My Boston Terrier's face folds are red and irritated. What helps?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! I can see how the skin is red in the folds on his face under the left eye. It is not unusual for pugs, frenchies and bull dogs to get a facial fold dermatitis. Moisture builds up in the wrinkles and an infection can occur. There are wipes you can get to to wipe the affected areas. I like Mal-a-ket wipes or Douxo chlorhex wipes. Your Vet should carry them Good luck!

Brachycephalic dogs (dogs with short faces) commonly develop skin problems in their facial folds. The combination of excessive skin and the tearing from their eyes commonly results in excessive moisture in their skin folds which can easily become infected. There are a number of medicated wipes on the market that your veterinarian can recommend to treat and help prevent skin fold infections since this will likely be a recurrent problem. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Itching/scratching can be caused by bacterial, parasitic or fungal infection, dietary or environmental allergies or sensitivities, immune system disorders, or a combination of the above.Boston Terriers can be particularly prone to infections in the skin folds near the tail area, so I recommend making an appointment to have Penelope seen by your veterinarian to help determine the cause of the itching you’ve noticed and to make sure it is treated appropriately. The vet may want to look at a sample from the area under the microscope to determine if there is an infection and to figure out what medication is appropriate for treatment. In the meantime, you can bathe Penelope in hypoallergenic unscented shampoo for dogs to clean the area, but this will likely not resolve the itching. I recommend that you put an e-collar (cone) on Penelope in the meantime to help reduce the risk of further irritation to the area from licking.

She will probably need either antibiotics or anti fungal oral medications at this point, you will also need to continue with the daily cleansing simultaneously, i would recommend taking her to your vet ASAP in order to get it treated.

This is called facial fold dermatitis and is very common in dogs with wrinkly faces. It is likely due to underlying allergy and yes Benedryl is safe to give. https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/dog/benadryl I do not recommend putting anything over the counter in the folds. However, I do recommend gently wiping out the crease with a baby wipe once or twice daily. Even more importantly is getting air to the folds. After you wipe, blow in the fold or hold it open to the air for 30 seconds to make sure it’s completely dry. If those measure are not improving things in a week- or if there is worsening in any way- it’s time to see he vet for some prescription strength help (medicated wipes +\- stronger allergy medication). Hope this helps and best of luck to you and Scooters!

The most common reason for the smell in facial folds is an overgrowth of a normal yeast that grows on the skin called Malassezia. There are a number of medicated wipes that have an anti-fungal medication in them that might help with the smell. The most common anti-fungal ingredients in the topical wipes is miconazole or ketoconazole. You can ask your veterinarian which products they carry. I generally recommend a medicated wipe over a cream because a cream can actually add moisture to the skin fold and allow even more yeast to grow in the area. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and answered your question. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

He may have a skin fold dermatitis. Depending on what it looks like, he may need an oral antibiotic and/or corticosteroid to help treat the infection and inflammation. You could have your vet examine him to determine the best way to treat. I have never used Savalon but Mal-A-Ket wipes are helpful with skin fold dermatitis.