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Cocker Specific Discussion => Health => Topic started by: Hel on March 17, 2003, 08:17:52 PM

Title: Pyoderma?
Post by: Hel on March 17, 2003, 08:17:52 PM

Hi

My young cocker ( 4 years male, half working) has just developed a huge sore on the side of his neck.  It's about an inch in diameter, is solid under the skin (a flat lump) and is weeping.  There is no sign of external injury and it appeared on Saturday.  In a human, it would look like a jellyfish sting.  He's off the the vets tomorrow and my amateur internet diagonisis suggests that it is pyoderma.  However, most sites seem to suggest that the most likely cause of pyoderma is flea allergy.  This is unlikely to be the case for Fletch - he is up to date in flea treatment and I am so allergic to fleabites and apparently so attractive to fleas, I know if the dogs have fleas before they do (I can also tell if my friends' dogs have fleas before they do!)

Does anyone have experience of pyoderma and causes other than fleas.

Best wishes
Helen                    

Title: Pyoderma?
Post by: Mike on March 17, 2003, 08:45:45 PM

It's not something I have experienced in my own dogs Helen, but I have seen it before and your 'amateur' diagnosis sounds as though it is a likely candidate. I found a site which had this to say of Pyoderma:

Quote

“The warmer weather means there will be more biting and skin irritating insects in the garden, village green or wherever the family dog might wander. These insects usually irritate or break open the skin, leaving it exposed to bacterial infection such as Staphylococcus intermedius, which causes nearly every case of superficial pyoderma. Superficial pyoderma develops when the Staphs make their way into skin irritated or broken by insect bites or from excessive scratching of the bites.”

so it seems that any number of insect/parasite could have caused the skin to open, not necessarily fleas, enough for this bacteria to get in.

The website doesnt provide much more on this condition, but if you're interested, the link is here:

http://www.vpmag.co.uk/news/110 (http://www.vpmag.co.uk/news/110)                    

Title: Pyoderma?
Post by: Jane S on March 17, 2003, 10:46:49 PM

Don't know if this will help but I have found cleaning the "hot spot" thoroughly with Hibiscrub & then drying the area & applying a herbal ointment called Ekoneem works a treat with these sort of flare ups. Ekoneem smells foul but it's v effective (you can order it from various sites including http://www.thenaturalapproach.co.uk/petpro...m_For_Pets.html (http://www.thenaturalapproach.co.uk/petproduct_pages/Ekoneem_For_Pets.html)

Jane                    

Title: Pyoderma?
Post by: Fran on March 18, 2003, 09:42:38 AM

Hi Helen,

I had Suzie at the vet's Saturday morning for exactly the same thing.  At first I thought she had a lump on her head but on closer inspection discovered she had an open sore.  The vet has given her 2 courses of antibotics, one set to be taken twice a day over a 12 day period and the other set over 7 days.  In just 3 days it has almost cleared up.

Fran                    

Title: Pyoderma?
Post by: Hel on March 18, 2003, 06:06:17 PM

Hi All

He's been to the vet's and it is pyoderma, made worse by his scratching.  It was green and horrible this morning!  Anyway, he's had a antibiotic injection,  is on a course of antibiotic tablets for 10 days and also has some Hibiscrub to wash it with.  I do hope this is not going to be something he gets regularly!

Best wishes

Helen                    

Title: Pyoderma?
Post by: Inca on March 18, 2003, 06:52:03 PM

Hope it soon clears up Hel.