from bad to worse

[Shotze's Mom]

Last week Shotzes vet said she had sarcoptic mange (yikes) and gave me paramite to bathe her in and also suggested a pre-wash with neutrogena t-gel shampoo. Heres the thing...she is WORSE! When I went in last Monday, she had a few bumps under her chin and a few bumps on her head and thats it. No wide spread hair loss....kinda thin on her back and head but thats it. Now, sheeeesh, she has alot of bumps on her head, around her eyes, inside her ears and they are bleeding. I have put antibiotic ointment on them to try to keep down infection until I can get her back in on the 20th. She has no fleas, there arent any ants where she plays, and if these are insect bites, I think I would have saw some around her when Im outside playing with her. I havent. My baby looks horrible. Im to the point of tears. All she does is scratch and lick. PLEASE help. Could this be allergies? The bumps are little ant bite looking things and itch her something fierce. Is this sarcoptic mange and it will get worse before it gets better? Could it be demodex? Im seriously considering taking her to an alternate vet this week to see what he thinks.

If it is allergies, how much benadryl do I give her? She weighs 20# and is 4 months on the 20th. Please help me and my baby.

 

[mom2ash]

If your vet won't see her today, find another one. I know your baby is miserable...which in turn is probably tearing you up too! Keep us posted on how she is doing. Best of luck!

 

[VTbxrFan]

I don't know the exact timeline, but it could be that stress from her surgery made it worse. Did she get noticeably worse right after using the shampoo? If so, that might indicate a reaction to the shampoo, but the shampoo is probably not the culprit if the condition has been gradually worsening over the last week. I wish I had some advice for you, but I haven't had to deal with that. I would try to get her to a vet ASAP, though. I know mange doesn't clear up easily or quickly, but I wouldn't wait another 10 days to see the vet if the condition is getting worse instead of better. Also make sure your vet is actually doing some tests to figure out what it is instead of just making guesses by the way it looks - there are all sorts of things that can cause skin problems and the wrong treatment will make it work. I hope others who have dealt with mange will be able to give you better advice than I can. Poor Shotze!

Susan

(PS: A search for Benedryl will probably pull up the dosage info - I know it's on here somewhere, but I don't remember exactly what it is. It probably won't help if it's just the mange getting worse, though.)

 

[Shotze's Mom]

She had no major problems until AFTER her surgery. She had dandruff, but that cleared up when I changed shampoos. I feel like the surgery weakened her immune system and thats why she got this....whatever it is. Im calling a local vet and taking her tomorrow. She is so miserable and Its killing me.

 

[VTbxrFan]

She had no major problems until AFTER her surgery. She had dandruff, but that cleared up when I changed shampoos. I feel like the surgery weakened her immune system and thats why she got this....whatever it is. Im calling a local vet and taking her tomorrow. She is so miserable and Its killing me.

Another thought just occured to me considering the timing - has she been on any pain medication since her surgery that she could be having an allergic reaction to? Or perhaps it's a reaction to the anesthesia from the surgery? I remember my brother having some problems with his scalp after having surgery in high school. I don't recall the full details - I just remember that he was very itchy and had to use a special shampoo for a while, and his doctor said it was a reaction to the anesthesia that fairly common. In any case, I hope the vet will have some answers for you tomorrow so Shotze can start getting better. The frustrating thing with skin problems is that there are so many different causes, so it can be hard to identify the problem. It could be linked to her surgery or the timing could just be a coincidence.

 

[Lael]

Ok, I know what you are going through.

Here's my experience:

At 4 months of age, 29lb, Lael was given 25mg of Benadryl. We gave her this because of the itching. Turns out she didn't have allergies, but it helped her sleep at night. If it isn't allergies, all Benadryl will do is help Shotze rest, it won't ease her itching.

Lael was diagnosed with a mild case of demodex, and we opted for the antimircobal shampoo and ivermectin doses. The shampoo was to help prevent folliculitus caused by a staph infection; Ivermectin to kill the demodex mites.

