Nail Bed Infections - Any Experience? Guidance?

[DocsDoctor]

Ken has this problem unfortunately, not for the first time, and I am wondering if any kind GTers can provide advice or guidance to help get him sorted out.

 

I know that when he first came into the greyhound rescue in April 2015 his feet were in a very poor way, with inflamed and bleeding nail beds. The rescue thought this was probably as a result of having been left kenneled on wet bedding . It took several visits to a specialist greyhound vet and a course of pretty hefty antibiotics (antirobin) before it was sorted out. I met and adopted him just after that.

 

I have always kept a careful eye on his feet - he was understandably touchy about having them handled initially but with time and patience that has improved. They are quite long and flat, compared to Doc's neat little 'hare feet'. Initially his nails were also very long, though I have now managed to reduce them to a more respectable length with a nail grinder.

 

For a long time we had no problems but a few weeks ago I noticed some of the nail beds starting to flare up again - after we had some very wet weather, which probably didn't help. Initially I tried treating them myself, cleaning them with TCP solution and then applying Sudocrem, but when that didn't help we went to see the vet. On his advice I have for the last ten days been bathing Ken's feet twice daily in a solution of Hibiscrub and then treating the affected beds with Surolan cream. I should add perhaps that the vet also suspects that Ken has some arthritis in his shoulders, and prescribed him a short course of Carprieve (anti-inflammatory) but wanted to try and sort out the foot infection with antibiotics before taking any xrays, etc.

 

We went back today because Ken had started limping. It turned out that while the nail beds I have been treating with Surolan have improved, another couple had decided to flare up. So the vet's given us an eight-day course of an oral antibiotic (Clindacyl) to take while I continue with the Hibiscrub and Surolan.

 

I should add that the vet also suspects that Ken has some arthritis in his shoulders, and prescribed him a short course of Carprieve (anti-inflammatory) on his first visit, which does seem to have helped with movement in that area. He would like to investigate further but wants to try and sort out the foot infection before taking any xrays, etc. I'll speak to him again at the end of next week to report progress and we'll take it from there. I confessed to him that I'd been worrying about the possibility of bone cancer, but given Ken's otherwise good health (weight, heart, temperature, appetite, digestion and general demeanour all as normal) and the specific location of his pain he thought this highly unlikely.

 

I trust his opinion, so it's really the nail bed infection that I'm after advice about right now. I am beginning to suspect that this may be something poor Ken will always be susceptible to, but jjust wondered if anyone else had experienced this problem and had any advice to give. It would be nice to think we could sort it out for good and all .

 

[cleptogrey]

the antibiotics and keeping the nail beds dry should work. have your vet cultured the infection to see if he is prescribing the right antibiotic???

 

the experiences that i have had were when felix was young his nail beds were red and inflamed after crazy running at the beach. i was told to keep them dry with a medicated foot powder. it did work, powdered them a couple of times a day and they healed up pretty quickly. at another point he and my female both developed fungus at the nail bed and the webbing....again camping and the beach and soggy ny weather. the fungus was scraped off the webbing and the nail beds were cleared up w/ an athletic's foot cream. go know....???? i personally wouldn't get crazy thinking about SLO until nails start falling off. good luck w/ the arthritis.

[DesiRayMom]

Desi had miserable nail beds for a couple of years. He actually developed bloody sores around several. We soaked, we cultured, we treated with

antibiotics and then treated for fungus. Then tried treating it as a food allergy & the next year spent on food trials with little to no success. Finally, out

of desperation, we tried treating it as an immune issue & he took cyclosporin. His feet were much better within a couple of weeks and by 30 days had

cleared completely. He stayed on twice a week cyclosporin for over a year, then weaned back to once a week, then at that low dose, I started to forget

and eventually he wasn't taking it at all. Knock on wood, those lesions have never come back.

 

I'd continue wish your vet's recommendations for the time being, but if you get really desperate in the future, it's something to consider.

 

Best wishes for Ken, I know from bitter experience how frustrating treating feet can be.

[racindog]

Mama Seabird had 2 toes that had something like that. The oral antibiotics did not work but a spray on containing Triclosan did pretty much fix it. I would spray it on for a week or so-making sure it got around the nail good. The inflammation etc would go away; after a week or so sometimes a dry black scab like stuff would come off; and then she would be fine for quite a while. It only flared back up every blue moon and always resolved quickly with the triclosan spray. The product I used to use is not on the market any more(I think it probably worked too good) but maybe your vet would know of another product that contains the triclosan.

[DocsDoctor]

Thanks everybody - this is really useful information to have to hand!

 

the antibiotics and keeping the nail beds dry should work. have your vet cultured the infection to see if he is prescribing the right antibiotic???

 

the experiences that i have had were when felix was young his nail beds were red and inflamed after crazy running at the beach. i was told to keep them dry with a medicated foot powder. it did work, powdered them a couple of times a day and they healed up pretty quickly. at another point he and my female both developed fungus at the nail bed and the webbing....again camping and the beach and soggy ny weather. the fungus was scraped off the webbing and the nail beds were cleared up w/ an athletic's foot cream. go know....???? i personally wouldn't get crazy thinking about SLO until nails start falling off. good luck w/ the arthritis.

No, I'm not thinking about SLO either, given that his nails remain firmly attached.... We haven't cultured the infection yet but I can certainly suggest this if the current treatment doesn't work out. And once we've got it cleared up the athlete's foot cream/powder sounds like a useful product to have on hand, if I spot the early stages of a recurrence. Thank you!

 

Desi had miserable nail beds for a couple of years. He actually developed bloody sores around several. We soaked, we cultured, we treated with

antibiotics and then treated for fungus. Then tried treating it as a food allergy & the next year spent on food trials with little to no success. Finally, out

of desperation, we tried treating it as an immune issue & he took cyclosporin. His feet were much better within a couple of weeks and by 30 days had

cleared completely. He stayed on twice a week cyclosporin for over a year, then weaned back to once a week, then at that low dose, I started to forget

and eventually he wasn't taking it at all. Knock on wood, those lesions have never come back.

 

I'd continue wish your vet's recommendations for the time being, but if you get really desperate in the future, it's something to consider.

 

Best wishes for Ken, I know from bitter experience how frustrating treating feet can be.

Again, cyclosporin sounds like a useful remedy to bear in mind - thank you!

 

Mama Seabird had 2 toes that had something like that. The oral antibiotics did not work but a spray on containing Triclosan did pretty much fix it. I would spray it on for a week or so-making sure it got around the nail good. The inflammation etc would go away; after a week or so sometimes a dry black scab like stuff would come off; and then she would be fine for quite a while. It only flared back up every blue moon and always resolved quickly with the triclosan spray. The product I used to use is not on the market any more(I think it probably worked too good) but maybe your vet would know of another product that contains the triclosan.

Triclosan - I will remember that too. Many thanks! GTers are the best!

[DocsDoctor]

Just an update to say that Ken's paws have cleared up nicely now, on the Hibiscrub/ Surolan/ Clindacyl regime . It is useful to have these other recommendations to hand though, just in case it comes back.

 

And the limp turned out to be due not to arthritis but a corn in one toepad! A smallish one, growing inwards and difficult to see, but the vet got it out last week, while Ken was having a dental. He is now walking much more comfortably and we are treating the remaining hard skin with Epsom Salts and Vaseline, so it won't come back.

[macoduck]

Great update!

[DesiRayMom]

Hurray for good news!