Desperate For Corn Advice!

[Guest intwominds]

Hi guys,

 

Hope you're all having a lovely day!

Now I'm after your advice on treating corns. I've searched a lot of the forums and can only find advice on this topic from a couple of years ago and was hoping to get a fresh perspective on things incase anything new has popped up!

 

Background story, our beautiful grey Achilles has been suffering from corns since we adopted him two and a bit years ago. Initially they didn't appear to cause him too many issues but I'd say in the last six months, he's gone from a beaming/bouncing four year old to an incredibly lame and reclusive 15 year old. It's been absolutely heartbreaking to watch so we are desperate to find a solution.

 

I've tried hulling for over a year and while it initially seemed to do him good, the corns often return within a week or two angrier and larger than before. After another vet visit this weekend she suggested that me move onto a dremel tool for maintenance. We purchased one and whilst Achilles was fine to have us tend to his corns, we are not entirely sure exactly how far back we can go without hurting him. If anyone has experience using this tool, then I would love to hear from you.

 

The vet also prescribed us Metacam (a pain killer) to use daily. However after his first dose he was incredibly anxious and jittery. Therefore I'm reluctant to continue with this.

 

At present he has two on each of his front paws. Achilles quality of life is fast deteriorating with these pesky things so we are open to all advice, suggestions and treatments.

 

We are also located in Brisbane, Australia. So if anybody can suggest a vet who has experience dealing with this kind of thing, I would love to also hear from you too.

 

Thank you to all of you in advance.

[krissy]

I use duct tape on the occasional corn that Summit gets. It takes awhile and is a bit maintenance heavy (you have to keep checking and replacing the tape) but has worked well for us over the years, though to be fair he has typically only ever had one corn at a time and they've never bothered him as much as what you're describing.

[Batmom]

When my corn dog was under anaesthesia for something else, vet hulled her corn and then ran the surgical laser over the hulled surface / cavity -- just kinda cauterizing it. No more corns for 9 months. Then she got two small ones; hulled those once. She never got another.

 

Hope you can find something that works for you.

[Neighsayer]

There is a Greyhounds with corns Facebook group that is very active. Lots of good suggestions there.

[mom2four]

We have had two younger hounds with corns which we had removed surgically, under anesthetic. In each case they never returned. We have an older (11.5) GH now but will not put her under so we are dremeling, using boots etc. She lies down 90% of the time since she is older.

[Hubcitypam]

Duct tape was the only thing that worked on Rex - had to be name brand. He was before hulling became common but IMHO never try to have them removed surgically.

[greysmom]

Definitely join the "Greyhounds With Corns" Facebook page. There is a ton of information, plus people dealing with corns from all over the world.

 

Some basic information: There are basically three kinds of "corns" that dogs regularly get. They are not "corns" like people have but more like warts or extreme callouses, depending on how they form. Type one is just like a Plantar wart in people - caused by a virus. Type two is probably the most common and is like a hard callous pebble embedded in the toe pad. This type is caused by a disrupted or awkward gait due to injury or a skeletal mehanical issue. The third type is the visible eruption of an injury deep in the foot/toe to one of the foot tendons/ligaments.

 

Type one - a viral corn - can be treated the same way as a Plantar wart in people: with commercial corn and wart remedies, starving the corn/wart of oxygen with duct tape, and a new type fo treatment involving giving high doses of cimetedine to kill the virus. Surgical removal will *sometimes* clear this type of corn, as long as the surgeon goes deep enough to get the whole root out.

 

Type two - the callous corn - is very difficult to get rid of. Most people treat it as an ongoing, long term health management issue. Treatment involves daily soaks with Epsom salts (they call it magnesium something in the UK), followed by at least twice daily application of an extremely moisturing lotion or cream. Whatever you use in your country to treat extremely calloused heels, or heal fishermen's hands - stay away from heavy petroleum-based products though. Following this moisturizing with a baby sock to cover and keep the cream on as long as possible helps. As the corn begins to separate from the pad and raise up, it can easily be hulled at home with a simple (human) tooth root elevator available from Amazon. Then using a padded boot(s) on the corn foot for walking will help your dog be more comfortable and like his walks better. Surgery rarely fixes this type of corn and they almost always come back.

