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I think it's time to start looking for a primary cause because it certainly looks like there is a primary cause and without treating the primary cause you will keep stuck with these returning infections. The fact they keep returning is pretty much "proof" there is another underlying cause...and it needs to be adressed will you ever solve this problem. Seems like a visit to a dermatologist is in order... :) But I do understand how disheartening this must be...
Saskia :)
Sas, I do agree there must be a primary cause, but I'm fearful it may be illusive. All of Luna's labwork is normal, and her behavior is all totally normal (appetite, energy, GI function, etc.). I think there are still two more avenues that we could pursue with our regular vet: the staph innoculations and/or skin biopsy. If neither of those are productive or informative, then we really have no choice but to move on to a dermatologist should the infection continue to blossom.
I may be wrong, but if no other abnormalities are identified, I'm guessing that general allergy testing would be the main contribution of a dermatologist. That will be very, very expensive here and I confess to a degree of pessimism re: the outcome based on the experiences of friends' pets and also human family members. It seems as though you are having success with Quincy's desensitization? And obviously that is what we would hope for, too, if that is Luna's problem. But I know folks who have spent small fortunes on allergy testing/treatment and not much added success to show for it. So rightly or wrongly, I'm viewing that as kind of a last resort.
Although apparently it's rare, Luna does perfectly fit the profile of a dog who is hypersensitive to staph itself. So I still believe I'd want to try those innoculations before moving onward with other allergy testing. And since our vet is also willing and capable of doing a biopsy, the pathology report would be the same regardless of who is submitting the samples. So that is my line of thinking at the moment, to explore those first. But if things worsen again rapidly and we can find no other answers, we will have to move on to a specialist.
But please know that I always appreciate your thoughts and suggestions so very much, even though I may not always act upon them (at least not immediately :rolleyes:). I truly value your knowledge, experience, and caring. I thank you, and everybody else who has taken the time to read through Luna's thread to offer their thoughts to me. I appreciate you all so very much.
I fully understand, Marianne :) It just that I am not used to general vets doing "dermatologists" things :D Here I would need to go to a dermatologist for a skin biopsy and/or the innoculations. But if your general vet can do them....of course, that's easier (and cheaper) :D
I think it's Linda (spiceysmom) who told me her Spicey too did wonderfully with the monthly injections... :) About 75 till 80 % of all dogs will improve with the injections...so yes, for some dogs it's not the solution unfortunately.
And yes, the allergy testing is expensive and so are the bottles with the injectionfluids...but if it works, it's cheaper than having to pay for all the visits to the vet, the testing, the anti biotics, the prednisone and anything else they might need for the constant infections (ears, eyes, skin, paws...etc).
Let's just hope that Luna is hypersensitive to staph and nothing else and that she will respond great to the injections :)
Sas :)
That's actually one thing that makes me suspect staph hypersensitivity as opposed to other allergies: Luna has never exhibited any other allergy issues whatsoever. No itching, scratching, paw licking, eye/ear infections at all. Peg is the poster child for all those types of problems, so I definitely know what that looks like :o. But aside from an occasional dirty ear, we've never had any visible allergic issues with Luna. She doesn't even itch or scratch the lesions now. So that's a big reason why it's hard for me to want to launch into a bunch of allergy testing unless there's really nothing else to be checked.
Hmmmm..... It's hard for me to think that Luna's problem is an allergy when she doesn't exhibit any allergy symptoms.:confused:
I am super glad that she's feeling OK and am anxious to see how all of this unfolds. I am not too concerned because nothing slips by Nurse Peg.;)
Hang in there Marianne. You'll get it figured out.
How are things with Luna? :) Could you keep the infection contained to that one lesion or did it (I hope not of course) turn into multiple lesions...?
Sas :)
It's been a little over a week now since the single lesion popped up, and it is now healed and I've not found any more. Fortunately, Nurse Peg has shown no new interest in Luna's back. :)
Overall, Luna's skin generally looks much better. I thank you so much for the Douxo and Allerderm recommendations. I really think the Douxo shampoo is superior to what I was using previously and I am going to recommend it to my vet.
Since things have not gotten any worse this week, I am holding off on taking any new steps. We will be taking Peg in for labwork in two weeks, and I can discuss Luna with him then, too. If we can hold Luna to nothing more than an intermittent spot or two, I'll actually be pretty happy because apparently even with successful staph desensitization, occasional lapses can still be expected.
Ohhhhh I am truly happy to hear this :) And with time, the Douxo and Allerderm will even have more effect...so Luna will improve even more :)
I did think of something else...you could ask your vet. Maybe it's an option to, if need be, to treat a new lesion with a Betadine solution? That also may help to contain/heal it.... just a thought. It's not aggressive but it is antiseptic :)
And yes, when I look at Quincy, the hyposensibilisation therapy works really well and it saves Quincy a lot of new occuring infections but she still has them, eventhough they are pretty rare now, but they are not completely gone. But I too am very happy with the current situation...I know how bad it was so this is a huge improvement :) I can imagine you feel the same way about Luna :)
It's nice to read such a positive update just before I go to sleep... :D
Sweet dreams in advance,
Saskia :)
I know I have yet to pop in on this thread, but I have been keeping along.
My personal opinion would be to go the biopsy route - this was how we diagnosed CC. And, my general vet did the biopsy. What she did do though, was to call the local derm vet (only one in town; Alaska!), and get advice on which specific lab to send the samples to, so as to get the right people looking at the sample. Not all labs are created equal, and the lab a derm vet uses may be different from what a GP vet would use for regular stuff.
Just my two cents!
Renee, that's a great suggestion if we do end up with a biopsy. Today is bath day so we'll really have a chance to check Luna again, but so far this week I've still not seen any evidence of new spots. If we can continue to stay on top of things, then maybe we have turned the tide on our own.
Sas, I am now using the Douxo chlorhexidine spray to treat any suspicious areas. I was able it to use on the new spot two weeks ago, and the area was vastly improved in just a couple of days. Like the shampoo, the spray has a skin strengthener as well as the chlorhexidine. I've been poring over the literature re: which antiseptic is best against surface skin bacteria, and chlorhexidine seems to win compared to everything else, including betadine. Apparently chlorhexidine has a significantly better initial kill rate and also may have residual activity. So you may want to try a bottle of the Douxo spray, too. I swear, those products seem great!