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Nope, not yet. They said it would take 7-10 days to get the full culture results. Today is Day 6, so hopefully by Friday. I can't say that the Simplicef and shampoo are having as positive an effect this time, since she has continued to sprout some new infected areas during this week. But she was much worse starting out this time, too. So we shall see. Gosh, I'd hate to have to shave her, but Sas's suggestion may turn out to be necessary. :o
Have you been putting anything on the oozing areas between baths?
This stuff works wonders. The VF (Verterinary Formula) Hydro Gel is a much more concentrated formula than the regular stuff. It says on the bottle that it's for a vet use only, don't believe it. You can order it online. I did.
When Rosie tore a paw pad, this stuff healed it up in two days. I bought it on-line from Entirely Pets. It arrived the next day. I washed it thoroughly with Hibiclens (per Glynda), then kept Vetericyn VF on it keeping it moist, several times a day.
Since it is a gel, it will gunk up around the hair. It heals better if you trim it.;)
http://www.entirelypets.com/vtrcynvfhydglspry16oz.html
Ahhh, it is very good timing that you've brought up Vetericyn because I was going to post something about a related formula change on "Everything Else" over the weekend. ;)
First, in relation to Luna, I've got antibiotic ointment and also a combined antibiotic/steroid spray on hand that is available to me to use. However, for a couple of years, I've always kept Vetericyn liquid spray in the house to cleanse wounds or irritated areas. I do not like the gel for exactly the reason you mentioned -- with their thick Lab double-coats, the gel really gunks things up even more (I'm not crazy about the antibiotic ointment for that same reason).
So in between baths, I had been using up the last of my Vetericyn liquid spray to try to break up the thick clumps of sticky crusty gunk on Luna's back. I was set to order more when I noticed that all the related products are now described as Vetericyn "Plus," and I wondered what had changed to account for that.
When I Googled it, I found this very thorough/complicated explanation on a message board for humans with spinal cord injuries (I had discovered quite a while back that Vetericyn has been used regularly for decontamination purposes by various human patient populations for things like cleaning catheters, etc.). Anyway, the long and the short of it is that the license has expired for Vetericyn's use of the specific patented cleansing agent. So from now on, all Vetericyn "Plus" products (including the gel), have a different formula from the originals. HOWEVER, the company that developed the process that produces the cleansing agent has now released product lines of their own, both for humans and animals. Their new product for animals that duplicates the original Vetericyn liquid is "Microcyn AH (Animal Health)," and I just ordered a big bottle from Amazon. They have also released a companion hydrogel.
For anybody who wants to read the very thorough discussion about the comparability of the the old Vetericyn, new Vetericyn Plus, and new Microcyn, here's a link to the spinal cord injury message board. The post about the animal health products is at the bottom of the thread, but the previous posts lay out the overall history and data re: the formula changes.
http://www.apparelyzed.com/forums/to...yn-technology/
Just heard from the stand-in vet, and it is staph and is supposedly sensitive to many antibiotics including the Simplicef she's already taking. So I don't know why it is not clearing more thoroughly yet. Will stay on course for the weekend, though, and consult again with regular vet next week.
Just something you may want to talk about with your regular vet after the weekend... There is a condition that's called "staph hypersensitivity" (not sure if that is what it is called in English though but you will understand what I mean :) )
Whenever a dog has a staph infection that should be treatable and reacting to anti biotics, and the infection, after it had cleared first, returns very shortly there's a big chance the dog is sensitive to staph bacteria. This is not quite an allergie but a sensitivity, causing the dog the react to staph much more severely and much more easily. It can be treated with injections (just as with allergies) where you hope the dog 's immune system won't react so extreme to staph. And, as with the allergie shots, they have a high succes rate as well :)
Anyway, thought you may want to talk to your vet about this possibility.
(and about the shaving, you might consider just shaving or clipping the affected area's, not as dramatic as shaving the entire fur off but still will allow the affected area's to heal better)
Saskia :)
Hmmmm....Luna has been popping out with these goopy crusts since January. Is it possible that she has had a persistent staph infection all along that has never entirely been eradicated?
Quote:
Originally Posted by labblab
Yes, I think it's possible, although never as severe as this last go-round. Otherwise, we would certainly have noticed the crusty scabs from the infection when we bathed her. Her fur is so thick that she might have had a couple of unnoticed spots between that first one in January and the April/May outbreak. But we would have been aware of anything as significant as these last two outbreaks.
Either way -- persistent or recurring -- there has to be something fueling her vulnerability. I'm really interested in this "staph hypersensitivity" that Sas has written about. I will definitely discuss that with our vet.
Okay, it's "next week" :D Just curious if you have been to your regular vet yet? And how Luna is doing...and you, of course? :)
Sas :)
Thanks for asking, Sas! I will be taking Luna in either tomorrow or Friday. I wanted to first give her a full two weeks on the Simplicef to see where it would it get us.
We definitely have better control than when we started out. Until I bathed her this morning, I thought that all the lesions were now dried out and just crusted over. Unfortunately, I again found one more newer area during her bath, so I guess some active infection is still smoldering. But at least things are much quieter than previously.
When I do take her in, one of the things I will ask about is a skin biopsy. From what I have now read about the hypersensitivity you mentioned, it looks as though a biopsy would help diagnose that condition as well as other possible issues.
Miss Luna thanks you for thinking about her, and I do too! ;)
Well, it's not worse. We can be very thankful for that! ;)
Still, it appears to be a pesky little bugger of staph that loves Luna and has no intention of leaving without a fight. :mad::eek:
Let us know how the vet goes and what the next step will be.
I hope Luna is feeling well otherwise and Nursemaid Peg is still able to carry out her supervisory duties.;) She is probably just thrilled that Luna is the one needing so many baths!:p