Our vet told us that whenever Ivermectin is given, the mange will get worse before it will get better. The reason is because the mites will "put up a fight". This was true for Lael.

Later she developed folliculitus on her back legs. I too thought they were bug bites, but in fact they weren't. Lael's did itch, but didn't bleed.

I would call the vet and let them know what is going on. I agree that waiting 10 days is too long if Shotze is just getting worse. If he/she doesn't think Shotze needs to be seen, my suggestion would be to see someone else for a second opion. Mange can be stubborn, and delaying proper treatment is only going to make it worse.

One thing I did to make Lael a bit more comfortable was to bathe her in the antimicrobal shampoo (it helped her itching), and then apply a diluted water & tea tree oil solution. Take a spray bottle and fill it up with water. Add tsp of tea tree oil and spray on the itching areas. Tea tree has antisceptic properties that can ease infection.

These are just my thoughts from my experience with Lael. Hopefully someone with more knowledge & experience can help you out.

Good luck! And hang in there Shotze!
Cat & Lael

 

[JMitchl]

Demodex

My four month old Boxer (Harley) was recently diagnosed with Demodex. I would agree that it got worse before it got better. Our vet opted for an antibiotic to ward of any infection and Amitraz dips. Harley had his first dip last week and is MUCH better. He returns on Tuesday for his second dip. The spots on his face and body sound very similar to what you have explained. I would suggest that you call the vet and request a skin scraping. This will determine if your pup has Demodex. Good luck.....

 

[Shotze's Mom]

update on Shotze's status

I took Shotze to the vet on Tuesday because after dipping her in paramite she became MUCH worse. I went to change her food thinking maybe the kibble she was on might be contributing to the rash. I asked my vet what he thought and he said bring her in that evening. So I did. After examining her he said that it doesnt look like mange anymore. He said it looks like an allergy because it is mainly localized on her head. He gave her amoxicillin for the secondary infection, eye ointment for her bad eye boogies, and aloe vera juice for her itching. She smells SO bad on her head. He said that if I dont see any improvment by the 20th that he will do a scraping on her and see what can be wrong. He said it looked like ant bites to him too. She isnt itching as bad and the pustules have become scabs. So, Im thinking MAYBE she is getting better. I really cant tell and its only been two days of antibiotics and food change. He also said that I need to give her yogurt daily to help with the kibble transition. Ive had NO sleep. Not only is she sick, but my son was diagnosed with scarlatina (secondary infection from strep throat) and my husband caught a 24 hour virus and was home sick yesterday. Im the only one that ISNT sick in this house. I know....when they get better....Ill get sick. Ill keep you all updated on Shotzes status and once again thanks for all the prayers and support as they are much needed and greatly appreciated at this time.

 

[Kbryant]

You poor thing. Sorry to hear what all of you are going through. My thoughts are with you. Take care. Karen

 

[Lael]

Immune Boost

I'm sorry to hear that Shotze is having a hard time. If I may, I'd suggest giving her some suppliments to boost her immune system. Our vet told me that the canine immune system is very similar to ours; often food & vitamins that boost our immune system will also boost theirs. I give Lael Vitamin C, 1/2 clove of garlic each day (minced & added to her food), and a greens suppliment. I aslo feed Lael plain yogurt every now & then; it certainly helps keep their intestinal flora healthy while on antibiotics (and it's yummy ).

One more thing... dipping is a pretty big deal because of the toxicity (which can also suppress the immune system). I would think that a skin scraping would be the absolute FIRST thing one would do before diagnosing any canine skin disease. I am a bit shocked that the vet would dip Shotze for mange before confirming that it is mange since skin scrapings are not a difficult procedure. Just some thoughts.

Anyways, I hope that Shotze is on the road to recovery! I know how hard it is to have an itchy, sick baby.

Cat & Lael