Does a staph infection look like this?
 

Hi, YT'ers! Great forum. Hope someone has some answers for me.

A few weeks ago after Ralphie had bladder stone/neutering surgery done, I noticed on the base of his spine a few inches from his tail, a small raised spot and when I went to inspect it, it looked like a raised pimple, something he never had before. I thought they might have given him a needle and it could be the result of the injection site but I watched it. Within a few days, I noticed little lumps, like boils, developing in the same area and they were now crusting over and scaling. I took him to the vet and he said, "Oh, it COULD be dry skin or it COULD be the start of a staph infection." Nice.:( And so it started to spread and get very nasty looking.

I used medicated shampoo last week and scrubbed all his ugly scales and I think they started bleeding and have now crusted over. He is not itchy at all. If this didn't happen before I changed him to a prescription diet, I'd blame the food but I can't because that's not the case.also notice new little red lumps in that same area. They start out like little red pimples, get raised and scaly and turn black. In fact, I can actually pull his fur out!:eek:

I took him to the vet again this past Saturday and he said, "Oh, yeah, now it looks like a staph infection." I still blame the day of his surgery that something went wrong there. He is on Clavamox for the next 10 days and the vet said if that doesn't work, he'll have to change his meds, but this is scaring me. It has not improved at all.

What does this look like? I hope I do the attachments right. I'm worried sick now.

Judging from these images of staph infections, that definately looks like a staph infection to me! Yikes!

http://images.google.com/images?hl=e...nfection&gbv=2

My sister's yorkie got a staph infection after receiving vaccinations one year and she had to give her an antibiotic. Since your little one is already on an antibiotic, it should start clearing up soon.

I'd take him to a dermatologist. When the immune system is compromised, this can happen. Ask the Vet. for the medicated wash, and wash that area a couple times a day.

Poor little guy! I would definitely call the vet - there are certain antibiotics that don't work very well on Staph infections. Some work on some strains, but not on others.

Did the vet take a scrape sample of the area that's infected to determine which strain of Staph it was?

shouldn't have opened the link...nasty stuff!

OP, I hope that your baby gets to feeling better soon.:(

Thanks Kimberly, I started to open it but read what you wrote...:eek: Don't want to see gross stuff....:) I hope your little one gets better soon, if he doesn't start looking better soon I would take him back to the vet....:)

Thanks, everyone. I know those pictures were gross and I apologize. Guess I should have warned you all.

The vet said to call him in a week and if there is no change, he will change his medication but he feels the clavamox should work. Like I said, I see no change at all as of yet. I'm glad Ralphie does not feel sick or itchy. Is there a dog dermatologist???:aimeeyork

infection
 

Tea Tree oil....do everything the vet says and dab it twice daily with TTO...

I actually have been battling staff infection/cellulitis on my face for months:eek: I have been going to a dermotologist now & hope he can help. I sometimes wonder that when the people & pets from the louisiana crisis came up & were carrying all those diseases along w/staff maybe has something to do w/ the wide spread of break outs of new diseases.. I'm so glad they got out of there, but the govt handled it horribly when they made them sit down there in the conditions & let them contract diseases & then finally got them out-it was just a horrible situation that I will never forget & I think the consequences are here. I would ask the vet & area urgent care if they've seen a lot of it, I did & they said yes all different ages & all different areas of the body. My dog doesnt have it & no one else at my house got it-thank god. But stay on it. Hope it clears up soon.

I didn't want to say this but I have some strange autoimmune disorder on the top of my hands only and I've been going to the dermatologist for the past 7months. He's baffled too. Nothing has helped me, no creams, lotions, change in diet...I don't take meds though....I feel great so it doesn't affect my well being. My blood work is excellent EXCEPT for the ANA (antinuclear antibodies), which points towards a possible autoimmune disorder. For all I know, I might have had a high ANA all my life. Who ever tests for that???? It's odd that I got this when my daughter brought home her shihtzu last July. I don't know where her dog came from but they live upstairs from me in my house and they're both ok as are her other 2 dogs.

