Skin infections to look out for

Last week Elly was in again. I say ‘again’ because Elly has been a frequent visitor over the past few weeks. Elly is a one-year-old black miniature female poodle with a particularly bad skin condition called demodectic mange. She had been abandoned and consequently spent some time at a sanctuary.  Yet, she was lucky enough to find an owner.

Elly is quite a character and has clearly been through a lot. From the moment she enters the clinic, she does not take her eyes off me. And should my hands be within striking distance she will attempt to have a go at them.  Nevertheless, she adores all the veterinary assistants at the clinic. Perhaps her aggression has something to do with me always greeting her with the inevitable sedative injection administered to medicate the painful sores caused by demodectic mange.

Demodectic mange is not an uncommon ailment; yet its diagnosis can sometimes elude even the most experienced of vets. This is due to it manifesting itself in a number of ways on different species of dog.  The condition is caused by a very small parasitic mite in the shape of a microscopic cigar; it lives in the skin localised in the hair follicles which, in turn, causes hair loss.

Depending on the age, sensitivity and immunological or natural resistance of the particular dog, the lesions may vary from a very small area of dry bare skin to a vast area of moist, red, crusty pus-filled inflammation. Such lesions may be found on virtually any part of the body.

Skin conditions are one of the most common reasons why pets are taken to the vet – because such conditions are generally most visible and should also be the easiest to treat.
This is not always the case and good cooperation between pet owner and vet is needed in order to understand the particular condition, give the correct diagnosis and find a subsequent form of control or cure.

Elly’s case was severe: most of her face and neck were afflicted with deep red sores and any form of handling would have been extremely painful.  Under normal circumstances, we would have sent the owner home with a list of instructions on how to bathe the dog with a special insecticide,but in this case this proved impossible.

Thus, Elly had to visit the clinic regularly for a wash and treatment – all under sedation. This entailed a lot of work for all those concerned, yet it is incredibly satisfying to see that the treatment has worked and that Elly is doing much better.

Dr. Martin Debattista
Veterinary Surgeon
thisweekwiththevet@gmail.com