Lesion On Side Of Toe - Need Ideas To Protect And Treat

[Rickiesmom]

Jaynie has a lesion on the second toe from the outside on her right front paw:

 

 

Initially it looks like a light scrape above the lower, darker area, but I just caught her licking it and now the entire area looks much worse. The roundish thing below looked sort of like a dark callous prior to the licking.

 

I've dremeled the nail down as far as I can. Under normal circumstances her nails don't bother her toes, but it seems to be contributing in this case.

 

Couple of questions:

 

- How can I protect the hurt area, especially during walks (no offleash at the moment) - should I just put cotton between the toes and wrap it? (I don't want to keep it wrapped because it should heal better with air, and I can spray it with Dermicare to discourage licking.)

 

- Now that she's licked it that round thing looks a bit suspect. Any thoughts on that?

 

My immediate priority is protecting the toe from further damage, but I'm not sure what to make of the thing underneath - it didn't look like much prior to the licking. We do have a vet appointment on the 10th for something unrelated, maybe I should take her in sooner?

 

Thank you for your thoughts and ideas!

Edited June 28, 2013 by Rickiesmom

[Batmom]

If you just need to protect it from the adjacent toenail, you can smooth/pad the adjacent toenail with a teensy piece of duct tape or two -- that makes it more slippery so it won't catch on the other toe.

[Hawthorn]

I'd probably put a blob of cream or vaseline on it immediately prior to a walk but not wrap it. Also might be worth considering if leaving the adjacent nail a bit longer would prevent rubbing. Also maybe you could round off the edges a bit more? I have to do this with one of my boy's nails, otherwise he gets a sore on the adjacent toe.

[XTRAWLD]

I use a quick spray of colloidal silver to keep it clean and create faster healing. File the inside of that nail down so it's as smooth as possible. I also agree with the suggestion of vaseline to prevent further chafing and promote healing.

[Rickiesmom]

Thank you for the suggestions - all good.

 

Interestingly, her toenail looks OK to the naked eye but a bit rough in the photo so I will smooth that down for sure. Jaynie thinks having her nails dremeled is a spa treatment, so it's always easy to do.

[GeorgeofNE]

I don't know why Vaseline would promote healing as all it will do is keep air from getting to the wound. Some antibiotic ointment might help--but George has red areas on his hind feet like that. They don't seem to bother him so I leave them. If she's licking it, she could have a small foreign body in there. You might try some epsom salt soaks a couple times a day for a few days and see if it comes to a head.

[PrairieProf]

http://www.pawzdogboots.com is the perfect solution for walks if you want to keep it clean/dry. Greyhounds wear the blue size.

Edited June 28, 2013 by PrairieProf