My old dog has chronic nasal discharge. Is it a tumor or fungus?

This could be a fungal infection or an antibiotic resistant bacterial infection. If bacterial and fungal cultures have not yet been performed, I would recommend that you request them. I would also suggest a consultation with a veterinary internist for a rhinoscopy with possible biopsies. You can find one in your area on www.acvim.org.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. Judging from the pictures, I would be suspicious that this is an abscess / infection or a nasal / sinus tumor. If this is a tumor, it may have developed a secondary infection, which is why it likely responded to the previous treatment. Unfortunately I do not have an answer for you on what this is other than it would need further testing such as rhinoscopy or CT scan to help determine what this could be. If you are unable to do further testing, I would consider continuing the antibiotics / steroids long term to help keep Luna comfortable. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

It's true that fungal infections can be a cause of nosebleeds in dogs, but they can also be caused by nasal tumors or even a foreign body such as a blade of grass or other plant material. Since there has been no improvement in four months with antifungals, I would be concerned that something else may be causing the bleeding. I would suggest having a rhinoscopy done to visualize the inside of the nasal cavity and take biopsies and culture samples of the tissue there to determine if the bleeding is really caused by a fungal infection or some other problem.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Yes, a CT scan would be the next diagnostic for something like this. This is very important as I am afraid this could either be a nasal cancer or possibly a severe nasal fungal infection. A CT scan helps to distinguish these conditions and a biopsy will help confirm it. Rhinoscopy is needed in some cases to better visualize the nasal cavity after the CT scan is done. Good luck and have a great day!

Poor Spike! I know this is a tricky situation due to his age. Every dog handles this dofferently but the older they get the harder it is. I would consider his age and talk to your vet in best case scenario how many GOOD QUALITY months could you get out of him. If it is only projected to add a month to his life then I am not sure it is worth putting him through an extensive and painful surgery plus radiotherapy. On the hand, if it 6 more months, then it may be worth it. If you dont plan to do the radiotherapy and surgery alone wont extend his life then I personally wouldnt do surgery at his age. I would talk to your vet abot what can be done just to make him comfortable - pain meds, appetite stimulate, long term anti-fungals or antibiotics, etc. In seniors, I always like to consider how to give them a good QUALITY of life over QUANTITY. I hope this helps!

The two main options are a foreign body in the nasal cavity or a nasal tumor. in order to find out what it is he will need to be taken to the vet and either an endoscopy or a CT scan will need to be done to get a diagnosis.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Spike! I am assuming since you have had extensive diagnostics done that you and Spike are in the care of a specialist. If there is an infection in his sinuses then it could be resistant or be fungal. Fungal infections do not respond to antibiotics and the Vet would want a diagnosis before starting anti-fungals. My concern is for a tumor due to Spike's age. I can't view your image as it is very very small and out of focus. I would ask what other imaging like an MRI can be done to confirm if there is a tumor or not. Also I would just do the scope with the hope that they will see the tumor and are able to get a good culture and biopsy. If they can't then consider surgery. I wish you and Spike the best!