My pet has yeast dermatitis. Is it dangerous or expensive to treat?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I would recommend using the below products and if no improvement, I would suggest asking your veterinarian about an oral antifungal drug such as Fluconazole to help treat the yeast infection. All of the below products can be found online quite easily. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. 1. Douxo PS Chlorhexidine combination shampoo and bathe twice weekly until resolved 2. Malacetic conditioning spray and apply to affected areas twice daily until resolved

Thank you for contacting PetCoach with your question about Ryder. Poor guy, that looks pretty bad in the picture! He is missing fur in places, and parts of his skin look pretty red, likely from licking. I'm wondering if he does have a yeast infection or something else like mites, fleas, or allergies. This is something that has to be seen by a vet immediately, it is bad looking and cannot be treated at home. It also needs to be diagnosed by a vet so it can be treated correctly. If paying for a vet is an issue, you can see if your vet accepts payment plans, if there is a low cost clinic in your area, or you can apply for Care Credit online. There is also an organization called Red Rover that give grants for treatment of sick animals, and you can see if you qualify for one of their grants. Best Friends also has a list of resources that offer financial assistance on their website. I'd also see if you can borrow money from family and friends. http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_pet.html?credit=web_id91754962 https://www.redrover.org https://www.carecredit.com http://bestfriends.org/resources/financial-aid-pets http://lessonsfromaparalyzeddog.com/when-pet-owners-cant-afford-veterinary-bills/ http://www.dogheirs.com/resources-affordable-veterinary-care/ I hope one of these resources helps you. Please take him into a vet immediately. Best of luck.

Yeast infections are especially itchy, crusty, and smelly. Often a dog starts with a rash or with simple itching but the skin thickens to an “elephant” skin appearance. The itch is extreme and the odor can be especially troublesome. Parts of the body or the entire body can be affected. Malassezia overgrowth is particularly problematic where there are skin folds ("armpits," eyelids, facial folds, lip folds, throat latch, and especially between the toes). Treatment can be topical, oral, or both. Topical treatment is best used for localized spots of infection while oral medication would be better applied to larger infected areas. If the yeast infection is recurrent or if one wishes to supplement oral medication, topical and oral treatment can be combined. Oral medications are available through your vet. Shampoos such as Chlorhexiderm Max® or Malaseb® shampoo both strip skin oil and kill yeast; however, other anti-yeast products include Selsun Blue®, Miconazole® shampoo, Nizoral® shampoo, Douxo® shampoo and more. The pet must be bathed twice a week to start and the shampoo requires a 15 minute contact time (meaning do not rinse the lather for 15 minutes). It is important to realize that yeast overgrowth occurs in response to a primary problem be it allergy, seborrhea or something else. If the underlying problem is not controlled, yeast dermatitis is likely to periodically recur. It is common for allergic dogs to require some kind of periodic if not on-going anti-yeast therapy.

Poor Sophie! Yeast infections on the skin are such a frustrating and usually long term problem. They usually stem from some type of allergy. I would recommend to get her on a hypoallergenic diet like science diet z/d ultra. I would also get her on a safe long term allergy medicine like apoquel or cytopoint. I have some dogs that need both to help control allergies. These are safe to give long term compared to steroids. Also, I would talk to your vet about a medicated shampoo like miconahex shampoo. This has an anti-fungal in it. I would try to bathe her 2-3 times per week. Also, tou can start her on an omega 3 fatty acid like vetriscience 369 (see link below). Finally, if the yeast can’t be controlled with these methods, you may consider talking to your vet about keeping her on terbinafine, an anti-fungal, long term. There is a dose where you can give it daily for a month and then twice a week long term and dermatologists believe it is safe. But I would only resort to that if nothing else is working. You can also always ask for a referral to a dermatologist who will likely talk to you about allergy testing and allergy shots which also can help. I hope this helps.

I am unsure if she presented with this irritation during her recent exam with the vet which would have alerted them to thoroughly check this area or not; however this appears to be a possible mild vaginitis with a secondary yeast infection. A skin impression/cytology is ideal to confirm this diagnosis through your vet. We typically treat these with a pet formulated topical chlorhexidine/ketoconazole skin wipe or spray. I have never used hydrogen peroxide, vinegar or yogurt to treat a yeast infection in a dog, nor do I see any reliable information on the veterinary boards to suggest that this is a plausible treatment; therefore, I wouldn't recommend it. I have seen where vinegar can reduce some yeast populations on the skin, but complete resolve is not guaranteed. Instead your vet should be able to supply the appropriate medicated topical treatment to help resolve Isa's apparent vaginitis. I can sense that you feel this may have been missed on her recent exam and may have some resentment about that; however I would still recommend returning for the appropriate treatment for Isa. I hope her skin infections gets resolved soon. Take care.

Hi, thanks for using Petcoach! Poor Millie! If Millie has an infection, be it yeast or bacteria, she needs to be on either an antibiotic or an antifungal (for the yeast). If the steroids are not working I would discuss weaning and stopping them and ask to start apoquel or cytopoint for the scratching. If Millie has skin allergies you should get her either on a prescription hydrolyzed diet (royal canin HP, Purina HA or Hill's z/d) or an over the counter novel protein diet (chicken is the most common allergen, not grains) of either venison or fish. If you are looking for a weight loss diet there are prescription diets as well. Millie sounds pretty miserable with her skin and she should see your Vet to discuss the next steps in trying to get this under control. I've attached a link to some shampoos you can try. Bathe 2-3 times per week and leave the lather on for 10 mins before rinsing. Then apply the conditioner. I hope this helps and I wish Millie a speedy recovery! http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=27307 http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=35843

This is probably due to a severe allergy, although it could also be fleas or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat Rufus with a high quality flea treatment (e.g. advantage), then get him to the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try discovering the cause of the allergy. Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair the skin lesions (steroids and antibiotics). simultaneously you should start him on a prescription hypoallergenic diet for at least 2 months. Hopefully you will see some results after all this, if not you and your vet should consider putting him on a long term allergy treatment (Atopica or Apoquel).