Species: Dog Breed: miniature Schnauzer Age: 5-8 years
My sweet Molly has a skin infection my recent visit to the vet diagnosed it as ringworm and put her on 100 milligrams ketaconazole po daily for 14 days, she is 10 lbs. She has been taking it for 5 days and there is no improvement. The main lesion is on her back and is now spreading and with yellow crusting. She has a foul odor sort of like urine but not quite. She is 7 hrs old and we dealwith this same type of rash at least 7 months of each year. We go in a cycle of the first diagnosis is allergy, then they say fleas or fungal then she gets a secondary infection and we always end up on clindamycin. I have tried every type of food out there including purely synthetic hypoallergenic food at $60 a bag, I have cleaned, cleaned and clean some more. Thrown away bedding over and over again and nothing really seems to help. This poor baby dog scratches herself insane she looks herself until yeast develops between her paws and in her ears then we have to go to special air solutions that have trizul/synoptic/diflucan/Bayer which work great but the vet charges $82 a bottle for and won't write a script for BC he says it is his own mixture. I am a nurse practitioner so I understand the cycle of treatment and effects of medication side effects. I just want her to feel better....is there anything that you can recommend? I am truly begging! Lol. I look forward to hearing from you.
Cheryll and Molly
Dr. Marie replied:
Poor Molly. Cases like this are so difficult. I have a few thoughts for you.
One thing you may want to consider is asking your vet if you can be referred to see a veterinary dermatologist. These vets will initially cost a little more, but are your best chance at getting down to the cause of the problem.
Another thing that may help would be to ask your vet if a biopsy would be of any help. Sometimes what we think is a bacterial or a yeast infection can actually have an underlying cause like an autoimmune disease. If this is the case then there are other things that can be done.
You could also ask your vet if bathing in an antifungal shampoo could make a difference as well. If this is a fungal condition like ringworm then it can take much longer than 5 days to see an improvement. An antifungal shampoo can possibly help improve things while we are waiting for the ketoconazole to kick in.
It's also possible that Molly has an allergy to yeast. If this is the case then after a couple of weeks on the ketoconazole you may see a significant improvement but she may also need a small dose of steroids to help her as well.
I have had cases like this that are very very difficult. It sounds like your vet is doing all of the same things that I would.
I hope things improve soon!
Dr. Marie.
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Disclaimer: Although Dr. Marie is a qualified veterinarian, the information found on this site is not meant to replace the advice of your own veterinarian. AskAVetQuestion.com and Dr. Marie do not accept any responsibility for any loss, damage, injury, death, or disease which may arise from reliance on information contained on this site. Do not use information found on this site for diagnosing or treating your pet. Anything you read here is for information only.
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Veterinarian, Dr. Marie created this site to be able to provide quick, accurate veterinary advice online. She would love to help with your pet's problem!
Dr. Marie is a veterinarian who practices in a busy animal hospital in Ottawa, Ontario. She created Ask A Vet Question as a resource for good, accurate veterinary advice online. Dr. Marie treats dogs, cats, hamsters, guinea pigs, and rats. She has been a vet since 1999.
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