advice re more antibiotics for lip fold problem

[Ben's mum]

I would love your opinions please. 
Harry had a very bad lip fold problem a couple of months ago.  He had 7 days antibiotics (and hibiscrub)which helped a lot but didn't clear it up.
I went back to the vet and she put him on 14 days antibiotics, at the end of the 14 days it appeared to be gone completely, but over the last weekend there is a very small patch come back in the same place. Now I would have gone back to the vet this week anyway to see what the next stage was - as she had discussed using wipes and also a small operation.

However on Monday morning Harry went mushrooming in the woods and made himself very poorly! so we ended up at the vet quicker than we planned.  She gave him an antibiotic injection and I have been back tonight for Harry to have the once over.  The vet said she would prescribe a further 5 days antibiotics for the mushroom problem and while I was there she looked at his lip fold and said the 5 days antibiotics would help that and we have some wipes to try for a few weeks to see if they also help.  When I have arrived home I notice she has given me 10 days antibiotics by mistake (I've paid for them according to my reciept - not just overcounted otherwise I would have taken them back).

So my dilemma is this - do I give Harry the full 10 days to see if that clears the infection or do I just let him have 5 days and start the wipes.  I am not sure if it can cause any problems having 3 courses of antib's in 2 months?? I know I can ring my vet, she is lovely, but if she says it up to me I still wouldn't know what to do as I am unsure how antibotics affect dogs if they have them regulalry.  I know lots of you have had problems with lip folds, - did you try several courses before it cleared up, or shall I just accept that antibiotics are not going to do the job???  My thinking is that if this finally gets rid of it then we prevent Harry having the operation. 

Sorry for the long post but I want to be clear about the best course of action for Harry.
thank you 

[Archie bean]

I would phone and ask to speak to the vet just to clarify what she intended. Hope he feels better soon.

[elaine.e]

Poor Harry, he's definitely in the wars at the moment . William ate some unidentified toadstools about this time last year and ended up at the vet's being given an injection to make him vomit.

I think you should phone your vet about the antibiotics as there must be a reason why she thought a 5 day course was appropriate. Maybe it's simply that they should be enough to clear up the small patch, or maybe it's something to do with possible side effects as he's had a lot of antibiotics lately so definitely worth checking.

Is the surgery you mentioned a sort of nip and tuck to remove some of the folds? That's what my first Cocker, Josh, had done on one side after recurring infections and it worked a treat. The trickiest bit was holding onto him when he had the stitches out and made a huge fuss, but the surgery and recovery were perfect and he never had any more infections.

[kaycee]

Heres a great tip i got from a breeder who has been in the breed for over 40 years, keep the folds clipped really short then buy some HYDROGEN PEROXOIDE solotion from the chemist make up a solution from this  EG! 1 capful of solution to 1 capful of boiled water in other words 1/2 & 1/2 useing cotton wool really soaked, pat the area and if their is any bacteria it will go slighty frothy & white  wipe this away with a dry clean piece of cotton wool, repeat until the fold does not  go white and then dry the area! if mine show any signs of fold infection i do this twice a day and it soon clears up  i have 6 cockers and since i have used this lotion i have not visited the vets with any mouth infections!!! A great tip that for me works every time  ( on the dogs of course ) kx.