Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - green pustule on back/Staph Infection?

I was wondering if anyone has experience with green pustules on their dogs skin. From what I've read it sounds like it might be a staph infection. There is only the one that I just noticed 20 minutes ago. It looks to be a green puss with no redness or anything. It just looks like green puss about 1/4 inch in diameter in her hair on her skin (back area). I'm going to see if I can get her in to have it checked in a few hours but just wanted to see if there was any advise in regards to whether a topical treatment would be better than an oral one....if even indeed it is a staph infection. Also...I have other dogs...can this harm the others? Thanks, Johnny & Tessy

Johnny

Hi Johnny, Tiggs had a suspected staph infection on his belly, but it was dark, purply, not oozing or anything. They asked us if we wanted a systemic antibiotic or a topical. Since his white count (and all others)were good, we opted for Pyoben, a topical antibiotic. I do know that dogs on Cyclo (isn't Tessy on Cyclo) or prone to these sorts of scaley things on their backs (Tiggs' isn't on cyclo, his was just more of an opportunistic thing). Hoping others can chime in, I know many here have had the funky patches more like what you are describing. melissa and tiggs

melissa slc

I was just thinking that this "puss" thing is happening where she was injected approx two months ago...I think with a B vitamin...but I'm not sure if that was the shot or not. It's almost in the same area though...on her back nearer her rump on the right hand side(5-6 inches from the tail area). Not sure if there might be a coincidence in this or not. I can't get her in to see the doctor till tomorrow afternoon so I won't know much more till then. The doc I was talking to said to shave the area and clean it with soap and water to see the severity. Then I can put a topical antibacterial spray on it...which I have to go get now cause I have none. Johnny & Tessy

Johnny

Johnny: Sheba had a number of staph infections while on meds although she had had 2-3 before she developed IMHA. She apparently is prone to them and so we are pretty familiar with recognizing them. We would give her an oral antibiotic and also had a special soap we would use to clean her spots. Sometimes the spots required shaving her fur off and others we were able to treat without having to sacrifice any fur. We don't have any other pets so we never had to worry about whether it could be transmitted to them. If I remember correctly, the vet said it would take some work on our part for myself or Mike to catch it but I'm not sure about fellow dogs. Sorry I can't be of more help but know we understand what you're going through and hope this little problem clears up soon! Rita, Mike and Sheba

Rita IA

I thought I'ld add some pictures of what it looks like. Does this look familiar to anyone? http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/21900989 This is the only one so far on her body and the redness just started thismorning around the area. An antibiotic cream was started last night after I cleaned the area. It looked good after it was cleaned but now it pussed back up again. Any suggestions? She has an appointment thisafternoon to see the doc. I wonder if I should cancel and just keep with the cream or get this checked out. Since I don't know what it is I'm not sure what coarse of action to take. Johnny & Tessy

Johnny

Johnny, I have no experience is skin infections from the looks of it, I would get in the vet today since its a week-end comin up. my gut is something always goes wrong on the week-end and thats why I always took Wylie in for her tests on Friday. Good luck with Tessie

Laurie CA

Johnny: I'm at work right now so I can't get the pictures to open up. But, based on your description, I would guess staph infection. I would definitely keep the appointment. It's always good to know what exactly you are dealing with and once you've identified it, if it happens again you'll know what it is and how to treat it. When Sheba kept getting them we would just call the vet's office and say - "Guess who has a staph infection?" and he would prescribe some medication. Saved us a trip to the vet and the money for a visit to confirm what we already knew. (Our vet is great about these things!) Hang in there - things do get better! Rita

Rita IA

It looks like an abcess is forming. If it is the site of an injection in all probably this is what is it. My horses had gotton them before and we had it lanced to release the puss beheath. My dog got one where they injected the chemo drugs at the vets. That one just swelled up like a pimple and I just squeezed it and all the puss came out. Then you have to treat the area with something to prevent infection. The vet also relieved one from another injection site by sticking a needle in it and drawing out the puss. This seemed to hurt the dog much more then just squeezing it. Sue K

sue K PA

Jonathon, Staph can have reddish skin with an oozing, kind of shimmery green look to it. The hair will usually come out and once the spot is washed and dried (removing the ooze) the skin may become very shiny. The hair will grow back eventually. Staph is on our skin all the time. A healthy immune system fights it off easily. High dose immunosuppressive drugs will reduce the ability of the immune system to do this. Wash the areas carefully with mild soap and dry carefully. Wash your hands before and after touching Tessy. Avoid contact with other dogs for now and especially keep her away from folks with compromised immune systems like the elderly. There is a very good antibiotic that your vet can prescribe that will clear this up and prevent this from happening again. There is a form of staph called MRSA, fairly rare right now, that is resistant to drug treatment. This form can be passed from human to dog and dog to human. Since you wouldn't know what form this is without a test, caution is the best route to take right now. I would not be too worried, just cautious. my best patrice

Patrice NYS

When Cody was going through treatment, he had numerous staph infections which were treated with antibiotics. I also used the Eqyss Micro-Tek shampoo with him. I swear it worked wonders. He's been off all his meds for 2 years and hasn't had a staph infection in ages. We still use the Micro-Tek on all the crew and their skin and coat is wondrous. www.eqyss.com if you want to see about it.

Betty Dallas

My dog Mac has had numerous staph infections during this last year as he's battled this disease on high doses of Prednisone. As his dosage was lowered, the green spots occurred less and less. My vet gave us some special shampoo to use because she didn't want Mac to be on oral antibiotics during this time. The shampoo always made the spots disappear in 24 hours. Mac had a green spot a few weeks ago which surprised me since his meds are slim these days. I was rushing off to work as I discovered it, so I just squeezed the thing, intending to give him a bath when I got home. Well, I completely forgot about the spot for a few days and flew into a panic in the middle of the night when I did remember. Upon checking his belly at 2:00am (husband squinting---"What the heck....?) I discovered that he was just fine--spot gone and no new ones. I hope this doesn't make me too cavelier about the whole thing!

Jane MN

Tessy's sore cleared up quite nice. I cleaned the area daily with soap and water and put an antibiotic cream (not ointment) on it 3 times a day. I wanted to stay away from the oral antibiotics if at all posible and luckily she didn't need them. Now she only has a bald spot on her back where I had to cut the fur away. To date I haven't seen any more show up. Thanks for all the responses. Johnny & Tessy

Johnny

This thread was discussed between 16/04/2009 and 26/04/2009

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