what it is.

Edited April 24, 2012 by DaisyDoodle

[Guest itsagreytlife]

Couldn't say what it might be, but staph does sound likely.

 

The question I would still have is what caused the initial insult to allow the staph infection to take hold. Since the spots are just on top of the back and an elbow, it seems like something the dog is coming in contact with something when she is upright. Do you know if she is "trancing"? Walking under hanging/weeping type vines, shrubs, etc and allowing them to brush gently on her coat/skin? Have you planted any new plants or hiked in new areas that might have exposed her to her plants?

 

I hope she is feeling better, even if you don't figure out what it is.

 

We do have a weeping willow out back, but she's been walking under it since she came to us last July. No new plants, and we went hiking, but that was a week & a half before the incident. Very savvy considerations, though. Thanks!

 

FullMetalFrank

Posted Yesterday, 12:06 AM

 

Poor little girl! I have a tip that we used when Jewels had her big skin tear on her back, maxi-pads stuck in the right places under the t-shirt can be changed a few times a day and saves on laundry. Hope she feels better soon!

 

This is a great idea! She has finally scabbed over now, but if (or when?) this recurs I will do just that. One question: Did you find the pad stuck to her skin when you changed it? Thank you!

 

grey_dreams

Posted Yesterday, 07:25 AM

 

Our situation is likely very different than yours, but just in case there might be some useful information for you, I'll share our experiences.

 

Thanks so much for taking the time to share, greydreams. I will take it all under consideration. I do know she has been known to enjoy some grass (the green blades in the yard kind of "grass" ), so maybe the wheatgrass is something we can look into later. I sure hope Selah doesn't have a heart problem on top of all this, but at this point, who knows? She is on a very strict hypoallergenic diet right now so we can eventually figure out if she is sensitive/allergic to any certain foods. She's already undergone a thorough skin test, so we know what environmental stuff bothers her. Good luck with your Zuri. He is very lucky to have you!

 

Thanks everyone for your kind words (& prayers) and advice. We are going to the dermatologist on Thursday. I am anxious to have some tests done, if anything, to eliminate certain conditions. I will update here if there is anything worth mentioning. Thanks again.

Mary & Selah (Who, btw, just turned 5 today!!!!! )

[Guest LindsaySF]

Staph infection. The Staph infections I've seen have progressed as you describe (lumps under skin burst open and weep). It can be very hard to get rid of once it takes hold, and sometimes the dog appears 'cured' and then has a recurrence weeks later.

 

Antibiotics along with medicated shampoos and sprays seem to help. Oral antibiotics alone is rarely enough, you do need to bathe and scrub and pull the gunk off, then make sure the skin is very dry and clean. Shave areas of hair if you need to, to keep everything dry. Once the areas scab and harden, you are on your way to healing.

 

If you get the puss cultured you can confirm that it's Staph. You might never know how she got the Staph in the first place, but if she is allergic to a lot of things and sensitive, maybe her immune system didn't put up an adequate defense when she got a minor wound (scrape, bug bite, etc) and the Staph bacteria hitched a ride that way. I think I saw that she's had Staph before? It's possible that it never "left", and this is a recurrence.

Edited April 25, 2012 by LindsaySF