Even though they say pets cannot transmit to humans and vice versa, I really wonder about that theory. I will be monitoring Ralphie very closely and hope that whatever he has does go away with his medicine and that it is not related to whatever I have which looks like it will never leave me at this point.

I am using tea tree shampoo. I'm going to try to Tea Tree Oil as suggested. Thanks for everyone's advice and suggestions.:thumbup: :aimeeyork

zinc oxcide (sold near neosporin)which is also diaper rash treatment would help. It dries stuff up really quick. If you think about what a diaper rash looks like red blisters & then w/the cream its cleared in days w/no scarring usually-pretty good stuff.

Funny you should mention zinc oxide because that's what the derm. gave to me but it's called Vusion, an $60 glorified version of baby Desitin! I really was going to put some on Ralphie as gooey as it would be in his fur but, like me, his condition seems to be an internal thing, not external. I can feel the bumps blooming under his skin. :(

I would add a liquid vitamin to strawberry yogurt. That should help w/internal stuff. The antibiotics help but have bad effects also , the yogurt & vitamins will boost his immune system & help recoop from the antibiotics. I would still use the zinc oxcide, $60 YIKES! Zinc oxcide is less then $3 at walmart. Shows you what they are really interested in $$. It helps my skin. The staff is in the tissue under the skin but the zinc still helps me.

I WOULD try the yogurt and vitamins as you suggest but right now he's strictly on Hill's Prescription U/D food and I'm not supposed to alter anything without the vet's consent. I am using the zinc oxide as that is 100% safe. Thanks for your suggestions though!:)

POOR BABY !! I hope you find out what that is - it looks very painful and uncomfortable - I know I would be going nuts if I saw that :( :( - GOOD LUCK AND I hope the medication works !!!!

Thanks! He doesn't seem to be uncomfortable, in pain, itchy or anything else. He's very happy and playful, thank goodness. It's just not a pretty site and so far I don't see or feel any more bumpy things. Today starts Day 6 on the meds. If his medicine clears his staph up, maybe I should try it for myself, since my doctors don't have a clue how to treat me!:( Maybe I should go to the vet for me......he's such a sweetheart too! :D :aimeeyork

Update
 

Just an update on the staph infection after 10 days on medication: No Change. It's still just as bad. Took him back to the vet and we are now on a different medication, Cephaloxin (Amoxicillan), for the next 20 days. I was also told not to use any Tea Tree/Oatmeal shampoo but I was given a different medicated shampoo - Malaseb. Hope this all does the trick!:aimeeyork

I know if I put anything on my face that is moisturizing like oatmeal it makes it worse, i have to keep it dried out.Amoxiciilin dfinately isnt a drug of choice for staf-I would go else where. Doxycicline would be more aong the lines for staff. Call other vets & ask what their drug of choice for staff is & if they've seen much coming in .Poor guy hope he gets well soon.

Years ago I had a schnauzer that had a skin condition that looked exactly like this as well as bladder stones. My vet kept treating the skin infection with different meds without success. So I took her to another vet for a second opinion where she was treated much more aggressively. The new vet gave her an injection of prednisone right there to boost her immunne system then he sent us home with oral steroids, antibiotics and a medicated shampoo. I had to bathe her every day for 7 days then every other day then every 2 days, etc for a month. We saw improvement in the first couple of days and she was completely healed in a week, but we had to continued the course of treatment until completion. We also changed her food to one without corn. She never had another problem with her skin after that.

Maybe you should get a second opinion? Good luck!

MY MISTAKE: The medicine is Cefa-Drops, which is a Cefadroxil...brand name is Duricef. It's still a cephalosporin though. And you're right about the oatmeal. My hands, which have some oddball rash for a long time, are worsened by moisturizers of any degree. I can't even use aloe vera in any form. Everything irritates them except the Vusion, like I said, the $60 version of Desitin! And keeping my hands dry makes them look better. I guess the same would hold true for Ralphie. I am going to try the Malaseb shampoo that the vet gave me. And if all else fails, I'm going to a different vet. I still say he picked this infection up when he had his surgery there. He was fine til then. I can't even blame his food because he didn't start the food until a week or so later and I had already found one small spot where the staph started before the new food.

