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11-19-2013, 11:44 AM | #1 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Colonia, New Jersey
Posts: 226
| Jack & His Endless Staph Infections Hey all! It's been awhile - quite busy around here with renovations, etc the past few months. Jack is now almost 9 months old (on the 25th!) and as playful and rambunctious as ever! With that said, the past month he has been getting skin staph infections. I took him to the vet twice already. The first time, he gave Jack 7 days of amoxicillin & episoothe shampoo twice a week and his little bumps on his belly cleared right up however, the day after his last pill the staph came back. So I took him to the vet right away (the bumps are so gross and scare the bejesus out of me..they look like they hurt ((they don't, he doesn't even seem to know they're there)) and I don't like to waste time). The vet was perplexed, rubbed his belly down with disinfectant and prescribed him Orbax. I questioned if it could be an allergy he's reacting to from our backyard (he's outside ALL the time playing and running around like a nutcase lol) but the vet said it's a legitimate staph infection, there's no incubation period, one day his belly is clear, the next his belly is full of pussing pimples and he's actually picking it up from either the home or someone. Well, here I am. The Orbax cleared his belly in a day and was clear for a few days. Today, his belly is completely full of these pimples, they're really red and irritated looking (still not bothering him, he's jumping around and playing as I type) and I'm just wondering what in the world can the vet possibly do now? I'm going to take him anyways but I'm searching for ways that maybe I can help either a spray for our yard (every time he comes home from the vet, we wash all of his toys, his blankets, bed, and clean the floors - we've also started strictly walking him instead of letting him outside and we give him fish oil vitamins every other day) or any way I can treat it with any natural remedies. He is clearly unaffected by it all but it just looks so terrible and I feel bad lol. Help!
__________________ You can find me chasing Jack! R.I.P. My Little Prince Max 1999-2013 |
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11-19-2013, 12:07 PM | #2 |
T. Bumpkins & Co. Donating YT Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: New England
Posts: 9,816
| My dog has had repeated staph. Was placed on a month of simplecef and it cleared. She also uses Atopica daily. I suggest a vet dermatologist so you can get some answers.
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11-19-2013, 12:12 PM | #3 |
♡Huey's Human♡ Donating Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Ringgold, Ga
Posts: 3,333
| Disclaimer: People nurse here, so my reference point is people... We have quite a bit of resistant staph around here, and the best antibiotic seems to be bactrim (sulfa-based), or doxicycline if allergic to sulfa. I looked up orbax, and it is a quinolone, which is sometimes also used, but not as often. The staph is resistant to all cillins, so the amoxicillin probably did nothing. He may just need a longer treatment time with appropriate antibiotics and there is a soap called hibiclens that we encourage staph carriers to bathe with daily for a week then weekly thereafter. (Maybe wipe the affected area daily with a damp hibiclens cloth?-something to ask the vet about, anyway. ) Usually, to get the infection, there is an opening in the skin or irritation around the hair follicles. Has Jack's groomer clipped his tummy closely during sanitary trims? Could be be getting bumps from some kind of food allergy or contact dermatitis, opening him for recurrent staph infections? Could the vet recommend some kind of astringent that can be applied daily to clean and close the pores on his tummy? Just throwing out ideas here. I hope you can figure out the source and get Jack all cleared up for good! Good idea. I forget there are as many specialists for dogs as there are for people!
__________________ Huey's mom, Marilyn :When a day starts & ends with puppy kisses, I can handle anything that comes in between! Last edited by Marhcarter; 11-19-2013 at 12:15 PM. |
11-19-2013, 12:19 PM | #4 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Colonia, New Jersey
Posts: 226
| Thanks Marhcarter! Jack hasn't been to the groomer since early October and all she did was clean his face up (leaving his hair longer for the winter) so there wasn't any undercarriage trimming. I will definitely inquire about the soap and the other medicines. He has an appointment for tomorrow so we shall see how it all goes! A vet derm will probably be our next trip if this visit doesn't clear his little belly all up.
__________________ You can find me chasing Jack! R.I.P. My Little Prince Max 1999-2013 |
11-19-2013, 04:26 PM | #5 |
Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: At Home
Posts: 8,386
| My late Lizzie also had this problem on her belly due to being in the grass certain times of the year. What always worked was Simplecef, this was a wonder antibiotic for her.
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11-19-2013, 05:23 PM | #6 | |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Colonia, New Jersey
Posts: 226
| Quote:
Anywho, I had called the vet after posting just to update them on how much antibiotic he had left and Jack's dr told me to bring him in immediately instead of tomorrow, so I did. This time, they scraped some of the pustules off and looked at them under a microscope and also tested some. They didn't find staph this time, what they did discover was that once the sores were popped, they had an extremely foul odor which led Jack's dr and his partner to believe it just turned into a really bad, basic bacterial infection. I suppose it makes sense because this time it was actually worse than before (3-6 pimples to the now 10+ clusters of them ) They also found a cluster of ORANGE blisters on the top of his nose..how this got by me, I have no idea but they too look gross and are a bit swollen, the dr said it's most likely remnants of the infection, spreading on the skin. Simplecef was prescribed. I hope it works. Jack usually loves the vet but today after his scraping, he stood up on his hind legs, wrapped his paws around my neck and rested his head on my shoulder. I felt so bad for him. The vet said if it gets worse within the next three days to come in immediately or to come back Monday. They said the next step is an antifungal which they don't really want to give him because he's still a baby and it's hard on their liver. I think if it comes to that, I will just take him to a vet derm. Just to be sure. I forgot to ask at the vet, but can these skin irritations & infections be very serious? Like I stated earlier, Jack doesn't act like anything is wrong and they don't itch him at all....it's all very strange to both me and the vet. Thanks again for all of your input, by the way!
