Scratchings-and-Sniffings

Posted by Animals at 5:37 PM Thursday, January 14, 2010

Scratchings-and-Sniffings

The Dreaded Hot Spot

Posted: 13 Jan 2010 08:03 AM PST

Miles-and-DrLarry-relax One of the more frustrating skin problems in long haired dogs is know as acute moist dermatitis or more commonly; the ol Hot Spot. As the name implies this skin lesion is red, inflamed, denuded of hair and drives most dogs kind of crazy. My old German Shepherd Fritz, used to get one or two hot spots a year.

Hot spots are also frustrating because they can have a variety of causes and once you've determined the cause of one and treated that, you can get another from a different inciting factor.
 
Fleas, and flea allergy, are a common culprit. Atopy from inhaled allergens like pollen and food allergy can also set up the conditions for a hot spot. Ear infections and even impacted anal sacs can get the itch, lick cycle going too. I've even seen dogs with arthritis get hot spots because the start to lick and bite the skin over their painful hip joints.
 
Hot spots are usually circular in appearance and can grow quickly from small, say the size of a quarter, to four or five inches across in the time it takes you to go to work and come home. As I mentioned the itch, lick cycle is a major culprit in the progression of a hot spot and the dog's digging and chewing can be a big problem.
 
Treatment of the primary skin lesion is pretty straight forward. You have to clip and clean the area so it's exposed and then you have to do something to break the itch-self trauma cycle so it can heal.
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Topical ointments along with antibiotic and corticosteroid injections are quite common and in many cases a physical barrier has to be established. Elizabethan collars are commonly used until the itching subsides enough so the poor critter will leave the thing alone long enough for it to heal. 
 
Prevention is a little more tricky and involves figuring out what caused the thing in the first place. Good flea control is a must and if an allergy is involved you have to figure out what your dog is allergic to and deal with that. Simply treating the symptoms will almost guarantee a recurring problem.
 
If chronic ear infections or anal gland problems are the inciting factor that should be obvious due to the location of the hot spot. Then you have the fun of treating those two chronically recurring issues.
 
Seriously though, you are much better off trying to head these nasty things off by dealing with the primary cause and treating that. In some cases with successful prevention of the set up you may never see one again.
 
With some dogs though, hot spots are simply a reminder that it is spring or summer again and time to get that old elizabethan collar our of the closet for a week of fun.
 
There is one good thing about this topic though. Hot spots are often a warm weather problem, so those of you shivering in the upper midwest, back east or even down in the sunshine state for the last couple of days have one less thing to worry about. Brrrrr.  

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