Our dog has allergies and constantly suffers from hot spots; also know as moist dermatitis or by the medical name of pyotraumatic dermatitis. Hot spots are a localized skin inflammation and/or infection, which can be superficial on the skin or a deeper infection and are caused (and made worse) by biting, licking and scratching. The signs of hot spots are redness, oozing, itchiness and pain, accompanied by hair loss or matted hair in the infected area.
As always, when your pet has an infection a vet trip is in order. Normal treatments of hot spots are;
Shaving the area
Cleansing the area with cool water and a gentle skin cleanser
Medications, such as an antibiotic, steroids, topical spray and special shampoos
Our dog did not react well to the steroids, and the topical spray seemed to take forever to give our dog any relief, which left us looking for other options. What worked the best for us was Bactine. At the first sign of a hot spot we would spray the infected area three to four times a day. In most cases, the hot spot would be dramatically reduced within 24 hours. We also found that our dog did not like the taste of the Bactine and therefore did less biting and licking, which helps the healing process.
Hot spots can be very painful for your pet, so discuss your options with your vet to see what works best for your pet.
Please share any other home remedies you have for treating hot spots?
3 comments:
Our dog also suffers from hot spots. We have been using Bactine to treat them and it has been working great!
I'm going to try this on my dog. He seems to get a lot of hot spots in the spring. Thanks for the tip.
My vet recomended Selsum Blue Dandreff shampoo. Works and our dog has a beautiful coat now. It leaves fur soft and very shinny. I used the medicated one.
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