Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Trixie 10/02

I have just noticed a smallish bald patch on Trixie's back leg (outside leg) near the joint where her leg bends, The hair around it seemed a bit matted, so I pulled it a little and some of the hair came out! My daughter and I had a look at her leg and it seemed to be weeping, we cut a little of the hair away from that area and cleaned the patch with warm water. It's about the size of a 50 pence piece. After cleaning it,Trixie was quite happy to just lay there on her side whilst we attended her, we put a small square dressing on it and used Vet wrap to keep it in place. I know it is good to have the air at it, but do you think it's ok to keep it dressed til bed time, say 2 hours or so and then take it off? Can someone please tell me what could have caused this, can it be treated and if so with what. I felt sick when I saw this and thought Oh no,is this also connected to AIHA, another side effect! Other than that, Trixie still seems to be doing well. Tuesday she will have a full blood count, it's been nearly 2 weeks since her last one and I am hoping all is well. Tricia

Tricia UK

It sounds like an infection. It could be internal or external. Do not panic. I would phone your vet as soon as you can to get Trixie checked before Tuesday if possible. This will set your mond at rest and if it needs any further treatment you have acted quickly. Steph

Steph Wales

Thanks Steph. I think it must be internal as there are no cuts/wounds there. I'll speak to my vet tomorrow. Tricia

Tricia UK

Tricia, Could it be the spot where they took blood? Jeanne in New Jersey Goldens, Angelo & Archie

Jeanne New Jersey

Hi Tricia. Duck had a spot like that on his tail when he was on high doses of prednisone. I kept an eye on it but didn't end up having to do anything for it. As we reduced the prednisone, the spot went away. deb and Duck

Debbie BC Canada

Tricia...Daisy had these in various places. It is from the prednisone.

Ron B San Mateo

Tricia, This is a staph infection. It's going to happen and it might be in a number of places before you can get it under control. The hair will grow back eventually. It's important to use an antibiotic right now in this case. We used cephalexin and it worked quite well. We treated Chance with it for a fairly long period of time with very few side effects. Your vet is the best person to pick the right drug though. I advise you also to keep Trixie clean and everyone in the house should be careful to wash their hands carefully after touching her. It would be best to keep her away from dogs not living in your household right now. There is a drug resistant form of staph becoming more prevalent now called MRSA. I doubt that this is the case with Trixie, but it is best to not take any chances. After a few days on cephalexin, this will stop. I am so sorry, it is very dreadful to see and I cried buckets when I saw it. It will go away, I promise. Patrice

Patrice New York State

Here is a link to a short explanation that is easy to read and understand. http://www.lowchensaustralia.com/HEALTH/skin.htm Patrice

Patrice New York State

Thanks for all your replies. Jeanne, this is not where they took any blood, however on her other leg, where blood was drawn is a small spot, a raised one. It started out as a small pinkish round one, and over a couple weeks it has become raised almost like a wort. One of our Vets said it could be to do with where they have been taking blood from the same area over a period of time. Tricia

Tricia UK

Well I took Trixie to the Vet this afternoon, he was not too sure what it was caused by, he did say perhaps she had a small cut and it had become infected (there are no marks of cuts or anything in that area)Anyway she is now on antibiotics 2 per day (Cephorum) 500mg. Given the AIHA, he said it's best she is on antibiotics to be on the safe side. Oh whilst I was there he also did a blood test, this is being sent to Bristol in the morning (full blood count) I am eager to hear the results, Trixie seems to have picked up this past week or so, I'm hoping her results have improved since the last one. Tricia

Tricia UK

Tricia, So good to hear you visited your vet for this. In this case, in all of our cases, staph is a direct relationship to suppressing the immune system. The normal immune system can easily handle bacteria on the skin like staph, but that mechanism isn't working very well right now. Cephorum is cefalexin and is a broad-spectrum cephalosporin antibiotic that is used for bacterial skin infections and urinary tract infections. As with penicillin drugs, the major side effect is an allergic reaction. It's a pretty safe drug to use. I think you will see an end to the spots very soon. Patrice

Patrice NYS

I clicked on the site Patrice suggested and walah, I found what is wrong with Lindy's foot. It is called interdigital cysts! Now I have the information to send to the vet at CSU. When I talked to her(the soft tissue specialist) today, she suggested we see a dermatologist, as she was stumped. I don't mind spending an arm and a leg to see yet another specialist, but hopefully the information I fax her will help. I had to chuckle over Joe telling about Dunes having her own credit card with with over $8000 on it. Don't we all wish we had an oil well in our back yards? Thanks Patrice! Nancy and Lindy

Nancy CO

Nancy, WOW, I was thinking of you when I posted that in hopes you would read it! It's a great web site and I love the resources they have posted for all sorts of skin problems. What does it say about treatment for the cysts? I am so glad to help. I love researching things for you folks and I learn a lot in the process. Other stuff I know from my medical background. Humans and dogs are not entirely similiar. Dog have a lot of skin things that are different than humans. Ask me about atopic allergies.... agh, Chance developed severe allergies when he was young. But staph, now that's something that is beginning to cross over from humans to dogs (yes... it appears to researchers at Cornell that humans may be giving their dogs the staph, not the other way around.) This new strain, MRSA, is pretty hard stuff to treat. The researcher at Cornell says it is treatable, but most vets don't know about it yet and are stumped when they see it. Our tv station did this follow up story on pets and MRSA with Cornell a few weeks after a person in this area died from MRSA. Patrice

Patrice NYS

This thread was discussed between 10/02/2008 and 12/02/2008

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