Dermal Infection In Galgo Ongoing For 5+ Months

[locket]

Hi all,

I have yet again another vet visit for Zorro my little galgo.

When he was in Spain in July, he developped an infection near the tip of his ear. It is a dermal lesion, not bleeding, but kind of oozing plasma. They treated with antibiotics, and tested twice for leishmania (both negative).

Then he came to live with me late August and it was almost healed. Fast forward to September and within a week it degenerated and the infection became the size of a quarter. We went to the vet, had a culture and biopsie done. It is not cancerous, but it is a staph infection resistant to 4 antibiotics. We left with dermalgel and a 20 day course of antibiotics.

After 20 days, there was about the size of half a dime left to heal, so we went back to the vet, chose another antibiotic and did another 20 days course with a topical antibiotic and chlorhexidine wash.

After that second 20 days, there was a little tiny lesion left, so back to the vet we went and we did another 10 days course of the same second antibiotic. It closed off and was healed. That was early December.

Fast forward to now and it is opening up again. I have a vet visit on Friday, what do I do? This has been going on and off for 5 months now. Are we trying another antibiotics? Redoing a culture? Chopping off the ear? We do not want it to become a larger problem than the ear itself. Anyone have any input? Anything I should look for? Ask for at the vet?

[palmettobug]

Is there a vet dermatologist near you? Or a vet med school?

[locket]

Is there a vet dermatologist near you? Or a vet med school?

No, but might when I move City next week, I will have a look!

[robinw]

Has anybody considered mange? Have seen a lot of that in Spain. It seems to come and go.

[locket]

Has anybody considered mange? Have seen a lot of that in Spain. It seems to come and go.

How would we diagnosed? It wouldn't have shown on a culture or biopsy I guess

[robinw]

How would we diagnosed? It wouldn't have shown on a culture or biopsy I guess

I would think so, but maybe it depends on what they were looking for?

[racindog]

Got to tell you it might be best to just amputate that portion of his ear if it is near the tip. My first greyhound Ivy (Dream Irish) had a mysterious ear lesion as well that sounds very much like what you describe. Hers would BLEED a lot though. If you managed to get it healed it ALWAYS cane back and she inevitably managed to get it bleeding and it would be quite a bit-and of course she would shake her head quite a bit and splatter the house with blood. Anyway the regular vet pretty much took 1 look at it and said it needed to be amputated! I was agast and thought he was just being knife happy so I went to another vet. We tried everything to no avail including cauterizing it etc. Eventually I relinquished and after being reassured that it would only require the removal of a small amount of ear near the tip consented to it. It healed without incident and it really wasn't noticeable after all. I was sooo glad I had it done. I am quite certain it would never have healed and would have remained a chronic issue which was as difficult for her as it was for me- all that head bandaging etc that had to be done all the time and you could tell it had "bothered" her. Now the problem was gone and she was happy with no ill effects. I was sorry I jumped to conclusions about the first vets recommendation to amputate upon his examination. He obviously knew what he was talking about. It just seemed kind of outrageous to me at first but fact is it was no big deal and it was what was required to rid her of the problem.

[locket]

Thanks for your input. It would mean amputating half the ear or so in my opinion. I'm happy to know it worked for you and your girl and will definitely keep it at the back of my mind. I will bring up the mange first and see what the vet think.. This is baffling me that it is still opening up again

[XTRAWLD]

Awh, sorry to hear about Zorro's ongoing ear battle. Have they ruled out scabies? (Scrape the ear with a razor to get skin under the microscope to check. They tend to bury under the skin and make long pathways, so might have to scrape off various locations in the ears). It's a long shot not sure you've tried that? I don't know how they treat scabies however, so you would think after 4 rounds of antibiotics it would be over. Poor guy. Is he scratching it and is itchy at all? If he shakes his head (mach 3 side to side ear flapping) is it more likely to break open if it's been healed?

[greysmom]

Poor Zorro del Galgo!!!

 

Both scabies and mange are mites that maybe wouldn't be seen unless they were specifically looking for them - wouldn't be cultured, for instance, cause there's nothing to culture (I think).

 

And if he keeps shaking it open that's a different issue than still having a medical problem like an on-going infection. And it sounds like at least a couple of the antibiotics worked to shrink the lesion, so I'm not sure why you were changing ABs so often? It just might need an extended course of ABs - like a couple months on the same drug. Past the time when the lesion is completely healed and gone. Something might be lingering in the tissue that would make it open up again once you stop the ABs.

 

Good luck!

[locket]

No we didn't rule out scabies, we will talk about it!

