Reoccuring interdigital cyst?

[Shahster]

Yep - that would be one of the buggers... Epsom salts bath will help with the swelling and relief some of the pressure. As Sandy said - they are a bacteria build up so in a sense they are a huge ugly monster zit! Also, as Sandy suggested... stick with no treats outside of his meal food (give pieces of that as a treat) until you find the sorce of the allergy. I knew a Cane Corso that was allergic to carrots and a Pitbull that was allergic to apples... so it really can be anything.

How old is Otis?

He's 4 right now. I just got him in February. The first time he got a cyst he was on Royal Canin, and eating greenies (shame on me). Now he's on Fromm pork and peas, and I only gave him fruit/veggies so he can lose weight, according to the vet he should weigh 60 pounds. So for dinner he'll have ground beef and macaroni, I'm sure he won't miss his apples too much. How much of the bland diet should I give him a day? And I'm assuming I keep feeding it to him until the cyst is gone? THANK YOU SO MUCH!

 

[FORDE'SMOM]

I also read this about interdigital cyst.....[h=3]Nail Trimming[/h] A Bulldog's nails must be kept short. A Bulldog's feet carry a lot of weight and long toenails can cause foot distortion, put stress on his joints, and may contribute to inter-digital cysts. Don't overlook the dewclaws. Teach your Bulldog to accept nail trimming from puppyhood. Take it slow and gentle so you don't "quick" him. You may use dog nail clippers, followed up with a grinder (such as a Dremil), or just a grinder if you are good about keeping the nails short. attaching the link from one of the sites I found this info....hope it's okay to put it here !Bulldog Basics: An Introduction to the Breed : BCNC

 

[gunnyboy]

Clindamycin hydrochloride capsules (11 mg/kg body weight, q24 h) were administered orally to 20 dogs with deep staphylococcal pyoderma. Response to therapy was excellent in 100% of the dogs. Duration of therapy varied from 21 to 91 d, with an average duration of 45 d. Relapses occurred in 25% of the dogs within a 3-month period. One dog vomited when the clindamycin was given on an empty stomach. Under the conditions of the study, clindamycin was an effective, safe, and convenient antibiotic for the treatment of deep staphylococcal pyoderma in dogs.

deep staphylococcal pyoderma is another name for interdital cysts.

 

[Shahster]

I also read this about interdigital cyst.....Nail Trimming

A Bulldog's nails must be kept short. A Bulldog's feet carry a lot of weight and long toenails can cause foot distortion, put stress on his joints, and may contribute to inter-digital cysts. Don't overlook the dewclaws. Teach your Bulldog to accept nail trimming from puppyhood. Take it slow and gentle so you don't "quick" him. You may use dog nail clippers, followed up with a grinder (such as a Dremil), or just a grinder if you are good about keeping the nails short. attaching the link from one of the sites I found this info....hope it's okay to put it here !Bulldog Basics: An Introduction to the Breed : BCNC

Wow thank you for that. I had no idea.

 

[2BullyMama]

He's 4 right now. I just got him in February. The first time he got a cyst he was on Royal Canin, and eating greenies (shame on me). Now he's on Fromm pork and peas, and I only gave him fruit/veggies so he can lose weight, according to the vet he should weigh 60 pounds. So for dinner he'll have ground beef and macaroni, I'm sure he won't miss his apples too much. How much of the bland diet should I give him a day? And I'm assuming I keep feeding it to him until the cyst is gone? THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Feed him the same you were with kibble. Have you spoke to your vet about running a full blood screen allergy test? They may not be 100% accurate, but it gives you a good idea of what to weed out or what could be the issue.
[MENTION=2291]cowsmom[/MENTION] - how long should she stay on the bland diet with Otis?

 

[Shahster]

Feed him the same you were with kibble. Have you spoke to your vet about running a full blood screen allergy test? They may not be 100% accurate, but it gives you a good idea of what to weed out or what could be the issue.
@cowsmom - how long should she stay on the bland diet with Otis?

I asked my vet about getting an allergy test and they said it's not needed and that surgery was my best option for him at that time. I am switching vets though, so maybe with the new vet they'll do an allergy test for me. I also had my old vet check his tail pocket because he scoots (after he had his anal glands expressed), and they failed to tell me that he had an infection, the people at petsmart told me! So now I need to find a cream for his bum.

 

[gunnyboy]

Iwouldnt do surgery, I had it done on Gunny and it was so painful for him after the surgery that I was so sorry I did it. and they came back after the surgery, just my opinion.