__________________ You can find me chasing Jack! R.I.P. My Little Prince Max 1999-2013 | |
11-19-2013, 06:20 PM | #7 | |
Donating YT 500 Club Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: At Home
Posts: 8,386
| Quote:
Lizzie hated it cause I was always checking her belly. LOL
__________________ [SIZE="3"VICKI & ALLIE[/SIZE] | |
11-21-2013, 06:34 AM | #8 |
Furbutts = LOVE Donating Member Moderator | I was going to recommend Simplicef x 1 month as that is gold standard treatment for staph intermedius infections in dogs. However, in your recent post - you said it's not staph. There is something I'm thinking of that is very random and rare, and puppies get it. My Dad's dog had it as a puppy and the vets couldn't figure it out - meanwhile, poor puppy kept getting more and more blisters. Finally, my DAD figured it out after exhaustive online searches. I will get the name of the infection for you and get back to you. It's an odd one/rare, but it might be it bc of the blister like things you're mentioning.
__________________ ~ A friend told me I was delusional. I nearly fell off my unicorn. ~ °¨¨¨°ºOº°¨¨¨° Ann | Pfeiffer | Marcel Verdel Purcell | Wylie | Artie °¨¨¨°ºOº°¨¨¨° |
11-21-2013, 06:44 AM | #9 | |
Donating YT 3000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: USA
Posts: 7,652
| Quote:
You really need to do this, so many other problems need to be ruled out. Mini my puppymill pup has this issue as well, several tests were done and a diagnosis and treatment plan made. Mini has a very weak immune system (not lupus) that is often exacerbated by the allergies she has which causes staph infections which causes fever and so on and so on....
__________________ The Above advice/comments/reviews are my personal opinions based on my own experience/education/investigation and research and you can take them any way you want to......Or NOT!!! | |
11-21-2013, 10:52 AM | #10 |
Furbutts = LOVE Donating Member Moderator | Okay, I talked to my Dad and here is what it's called: Puppy Strangles. It's blisters everywhere/various places on the body, especially the muzzle. Here are images, does it look like this? puppy strangles - Yahoo Image Search Results Apparently, it can also happen in young adult dogs. Vets often misdiagnose Strangles for something else...my Dad's vets said it's bc they almost never see it.
__________________ ~ A friend told me I was delusional. I nearly fell off my unicorn. ~ °¨¨¨°ºOº°¨¨¨° Ann | Pfeiffer | Marcel Verdel Purcell | Wylie | Artie °¨¨¨°ºOº°¨¨¨° |
11-21-2013, 12:34 PM | #11 |
Donating YT 10K Club Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Alabama
Posts: 17,674
| Just did some quick Yahoo research on puppy strangles and read several articles all of which were fairly consistent to the info in this link: VETBLOG: Puppy strangles. The orange spots on his nose may be suspect because this disease seems to affect (or is that effect) primarily the face. I checked up on it to see if puppy strangles was similar to strangles in horses, and as it turns out it isn't. Have you treated him with a topical antifungal? I have used hibiclens as a pre-surgery body wash and also to clean the surface wounds where the rods were screwed into my leg. |
11-22-2013, 05:55 AM | #13 | |
Furbutts = LOVE Donating Member Moderator | Quote:
__________________ ~ A friend told me I was delusional. I nearly fell off my unicorn. ~ °¨¨¨°ºOº°¨¨¨° Ann | Pfeiffer | Marcel Verdel Purcell | Wylie | Artie °¨¨¨°ºOº°¨¨¨° | |
12-04-2013, 10:09 AM | #14 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Colonia, New Jersey
Posts: 226
| Well the Simplicef worked and the sores didn't come back while he was on it (did for every other medicine) however, he finished the Simplicef on Wednesday and the sores were back on Monday. I took him in today and they did another scraping and a culture as well. Also gave me another 7 days of Simplicef in the meantime since it made it all go away so quickly before. We should get results by Friday. As far as strangles, it doesn't look like that at all. Whatever the swelling, tiny orange bumps are, must be related to his belly sores because they also go away with the medicine (they came back as well this time, smaller amount but he does have a raised patch of orange bumps again ) We all have no idea what it is and the vet wants to hold off on an antifungal medication because he's still only 9 months and she's concerned about the effects on his liver. Haven't tried a topical though...I will definitely ask if it is in fact a fungal infection. SIGH. I felt so bad for him today when the vet was cutting off some of the sores. He was such a good boy through it all though, thus far. Again, he still acts like nothing is wrong and is as playful as ever! It's so odd that he is completely unaffected by this rash going on! ??????????????? (thanks for all the input, again....!!)
__________________ You can find me chasing Jack! R.I.P. My Little Prince Max 1999-2013 |
12-04-2013, 10:11 AM | #15 |
Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Colonia, New Jersey
Posts: 226
| By the way, today, she ruled mange and a number of other mites and infections when she looked at some of the scraping under the microscope.
__________________ You can find me chasing Jack! R.I.P. My Little Prince Max 1999-2013 |
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