Hi everyone. Sreebhadra is much better now, the anemic condition is 80% cured, and she is eating on her own now. Her skin condition is however bad. When I took her to to the vet initially, the skin was peeling off. At that time, there was a serious flea infestation, and the skin at many places could be peeled off along with a black crust. Even now, her skin comes off in tufts, with a whitish powdery substance underneath the hairs.
Ok, so the first vet told me that the skin condition was due to vitamin deficiency. Last week, a new doctor told me that her skin had a fungal condition, and prescribed a shampoo containing ketoconazole. She asked me to wash her every 10 days with that shampoo.
Now, since a week, I am having a reddish area of oozing and itching that is getting bigger by the day. Today I am seeing a doctor for it, but I think I have got ringworm?? That is, based on the pics and info on the internet. If sreebhadra has ringworms, will she have peeling skin? Her bald spots show clear pink skin, no scabs. She does have itching.

If it is ringworm, the ketoconazole shampoo should be helping. There are many other chemicals used to treat ringworm . . . chlorohexadine may be the easiest to get, as it is widely used as an antiseptic.
Have you ruled out mange? Lots of pictures if you google it. Different treatment required if it is mange.

I have been reading on mange, and it does look like mange with all the itching. He frequently cuts himself, and the wounds get scabbed. Now, his face has become just pink skin with wrinkles. Dandruffy skin with fur coming off. Ears have no fur. Ends of paws are also naked. He sometimes groans as he itches.
So, let me make this clear. He has almost half his body without fur, exposing clear pink skin ( no scabbing or discolouration). He has white powdery dandruff-like stuff on his skin, and fur comes off easily at places. And real bad itching.
The doubts I have:
1. In the pictures over internet, dogs with mange mostly have greyish patches. But his skin is pink in the bald areas.

2. I read in one site that Fipronil helps to clear mange. I have applied this on him around three weeks back. Will another application of Fipronil help him?

3. Any home treatment to reduce the itching? I have read about some lime-sulphur dip. How do I do this?

Thanks in advance for any advice on how to get him to feel better. Right now, I am giving him neem oil massages.

I am not an expert on mange. The one dog I saw with severe mange (when I worked in a kennel) did have pink skin exposed. I think the skin color depends on the dog's pigment, not the disease. Bad itching. Lots of flaking. The conclusive diagnosis comes from scraping the skin and finding mites present in the scrapings.


I think the drug that is used most on mange is Ivermectin (aka stromectol). In the US, this is inexpensive when you buy it for livestock and expensive when you buy it for dogs. The dosage used for mange is high. Much higher than the dosage used for heartworm prevention. Some vets inject it. Others prescribe oral doses.

THis seems to be a reasonably good article on Ivermectin
http://dogskintreatments.com/article...nge-explained/

You will find a lot of other information on the web, including dosage information for people who choose to undertake the treatment themselves. There is a home treatment e-book available at the site above.



It may be best to get your vet to help you with determining the dose. . . . although from your previous posts it's clear that you are good at working out dosages etc.

p.s. Ivermectin seems to be used for treating mites on birds. Maybe you know it from caring for pigeons.
http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/poul...f_poultry.html

Sounds like mange to me. Poor dog, the itching is just unbearable. My daughter's cat infected us with sarcoptic mange and it was horrendous. We treated cat and dogs with Advocate to start with, but eventually got rid of it with Stronghold. I can't remember what I used on myself ... I have a feeling it was a cream from the pharmacy which was also recommended for pubic lice!! It did the trick!

Thanks for replying. I would like to try everything else before the ivermectin option, considering the side effects it has. I read in some site about dipping the dog in medicated water having hydrogen peroxide and borax....anyone has tried this with success??
I will also look for the other medicines Advocate and Stronghold. Advocate has moxidectin...which i use for my pigeons btw.
Forgot to add....his eyes water often. No discharge, just tears. Could this be because of the mites?

I swore Advocate and Stronghold were the same thing?

I decided to take a vet's opinion on this. He came and just looked at his fur, mentioned that he has a multitude of skin issues, scabies (mange) being one of them. He gave him two injections, one of them too painful. One was dexona- vet and the other an antibiotic. After he left, I googled dexona-vet, it has dexamethasone which is a corticosteroid. It has many life-saving properties but also suppresses the immune system. But when I asked the vet, he said it has no side effects.
The doctor feels the dexamethasone injection might have to be repeated two or three times (once a week) inorder to resolve the skin issues. He also said that dexamethasone has deworming action (though I didn't find it on googling).
He also gave an antibiotic in tablet form, to be given from tomorrow. Cephalexin.
The vet is positive that dexamethasone will do the job. But I am worried about the side effects. I've had the first vet diagnose it as vitamin deficiency, the second one as a fungal issue, and the last vet describing it as multiple issues with the skin. I don't know where to go from here.

The vet also warned that I eradicate the mange as soon as possible, or else we humans could be affected.
Anyone used dexamethasone for mange with success around here?

It sounds like the second vet thought it was sarcoptic, not dermodetic mange. Did the vet do skin scrapings and identify the mites? The treatment depends on the type of mite.

dexamethasone should control itching, but from what I can figure, it might interfere with control of dermodex mange. Not sure about sarcoptic. Btw. sarcoptic is supposed to respond to Fipronisl (in answer to a previous question).

I dont think they do skin scrapings here. So it is not possible to be completely certain of what type the mange is. The reason i think it is demodectic mange......first of all he is a pup with a compromised immune system owing to anemic conditions, the skin is normal looking at the bald spots, and itching is not what i would describe as fierce. At the same time, i found in many sites that the reflex of the hind leg coming to scratch the ear as one gently rubs the ear is one sure sign of sacroptic mange, and he shows that reflex.
In any case, as much as i could gather, dexamethasone only helps with the inflammation. It does not kill the mites,..i could be wrong on this. I'm all confused.