My Lovely Angel Luna

Thanks guys. And yup, who knows, it may be allergies. We're back from the vet. He thinks it is staph. My biggest worry was ringworm since that is so contagious to humans, too. But the hair samples didn't "light up" under a Woods Lamp, so that makes ringworm much less likely. He is doing a ringworm culture just to make sure it is ruled out, but from the appearance, he feels pretty certain it is staph. Why is her skin compromised enough to allow the staph to grow -- that is the question, of course. Could indeed be allergies, or something environmental, or something systemic.

Anyway, before racing off to the dermatologist, he suggests doing the simplest things first. Three weeks of oral antibiotics, and weekly medicated baths with a broad-spectrum antibiotic/antifungal shampoo. No matter what's causing it, we'd want to get the overt infection under control, regardless. Hopefully we can eradicate it and it won't come back. If it doesn't resolve or if it returns, then we'll need to look deeper. I still think it's worrisome that the first lesion appeared clear back in January. That signals something chronic going on to me. Just sayin'. But I'll stuff that worry in a drawer for the time being.

One fringe benefit of the meds will be treatment for a UTI if Luna actually has one. Initially I was planning to take in a urine sample next week, but now a UTI would end up being treated, as well. We both agree it will be interesting if this makes a difference in her peeing.

So I came home with a big bottle of Simplicef -- half for Luna and half for Peg! Peg has an interdigital cyst that I'm been mucking with for over six weeks now, putting on ointment and taping a sock over it. But it is not healing, either, so time for some oral meds for her, too.

So that's where we are. I rewarded Luna with a lovely walk at the lake afterwards. We have had such crappy wet weather lately, but today is a beauty! So we'll proceed with the plan, and for the moment I'll just stick a bookmark in Luna's thread (and I promise to quit Googling, at least for the time being! ;))

Hmmmmm..... Very interesting… Did the vet do a skin scraping to test for Staph, as well as Ringworm? Since Peg seems to have an infection from her cyst, could Luna have gotten the bacteria from her or vice versa? Could they be sharing bacteria? Just wondering.....
I'd want to culture that bacteria, find out what it is and make sure I had the right antibiotic. Luna's first nodule was in January. This crap has been in her system for a while. I would want to know what it was. Not trying to scare you my dear. I just don't like infections. They scare the bejeebees out of me!:o:eek:

Yes, he is definitively testing for ringworm in two ways. Both involve combing out hair samples that would have the fungal spores attached if it is ringworm. First thing is to shine a Woods Lamp on the sample; 50% of genuine ringworm samples will fluoresce. Luna's sample did not. So the next step is to culture the sample in a specific medium, which we are doing. But it can take a long time to grow out if is positive, so it will be a couple of weeks before we know for certain.

However, he said he has seen a lot of ringworm (caught it several times himself :eek:) in his practice, and it does not look like ringworm to him. It looks like staph. I realize "looks like" is not a definitive answer and perhaps I should have pushed for a bacterial culture. But last night (while I was still allowed to Google ;)), I saw a couple dermatology blogs where vets said they don't necessarily routinely culture for staph when the lesion has a really characteristic appearance. If the problem persists or recurs in the face of a broad-spectrum antibiotic like Simplicef, however, we will definitely need to pursue diagnosis further.

From what I have read, aside from ringworm, most canine yeast/bacterial skin infections are not contagious. Peg's cyst presents entirely differently from the spots on Luna's back. But even if the same type of infection is involved, I think they probably each sprouted the problem on their own, as it were.

Having said all that, I agree it is never a bad idea to culture. But we have spent so much over the last couple of months on all of Peg's testing and urine cultures that I did not press the point today to do another culture beyond the ringworm. That decision may turn out to bite me in the butt, but I hope not. If the Simplicef does not help, we will have no choice but to dig deeper.

Some anti seizure medications do have the ability to suppress the immune system, I've also come across an article which states that these types of drugs may create what is known as "Antiepileptic hypersensitivity syndrome"

Quote:

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Aromatic AEDs such as phenytoin, carbamazepine, and phenobarbital, as well as some newer agents, including lamotrigine, oxcarbazepine, felbamate, and zonisamide, have been implicated in eliciting a whole repertoire of hypersensitivity reactions ranging from simple maculopapular skin eruptions...

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I would think, though, if she were going to have a reaction to the pheno it would have been in the beginning of her taking it.

Hoping that the antibiotics and baths take care of that staph infection.

I think poor Peg has a whole range of possible explanations for a screwed-up immune system. That's why nothing she ever does or sprouts really surprises me now! Her cyst is actually really, really tiny. It has a little raw center, though, that makes Peg want to lick at her paw any chance she gets. So I'd really like to get the darned thing totally healed.

Luna is the unpleasant surprise, though. Up to now, aside from her periodic limping :rolleyes:, she has seemed totally healthy. Great skin, great coat, great GI system. So this skin infection has really come out of the blue for her. Hopefully, it will pass and never return!

Oh Marianne, I apologize for getting your sweet girls mixed up...Peg takes the pheno not Luna :o:o

Oh Lori, that's OK! Peg does have a lot of issues that could stem from immunosuppression, so that info you gave is interesting regardless of which thread you posted it on. :)

Marianne,

I am sorry your girls are continuing to have these problems. Poor girls.....and you and Jim too.

You and Luna are about a week into the oral antibiotic and the weekly baths... How is she doing at this time? Can you notice some improvement? I hope so :)

Sas and Quincy :)

Sas, thanks so much for asking. I am speaking softly so as not to jinx things, but so far so good! I have not found any new lesions and overall, Luna's coat is looking better. She did have another one of her darn mystery limping episodes over the weekend, but as of yesterday, she was rarin' to go for a regular walk again. So all seems to be good this morning. She'll get her next bath again on Saturday. The shampoo smells awful, but if it does the job, that's all that matters. ;)

Marianne