Skin infections are one of the most common causes for our canine patients to visit the Animal Clinic at Thorndale. These can be primary infections, involving a bacterial or fungal agent, or can be secondary, due to underlying diseases like allergy, Cushings, hypothyroidism, to name a few.
Staph is a commonly used abbreviation for Staphylococcus, a group of bacteria commonly found on the skin. Dermatitis is a term that means that the skin is inflamed.
Staph is a normal resident of the skin of animals and humans; however, it is considered an opportunist. As long as the skin is healthy, Staph is dormant. But once the skin is irritated, Staph can invade the area and multiply rapidly.
Causes of Skin Irritation
Scratching is the most common cause. Any disorder that causes itching can create the situation that allows Staph to become a problem. Common causes of itching include fleas, atopic allergy, and food allergy. Irritating chemicals, such as flea and tick dips, also can cause itching.
Diagnosis of Staph Lesions
There are two typical Staph lesions. One type begins as a red area on the skin with a pimple-like pustule in the center. The other type is a circular, reddish area with a crusty edge and hair loss in the center. The latter can easily be confused with ringworm. Finding either of these skin patterns in a dog that is scratching is highly suggestive of Staph.
Confirmation can be made with cultures or skin biopsy. However, the lesions are so typical that this is usually not necessary.
Treatment of Staph Dermatitis
This bacterium is usually sensitive to several antibiotics. These include erythromycin, enrofloxacin, amoxicillin with clavulanic acid, lincomycin, dicloxacillin, and oxacillin. Since these medications can be given orally, treatment can occur at home. However, some infections may require 3-6 weeks of treatment before the infection is under control. Antibacterial shampoos and ointments can also be helpful in bring about rapid control of the infection.
The other essential part of treatment is stopping itching and scratching. Other tests may be needed to determine the cause or causes. Frequently, more than one condition contributes to itching.
Contagion
Your dog is not contagious to you or ot other pets. All dogs, cats, and people have Staph living on the skin as a normal resident.
Rapid Recurrence following Treatment
If the Staph lesions return within a week or two following treatment, another situation may exist. This situation may be caused by an allergy to the Staph bacteria. This is called Staph hypersensitivity or Staph allergy.
The skin lesions that are caused by this disease are identical to those of a Staph dermatitis. The difference is recurrence. If Staph dermatitis is treated properly, the underlying cause is eliminated and itching is stopped, the bacterial skin disease should be eliminated. This situation may return if itching returns. However, when the dog with Staph hypersensitivity is treated, the skin lesions will return within a few days or weeks. Keep in mind, that in all cases, the underlying cause may not be curable (such as allergies) but controllable.
Since differentiation of Staph dermatitis and Staph hypersensitivity is based largely on recurrence, it is very important that treatment be continued long enough. This often means a month or more of antibiotics. If not, there will still be a question of which disease is present.
Treatment of Staph Hypersensitivity
Treatment begins the same as for Staph dermatitis: oral antibiotics, medicated shampooing, and whatever is necessary to stop the itching. However, in true staph hypersensitivity, long-term control is best achieved with Staph bacterin. Staph bacterin is a solution of killed Staph bacteria that is injected into the dog in very tiny amounts. This is an attempt to reprogram the dog’s immune system so it does not over-react to its own bacteria. The use of Staph bacterin begins as a series of daily injections into the layers of the skin. After the initial series is completed, the injections are given subcutaneously (just below the skin) on an interval of every 3-4 days to every 2 weeks. Since this is an ongoing treatment, it is done by you at home.
Fear of Injections
Giving injections to dogs is much easier than you think. We can teach most people to give the injections in just a few minutes. Don’t decide that you cannot do this until we show you the technique. However, if after seeing the technique you are still not comfortable doing it, we can arrange for one of our staff members to do these for you on a regular basis.
Success Rate
Allergy shots are never successful 100% of the time, whether in dogs or in people. We expect up to 75% of the dogs to respond well. Keep in mind that if your dog has a staph allergy, it may have other allergies as well. At any time we may recommend referral to a boarded specialist in dermatology to evaluate and determine if there is any other testing or medications indicated.
Other Options Besides Injections
If you do not give the injections, you cannot arrange for one of our staff members to do so, or your dog does not respond, it will have to be treated periodically with oral antibiotics and medicated baths. This is not the most desirable approach because Staph will often develop resistance to the antibiotics. If this occurs, a change in the specific antibiotic or treatment protocol used will be necessary.