 

[gunnyboy]

Interdigital furuncles, often incorrectly referred to as interdigital cysts, are painful nodular lesions located in the interdigital webs of dogs. Histologically, these lesions represent areas of nodular pyogranulomatous inflammation—they are almost never cystic. The newly recognized syndrome of canine interdigital palmar and plantar comedones and follicular cysts may be a subtype of interdigital furuncles or a separate disease. Interdigital furunculosis, dog Etiology The most common cause is a deep bacterial infection. Many dog breeds (eg, Chinese Shar-Pei, Labrador Retriever, English Bulldog) are predisposed to bacterial interdigital furunculosis because of the short bristly hairs located on the webbing between the toes, prominent interdigital webbing, or both. The short shafts of hairs are easily forced backward into the hair follicles during locomotion (traumatic implantation). Hair, ie, keratin, is very inflammatory in the skin, and secondary bacterial infections are common. Less commonly, foreign material is traumatically embedded in the skin. Demodicosis (see Mange: Mange in Sheep and Goats) may be a primary cause of interdigital furunculosis. Canine atopic dermatitis (see Atopic Dermatitis) is also a common cause of recurrent interdigital furunculosis. The etiology of canine interdigital palmar and plantar comedones and follicular cysts is unknown but most likely involves trauma, resulting in epidermal and follicular infundibular hyperkeratosis, acanthosis, plugging or narrowing of the follicular opening, and retention of the follicular contents. Clinical Findings and Lesions Early lesions of interdigital furunculosis may appear as focal or generalized areas of erythema and papules in the webbing of the feet that, if left untreated, rapidly develop into single or multiple nodules. The latter usually are 1–2 cm in diameter, reddish purple, shiny, and fluctuant; they may rupture when palpated and exude a bloody material. Interdigital furuncles are most commonly found on the dorsal aspect of the paw, but may also be found ventrally. Furuncles are usually painful, and the dog may be obviously lame on the affected foot (or feet) and lick and bite at the lesions. Lesions caused by a foreign body, eg, a grass awn, are usually solitary and often occur on a front foot; recurrence is not common in these cases. If bacteria cause the interdigital furunculosis, there may be several nodules with new lesions developing as others resolve. A common cause of recurrence is the granulomatous reaction to the presence of free keratin in the tissues. Dogs with interdigital comedones and follicular cysts typically present with lameness and draining tracts. Skin lesions are not often seen unless the hair coat is clipped. Areas of alopecia and thickened, firm, callus-like skin with multiple comedones are typical. Diagnosis For furunculosis, the diagnosis is often based on clinical signs alone. The major differential diagnoses are traumatic lesions, foreign bodies, follicular comedone cysts, and neoplasia, although the latter is rare. The most useful diagnostic tests include skin scrapings for Demodex mites, impression smears, or fine-needle aspirates to confirm the presence of an inflammatory infiltrate. Unusual or recurrent lesions should be excised for histopathologic examination. Solitary lesions may require surgical exploration to find and remove foreign bodies such as grass awns. Definitive diagnosis of palmar and plantar follicular cysts requires a skin biopsy. However, they are suspected when clinical examination reveals draining tracts associated with callus-like lesions or obvious comedone formation. Moderate to extensive compact hyperkeratosis and acanthosis of the epidermal and follicular infundibulum is found. Follicular cysts consisting of keratin are common. Often lesions are complicated by secondary infection and concurrent bacterial furunculosis. Treatment Bacterial interdigital furuncles respond best to a combination of topical and systemic therapy. Cephalexin (20 mg/kg, PO, tid, or 30 mg/kg, PO, bid) is recommended for 4–6 wk of initial therapy. If the dog has had multiple courses of antibiotics, bacterial culture and sensitivity is recommended. Because the lesions are pyogranulomatous, it may be difficult for antibiotics to penetrate them; therefore, >8 wk of systemic antibiotic therapy may be required for lesions to completely resolve. These lesions are often complicated by concurrent Malassezia spp infections. Oral ketoconazole, itraconazole, or fluconazole (5–10 mg/kg) for 30 days may be indicated. The presence of Malassezia can be documented by cytologic examination of nail bed debris and/or impression smears of the skin. Topical foot soaks in warm water with or without an antibiotic solution (eg, chlorhexidine) and the application of mupiricin ointment are recommended. Some dogs may benefit from antibiotic wraps and bandaging. Antihistamines given for the first several weeks of treatment may partially alleviate pruritus, if present. Glucocorticoids are contraindicated. Chronic, recurrent interdigital furunculosis is most often caused by inappropriate antibiotic therapy (too short, wrong dose/dosage, wrong drug), concurrent corticosteroid administration, demodicosis, an anatomic predisposition, or a foreign body reaction to keratin. Lesions that recur in spite of therapy can also be a sign of an underlying disease, eg, atopy, hypothyroidism, or concurrent Malassezia infection. Lesions in confined dogs are likely to recur unless the dog is removed from wire or concrete surfaces. In some chronic cases, surgical excision or surgical correction of the webbing via fusion podoplasty may be needed. Alternatively, pulse antibiotic therapy (full dosage therapy 2–3 times/wk) or chronic low dosage antibiotic therapy (eg, 500 mg/dog, PO, sid) may help maintain clinical remission and provide pain relief in dogs with chronic lesions. This therapy is recommended only when the inciting cause cannot be identified (eg, idiopathic pyoderma), treated (eg, anatomic predisposition), or resolved (eg, chronic infection caused by foreign body material or keratin). Treatment of interdigital palmar and plantar comedones and follicular cysts can be successfully accomplished by laser therapy. Postoperative care is time intensive, with hydrotherapy and bandage changes once or twice daily. Last full review/revision July 2011 by Karen A. Moriello, DVM, DACVD​		Buy the Book
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