Guest iMrCrumbs Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 So my Greyhound, Dillon, recently came down sick. I took him to the Vet and they checked him out and said he had Hook worms and also a virual or bacterial infection. I went ahead and had them do the full blood work check including the T4 test. Everything came back great on his blood work and the T4 level was great the vet said. So they sent us home with Panacur paste for the hookworms and Cephalexin for his "cold." Three days after I took him to the vet I noticed that he was covered in bumps. They were all over his torso and really reminded me of Chicken Pox (which they weren't but for illustration purposes I used that term.) So to make a long sotry short, I took him back to the vet and they said he was having an allergic reaction to the Anti-biotic (Cephalexin) and they switched him to Doxycycline. They also put him on Prednisone. Since then he is back to normal, eat very very well and very playful. BUT where the bumps were they have scabbed over and the hair falls out with the scab. So needless to say he is covered "pea-sized" bald spots all over his torso. Where the worst cluster was located, his fur is super thin in the area around the bald spots. Does anyone know what is going on with the fur loss? And what can I do for his skin? Since the reaction, his skin has started flaking really bad... Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cleptogrey Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 (edited) it sorta sounds like an entire systemic reaction to me. i have personally had allegic reactions to food- chicken, whole fish or shell fish and i first errupt in a rash, which blisters and then scabs. predisone has been administered, the chicken or fish may have had antibiotics- i'm allergic to pencillin. it has taken a while, my skin was awful and it peels as if i have had a sunburn. does that help you at all??? if he is going thru a similar reaction it's all part of the process of healing. (when i have reactied to antibiotics- cipro- it was achy legs and cramps, reacting to a PPI- rash- which cleared w/ benadryl even though i asked for a rx for a steroid just incase it didn't respond to the benadryl.) vets really will talk to you if you call and ask follow up questions and that's what you have. it's hard to say yes his coat will come back in, but i tend to think that this is a temporary reactive situation.you don't want to start messing around w/ a topical ointment on the scabs. you did mention that he had a virual or bacterial infection- viruses can manifest in rashes. think about kids and all the wierd viruses they get w/ rashes on the palms of their hands or soles of their feet. good luck , this too shall pass...these greys are super sensitive. Edited August 30, 2012 by cleptogrey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest iMrCrumbs Posted August 30, 2012 Share Posted August 30, 2012 Yeah that is what I am learning. I too am super sensitive when it comes to stuff getting on my skin. it seems like anything i touch makes my skin go nuts. Cologne is the worse. I did talk to my vet but he just said it will go away. He didn't strike me as very concerned. Maybe I am just worrying too much. I haven't changed anything in his routine since. I am keeping everything from food, treats and activities the way they were just to see. He is still very playful and goofy so it seems that all is good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FullMetalFrank Posted August 31, 2012 Share Posted August 31, 2012 He might have gotten a staph infection secondary to being run down. Either the cephalexin or doxy would take care of that but yeah, the sores and hair loss is no fun... I will recommend my famous solution for everything, pure emu oil; it is light and absorbs, helps sooth the skin as it contains anti-inflammatory properties. I have psoriasis that will flare if I become stressed and all last winter/spring I had painful scabby sores all over my scalp. The horrible poison chemo drugs I was taking for my RA should have knocked out the psoriais; but no go. I started mixing a few drops of the emu oil in my shampoo; which normalized my scalp so I didn't get oily hair that I needed to wash every day. I also dabbed a dot of the oil on the sores with a q tip, and within days the lesions healed. I have not had a psoriasis problem for a year or more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbhounds Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 The hair will grow back in no time if the loss was do to the reaction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest iMrCrumbs Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 I hope so. It has been a month since he was sick. I believe that it is starting to grow back but it's hard to tell because has been shedding some. Both him and my aunt's Grey are shedding so I believe that it's maybe that time of year for them. She lives in a different house so I know its not something to do with the house. However he is back to being very playful and goofy. He just has some added character from the random bald spots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest itsagreytlife Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 The fur will definitely grow back. My black grey, Selah, had an even worse allergic reaction to something--still don't know what since she's allergic to so many things. She had huge lesions all over her back and down her legs (I posted a pic on here at the time). I was incorrectly instructed to scrub the lesions which only made them worse--huge gaping wounds which turned into huge white bald spots. Should have just let them heal on their own. But, I am happy to say, her fur is back to normal (this happened last April-May) and for the most part you would never know that anything happened. She has one spot on her leg that is darker than the rest of the fur, but that is due to her licking it when it was sore I think. So just leave them be and it will heal up. Its so stressful, but they don't seem to notice, thank goodness. Hang in there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest iMrCrumbs Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Yeah that sounds like the exact same thing Dillon is going through. I never did scrub them, just let them run their course. They cleared up within days of switching antibiotics but the bald spots are still there. Its good to hear from people that have went through the same things. At first, I thought I was doing something wrong.... But now I know that it just happens sometimes. My skin is super sensitive so I know what he went through... Thanks for everyone's input I love hearing feedback and encouragement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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