Treating Hot Spots

[TYLER23]

Just wandering what's the best way to treat a cut on our dog's neck (right on the collar line)?

The cut is a result of a full day's play with a friends dog. It only seems superficial and there is only a small amount of blood.

i've cleaned the area with antiseptic wipes and obviously cannot apply a bandage around his neck, so should i just let it scab over?

Edited October 14, 2010 by TYLER23

[spottychick]

pawpaw ointment or manuka honey (medicinal grade 15+ or above) are the two best treatments I know of for killing off nasties and speeding up healing in cuts and burns

Pawpaw ointment is cheaper but I think medicinal grade manuka honey is more potent.

For a slight cut pawpaw will do just fine.

[Miranda]

Clean it with warm salt water and put some Betadine on it then let it scab. Leave the collar off until it's healed.

Edited October 4, 2010 by Miranda

[WreckitWhippet]

My SBT's get salty water applied a couple of times a day, including when it's started to scab over.

[TYLER23]

thanks for the prompt replies... i've washed it with salty water and applied some paw paw ointment. Now i just have to deal with a sooky stafford... he is walking around all sad and droopy eyed... geez i'd hate to see how he reacts when he really gets injured!

[spottychick]

thanks for the prompt replies... i've washed it with salty water and applied some paw paw ointment. Now i just have to deal with a sooky stafford... he is walking around all sad and droopy eyed... geez i'd hate to see how he reacts when he really gets injured!

Awwwww poor little dude! Hurt his widdle neckywecky. Big tough staffy-waffy

[TYLER23]

i feel bad for making fun of the sooky la la now... i woke up this morning to find more blood and a swollen neck. straight to the vets and it turns out the wound is infected and he has developed some nasty hot spots in that area which are weeping quite badly. the vet washed it all out, an anti-inflammatory injection and two weeks worth of antibiotics!

poor baby... plenty of cuddles for the next few days

[mackiemad]

i wash with warm salty water and then apply some tea tree ointment.

paw paw is ok, but i find that flies are attracted to it, not so with the tea tree.

and i think most cuts probably don't need manuka honey- my rule of thumb is that if it needs manuka it needs a vet cos in that case it is probably deep enough or wide enough to need 'proper' treatment!

[TYLER23]

After two days of antibiotics (RILEXINE) some of the hot spots are still weeping and the dog is quite lethargic. Is the lack of energy a symptom of the hot spots or could it be the antibiotics causing it? He's been prescribed a two week dose.

[TYLER23]

The hot spots are now healing and the scabs are starting to dry and flake off along with most of the hair around it. is this hair loss normal?

Also, should i be applying some sort of moisturiser to help heal the skin and promote new hair growth?

[persephone]

Please do NOT put anything on the wounds...keep them dry and let the air get to them.

let the A/Bs do their stuff.

Hair loss is because that skin layer was very damaged- and so are the hair follicles It is an injury..and will slowly grow more skin.

No collar for some time either- new skin is very fragile ..and infection may be introduced again

Perhaps walk him in a no pull harness for now? I would hate to hear of new problems.

So - was it a cut or bites? Sounds as if it was bites . Did he get cellulitis?

Edited October 13, 2010 by persephone

[TYLER23]

Please do NOT put anything on the wounds...keep them dry and let the air get to them.

let the A/Bs do their stuff.

Hair loss is because that skin layer was very damaged- and so are the hair follicles It is an injury..and will slowly grow more skin.

No collar for some time either- new skin is very fragile ..and infection may be introduced again

Perhaps walk him in a no pull harness for now? I would hate to hear of new problems.

So - was it a cut or bites? Sounds as if it was bites . Did he get cellulitis?

His antibiotics finished today and the wounds are looking good apart from the flaky scabs and hair loss. He hasn't worn a collar since the hot spots appeared and yes, i'm using a harness to walk him for the time being.

He is due for a bath.. is it ok to bath him, or should i hold off on that too?

Not 100% sure what caused the initial injury, but judging by the way they were play fighting, i suspect it was a misplaced bite which quickly got infected and spread.

Not sure what cellulitis actually is, but his whole neck was swollen which required an anti-inflammatory injection.

[matilda1]

Please do NOT put anything on the wounds...keep them dry and let the air get to them.

let the A/Bs do their stuff.

Hair loss is because that skin layer was very damaged- and so are the hair follicles It is an injury..and will slowly grow more skin.

No collar for some time either- new skin is very fragile ..and infection may be introduced again

Perhaps walk him in a no pull harness for now? I would hate to hear of new problems.

So - was it a cut or bites? Sounds as if it was bites . Did he get cellulitis?

I echo the post above. I was concerned when I read about using the antiseptic wipes.

Either way I am very pleased he is doing much better now.

Sending healing vibes your way

[TYLER23]

the antiseptic wipes were only on day one before the hot spots spread and before a visit to the vets. Since then he's only had two rinses with malaseb.

So when can i bath him?

[~Anne~]

Hotspots are a fungal infection and can be made worse by heat and humidity. I always clip the hair away from the spot and I apply a cream specific for the purpose (of which the name always escapes me off-hand!). I have also heard of people using curash powder on hot spots with success, among many other things.

I was a little confused reading your first post (and I still am a little confused) as you said 'hot spot' in the title but 'cut' in the post. A cut is not a hot spot and both would be treated differently.

You can bath him whenever you like I would think, but ensure you dry the offending area really well.

Edited - I just read the remainder of the thread and can see it wasn't actually a hot spot but a wound that became infected.

Edited October 14, 2010 by ~Anne~

[TYLER23]

I just rang the vet, she said it's ok to bath him after he finishes his antibitotics (tomorrow). I use Aloveen shampoo with oatmeal which she said would be good for the damaged skin.

[tlc]

Glad your boy is on the mend, hot spots are buggers of things, My friends Golden was prone to them and she had such a hard time with him. My youngest had a spot on his head only tiny to begin with and I thought it was a tooth or claw mark from one of the other dogs, they play pretty hard, anyway it got bigger so off to the vet we went.

She shaved the area and wasn't sure what it was but said she thought hot spot. She gave us anti biotics and prednislone and said to keep putting apex cream on it. The pills were fine apart from weight gain but I had to stop putting the apex cream on as it irritated him no end and he would scratch at his head and make it bleed all over again.

For the whole two weeks he wasn't himself and I think it was due to the AB's for sure. The fur has grown back but seems a slightly different color now. I hope I never see another one, they are very hard to deal with especially in the warmer weather!