 

Type three - the injury eruption - is both simpler and harder. This type of corn can actually be diagnosed using a sensitive MRI over the foot to detect where the injury lies. It also responds best to surgical amputation of the whole toe as it removes the source - the injured tendon - of the corn. Whereas with the other two types, amping the toe risks another corn popping up on another toe on the same foot. You obviously can't keep removing affected toes.

 

Because all these corns look and present exactly the same way, you can't really tell which kind you have until you treat it for a while. All corns will soften with moisturizing and become less of a problem with home treatment and hulling. Padded boots like Therapaws will help your dog walk better no matter what type of corn they have. Wart treatments will take layers off of any corn, but they won't cure them unless there's a viral element.

 

Here's the link for the Therapaws website.

https://www.therapaw.com/

I don't know if they ship to Australia, but you can certainly contact them and ask. I've always found their customer service folks to be very helpful and friendly. If nothing else, you can see the type of padded boot I was talking about above and try to find something similar down there.

Edited November 1, 2017 by greysmom

[MaryJane]

Use moisturizer daily- foot creams may work the best. After about a week, I can usually start pulling at the edge of a corn and it will start lifting. A few more days and I can lift the entire corn up and then I only have to keep on twisting it so it will break off. It takes about 2 weeks to get the corn out after the moisturizing and then it takes another 4 weeks or so to come back. I used to use the dremel and simply evened off the corn so it was not getting the pressure.

[GeorgeofNE]

I'm sorry to be the one to say this, but at 15, it could be that he has other aches and pains and that's why the corn relief is not helping.

 

It's amazing you've had him for so long and obviously cared for him very well and loved him.

 

I hope you can find some help.

[turbotaina]

When I had a corn dog, we did periodic hulling and in the periods in between (his corn was always super painful before it was even visible, much less hull-able), we used tramadol and a therapaw boot. (Metacam may not do anything for your dog - it's an NSAID. With a corn, imagine having a pebble stuck in your shoe - an aspirin isn't going to help (though it might assist with inflammation). Tramadol blocks pain receptors, so it's a good choice for something like this.) Even then, it was still sometimes so bad he was three-legged, but it mostly worked for us. Hope you can find a management regimen that works well for you.

I'm sorry to be the one to say this, but at 15, it could be that he has other aches and pains and that's why the corn relief is not helping.

 

It's amazing you've had him for so long and obviously cared for him very well and loved him.

 

I hope you can find some help.

 

The dog is not 15 - he's *acting* like a 15 year old dog. He's 4.

Edited November 1, 2017 by turbotaina

[racindog]

There is a Greyhounds with corns Facebook group that is very active. Lots of good suggestions there.

Yes. It is very helpful. It is called Greyhounds with Corns I believe if you want to join.

[RaineysMom]

absolutely get TheraPaws -- Larry has corns on all 3 feet (front right is the biggest and worst) and he couldn't go for his daily walkies without his booties. I'm very fortunate that he doesn't seem to mind them at all.

 

for the Dremmel, I make sure I just am doing the corn and try to get it down just a little bit (tiny bit!) below the surface of the healthy pad part. It helps but doesn't solve it. His too come back bigger and worse every time they're hulled

 

I tried Duct tape once but after 3 days I could barely get it off (it's supposed to fall off!) so I got a little nervous. I might try it again.

 

tried cimetidine (I think 400mg 2 x day, but I had to get his blood levels checked on that - brand name is Tagamet, it's for heartburn!). That actually DID work and his corns were almost gone, but he ended up starting to have ulcer issues due to Rimadyl last May so I stopped that too. He's on enough other meds I feel/felt like a pill pusher...

 

there's also another thing, it's the byproduct of petroleum jelly (the name escapes me, starts with an I) that we tried but he didn't tolerate having a bandage wrap on his foot (after applying the lotion stuff) so not sure how that works overall. ETA it's called Icthammol ointment (sp?).

 

I feel for you. Corns SUCK.

Edited November 1, 2017 by RaineysMom

[palmettobug]

Icthammol is black and stinky and will stain, so use with caution! It's good for drawing out skin ickies too.

 

If you can't get the sticky stuff off, try a little baby oil.