Recurent Staph Infection on Black Lab (allergic, vet, skin, allergies)
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We have an eight year old black lab, a very happy and laid back dog. We adopted him from a family last year and he came to us with the following issues: he needed his shots, his ears were both infected, and he had a staph infection all over his belly.
So, about $300 later, he got all the meds he needed. For the staph infection our vet gave him antibiotics and steroids.
We gave him that, he finished them, the infection cleared up. It came back about 3 weeks later, we did the same meds and it cleared up, about 4 weeks later it came back, did the meds again with the vet stating, if it comes back again, we are going to send him to a vet dermatologist.
Now, I know this is going to sound harsh but, can't they just give him a steroid injection or something better than the meds? I'm just thinking about this and seeing how we are going to take him to a vet "specialist" and it's going to end up costing us thousands of dollars and as an animal lover, it pains me to have that frame of mind but we did someoen a favor taking their dog off their hands for them LOL
Has anyone had a recurrent staph infection in their dog and if so, what did you do to end up clearing it up?
You need to be clear in your own mind which drug does what.
The antibiotic is to kill the infection and the steroid shot is to suppress the dog's immune system to stop it reacting thereby reducing pain &/or inflammation.
A steroid shot of an by itself is not going to do anything for an infection. Nothing. All it would do is mask the symptoms of discomfort, but your little staph bacteria would just live happily ever after.
The down side of steroids is that it also hinders the body's natural ability to fight infection because it does suppress the immune system - i.e. it stops the body's natural reaction to fight an infection.
While I can see why a vet would use it for, say, an allergic reaction, it isn't clear from your post why your vet is using this particular combination to fight a recurring staph infection.
It sounds as if you need to get a better explanation from your vet for starters.
It sounds like something is causing your dog to itch and it chews on its belly. Is that the case? Common sources of allergies are fleas and food and even the environment. Even ONE flea can set off a flea allergic dog. We are battling that now and are battling fleas in my yard [she seems to bring them in because we find them on her and she only itches after she goes outside] which we think are coming from the squirrels.
Long term steroids have very negative health effects. Also, dogs tend to drink a LOT when they are on them and need to pee a lot as a result.
We have an eight year old black lab, a very happy and laid back dog. We adopted him from a family last year and he came to us with the following issues: he needed his shots, his ears were both infected, and he had a staph infection all over his belly.
So, about $300 later, he got all the meds he needed. For the staph infection our vet gave him antibiotics and steroids.
We gave him that, he finished them, the infection cleared up. It came back about 3 weeks later, we did the same meds and it cleared up, about 4 weeks later it came back, did the meds again with the vet stating, if it comes back again, we are going to send him to a vet dermatologist.
Now, I know this is going to sound harsh but, can't they just give him a steroid injection or something better than the meds? I'm just thinking about this and seeing how we are going to take him to a vet "specialist" and it's going to end up costing us thousands of dollars and as an animal lover, it pains me to have that frame of mind but we did someoen a favor taking their dog off their hands for them LOL
Has anyone had a recurrent staph infection in their dog and if so, what did you do to end up clearing it up?
Thanks!
I certainly don't have an answer, but I do feel for you. One of our Springers, many years ago got one on her face. She actually had to spend a week in the hospital and we almost lost her. Thank God she lived to a ripe old age, but her face was left scared badly.
FiveHorses, yes, we are calling the vet and asking more information.
Grannynancy, nope, no fleas, never had fleas and we've ruled out every possible thing it could be causing the infection. He doesn't chew or scratch, the staph infection in and of itself is just kind of nasty looking but otherwise doesn't seem to be causing him obvious distress. He eats, plays, drinks plenty, sleeps normal, doesn't scratch much at all, licks some but that's about it. We even use steel bowls for him to eat out of because we know that sometimes plastics can cause allergies.
We are stumped and a little annoyed with our vet but going back anyway to see his diagnosis and plan. I'm just frustrated and wanted to know if anyone had any alternative medicine ideas. I've heard tea tree oil can also help to clear up the skin issue.
Has anything been changed lately like food, detergent for his bedding, spray put in your yard? Does he come in contact with any of your neighbors pets? I feel for ya being frustrated. I would definitely get a second opinion if your vet can't figure it out. Good luck!
Has anything been changed lately like food, detergent for his bedding, spray put in your yard? Does he come in contact with any of your neighbors pets? I feel for ya being frustrated. I would definitely get a second opinion if your vet can't figure it out. Good luck!
Thanks for asking, but nope! LOL He's an enigma. I even bought him a new bed, threw away the bed he came with. That one got ruined and so, we got rid of it. His food he's been on since with us (Beneful), he does well on it and maintains a healthy weight. He came to us with a staph infection so we bought everything new. Umm.. hmm.. he's not around any other animals other than our cats, but he was with a cat with his former family. I'll talk to the vet or perhaps try a new vet and get a new opinion.
You absolutely do NOT want your dog on chronic steroids. Not a good idea. BUT you should ask the vet to send the culture he or she does (and he SHOULD be doing a repeat culture and not just assume it's the same bug) and make sure the vet requests a complete susceptiblity panel from the microbiology laboratory and to compare them each time the infection has occurred. The bug might be changing its susceptibility with each round of antibiotics.
It might be that your boy has an immune system defect and might also need to be on chronic, intermittent antibiotics.
You absolutely do NOT want your dog on chronic steroids. Not a good idea. BUT you should ask the vet to sent the culture he or she does (and he SHOULD be doing a repeat culture and not just assume it's the same bug) and make sure the vet requests a complete susceptiblity panel from the microbiology laboratory and to compare them each time the infection has occurred. The bug might be changing its susceptibility with each round of antibiotics.
It might be that your boy has an immune system defect and might also need to be on chronic, intermittent antibiotics.
I know that seeing a specialist is pricey. On the other hand if one or two visits clears up a problem that could drag on for years with a less experienced general vet...well you might actually save some money in the long run.
And yes, just for full disclosure I do work for veterinary specialists myself. Not that your case is anything like this, but it can get frustrating seeing cases where we could have saved a whole bunch of money and heartache if we'd seen them months or years earlier.
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