My daughter is home sick with the flu and I have not spent as much time taking care of her as I have with Ralphie! Poor furbaby! :(

That is exactly what I plan to do....get another opinion if the new medicine fails, which for some reason, I think it will. I probably need prednisone myself to boost my own immune system these days! Do you happen to remember the name of the medicated shampoo you used? I thought bathing him too often would keep drying out his skin, as his skin is a mess right now. Thanks for your help! :aimeeyork :)

Any new news on Ralphie?

He stopped developing bumps and he might be a bit better but his skin is so so so dry in the same area. I am using the Malaseb medicated shampoo which is supposed to help. He has to stay on the medication for another 2 weeks....ugh! I'll keep you all posted. I hope it's gone before then but it's doubtful.

And thank you so much for asking! :)

New Vet...
 

Cephlasporins are not very good for staph, skin or structure......you need a macrolide or erythromycin type antibiotic.....sounds like your current Vet does not know a lot about antibiotics.....:rolleyes:

I am sorry your Yorkie is going thru this.....and when they are on antibiotics for a long time then they get diahhea ....because you are killing the good bacteria too....:thumbdown

Good luck...

UPDATE: I'm close to giving up!
 

He's a bit better but the staph persists, the dry, flaky skin is still here, maybe a bit better too, but I keep bathing him with the Malaseb and for the one day he seems better as that shampoo descales him quite well. I think the meds have done nothing special, as others have stated they might not work, and I hate keeping him on them. The shampoo is disgusting. I'm not so sure I want to keep using that either.

I called the vet and I have one more week to keep him on the Cetadrops and then he wants to switch him to something else! ugh...

If I thought for sure it was the Hills U/D prescription food, I'd switch, but then what happens to his bladder stone condition? Can't afford to put him thru surgery ever again if I can help it.

I hope this ends soon. I do catch him scratching every so often but he doesn't seem to be affected...he is happy, playful and is eating well. I'm more miserable than him.:(

I honestly thought he picked this up at the vet's when he had his stone/neutering done, but someone told me their baby got it at the groomer when they cut too close by the tail, and that's where he was the week before surgery and it's at the base of his spine above the tail area. Now I'm afraid to go back to the same groomer. What do you think? The groomer, the vet?????? :confused:

Hope everyone and their furbabies are well. Looking forward to spring soon. I can't wait! Hate the cold NY winter weather.:aimeeyork

SUCCESS my way!
 

Hope this is the final episode of Ralphie's staph infection. I'm not so sure the meds or the medicated shampoo did the final job but I decided to take matters in my own hands a little more aggressively, and although I was not supposed to deviate from his prescription diet food, I have.

I added a bit of raw egg yolk, Missing Link mixed in a tablespoon of plain organic Water Buffalo yogurt (ugh!), which he ate a flash since he is not fond of the Hill's stuff, and I have been using good old gooey and messy A & D Ointment mixed with my $60 prescription Vusion (which is the glorified Desitin). I stopped using the Malaseb shampoo which did descale him but seemed to make his skin worse by the second day, drier and flakier.

His skin looks so much better but now I'm wondering: HOW do I shampoo out all the greasy stuff from his fur??? :eek: I'm not bathing him yet as I'm still applying my ointments to his skin but I don't see this washing out very easily.

Thanks for everyone's help! I hope this ends the nightmare! :aimeeyork

Hi,

I'm really glad to hear your dog is doing better! I know it's a little late, but I thought it would be worth mentioning that I took Teagan to the vet today because she had symptoms just like you've described (something resembling a pimple, then a blackish crusty spot) and the vet said it was a mild staph infection. He prescribed Lincocin, 1/2 pill 2 x day for 2 weeks.

I hope Teagan recovers alot quicker than Ralphie. It took a few antibiotics to get it right - he's still on the medicine until next Monday - plus my own intervention...probably the reason I never go to doctors myself. I stay far away!

Ralphie started the same way, just one small crusty spot but it started to spread over his backbone near the tail and it remained confined to that area, thank goodness no further.

Good luck and keep me posted!