Chris, he doesn't scratch or shake excessively. And once the sore is "open" it doesn't scab, it closes from the sides to the middle. so once it's closed off, it can't be shaken off as it's skin! We changed AB once because the first one we used was a combination of amoxiciline/clavulanic acid and it "seemed" that by the last few days of AB, the sore wasn't healing as well. So we took another one and he was on it for 20 + 10 days. You are right though, staph infections can linger, so it might not have been enough to completely cure him. Longer treatment maybe?

[tbhounds]

Is your hound leish negative?

[locket]

Is your hound leish negative?

Been tested twice over the summer and was negative both times

[XTRAWLD]

Can you post a pic? Might be gross, but might be helpful....

[smurfette]

The ears are the valve of the kidneys. How is his general health? All those antibiotics are very stressfull for the body. Is there something else that perhaps might hinder the healing process.

I don't think it is scabies because these critters would have found their way to you or your other dog.

[locket]

His general health is good, he has more energy than ever. Of course he is getting settled in, so there might be a little of that too. Maybe do a blood test? To make sure he is all in good health?

Here is a photo, it is not bloody and disgusting, but it is an open sore, so put it in spoiler in case people does not want to see it.

 

 

 

You can perhaps see a circle of dried skin, it used to be that big, so it has improved lots, but it is opening up again gaaaaaaaaaaah

 

[BatterseaBrindl]

Poor fellow

 

Scabies and mites are very contagious, so it is not likely either of those, or Charlie and yourself would have them by now.

Our GSDx had mites (from rolling in a dead fox carcass ) diagnosed by scrapings examined under a microscope. Her ears were very swollen and itchy.

 

[racindog]

His general health is good, he has more energy than ever. Of course he is getting settled in, so there might be a little of that too. Maybe do a blood test? To make sure he is all in good health?

 

Here is a photo, it is not bloody and disgusting, but it is an open sore, so put it in spoiler in case people does not want to see it.

 

 

 

You can perhaps see a circle of dried skin, it used to be that big, so it has improved lots, but it is opening up again gaaaaaaaaaaah

 

Ivy's was never that big but it did look like the little place in the center and it did heal in the manner you describe before breaking open and bleeding again. However fortunately Ivy's was near the very tip of her ear so amputation was not that big a deal. Was just thinking..maybe you should try pure New Zealand Manuka honey? That heals everything and is especially good for hard to heal things-and it even kills MRSA! Hope it gets well soon I know it is so frustrating.

[locket]

I thought about giving a little update.

So the vet said since he responded last time to abx, that we should restart them. So we got the exact same treatment as last time (Abx, Chlorhexidine to wash and topical Abx for 60 days). She also did a cytology to see if there was something we didn't see last time or if it had changed. Nope! Still the same ; inflammation ++++. She prescribed a human mix of 3 creams (antifungal + antibiotics + something else) and that seems to work really well. There used to be a hard inflammed disc all around the wound, but it has shrunk considerably. There is still some inflammation, but it has only been 3 days since we started the cream. We still have a LOT of Abx to go through, but already it is better.

If it doesn't work or if it comes back, she told me to go see a dermatologist. So we will see in 2 months!

[Rickiesmom]

Your vet has or could have access to VIN - Veterinary Information Network. S/he could post information and photos to the dermatologists and ask for opinions.

[Houndtime]

Odin had an itchy spot that would come and go. When he scratched, he scratched it raw and bloody. We tried prednisone pills, spray, and powder. All worked for a while and then the itch came back. Antibiotic cream, healing cream, anti itch (cortisone) cream. Again, healed up and came back.

 

Len had an itchy spot on the top of his foot; almost like a rash. The foot doctor said, while not Athlete's Foot, try anti fungal cream. It should work. It did. So, my thought was, if it worked for Len, could it work for Odin?

 

Well it did. Odin had bald spots on his side from scratching and the hair is now grown back in. The cream cost $6.99 in Walmart.

[locket]

That's really interesting Irene because the cream the vet prescribed has anti-fungal in it.

Even though Zorro isn't scratching, the cream does seem to make it heal better. Maybe it's a coincidence, but maybe we are on to something

[Houndtime]

That's really interesting Irene because the cream the vet prescribed has anti-fungal in it.

 

Even though Zorro isn't scratching, the cream does seem to make it heal better. Maybe it's a coincidence, but maybe we are on to something

 

It took us almost two years to figure this out. The prednisone powder costs $27 for a tiny bottle. I do not like to use prednisone tablets and the other creams were minor in effect. Everything worked for a bit. The athlete's foot cream seems to be working.