My dog has a fungal infection on her neck and nipples. Not working.

Hello, It would be helpful to know what your veterinarian recommended for the next step of Bella's treatment at her recheck. Fungal infections that are not responding to topical treatment often require a course of oral medications. Skin is the largest organ in the body, so it takes the longest to respond to infection treatments. Many skin infections require a full 6-8 weeks of treatment. Skin infections can also be complicated by allergies, underlying endocrine disease, or associated immune mediated or dermatological disease. This means sometimes an underlying problem may need to be addressed to fully resolve the skin issue. I hope this is helpful. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

I strongly recommend you contact the clinic and advise them of the returning symptoms and discuss restarting treatment. It is always recommended to complete a course of treatment in full to optimise the chance of a complete cure

Many yeast and or fungal infections can take a while to improve. Veterinarians often start with topical therapy and often that is all that is needed. However, if the area is larger, not improving, bleeding, or otherwise seems worse than sometimes oral anti fungal medications and sometimes a cone to keep them from licking are important nest steps. I would encourage you to have a follow up appointment with your veterinarian. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Fungal infections are pretty tough to manage. If it seems to be lingering, the best way to get rid of it is to get everyone on an oral medication prescribed by your vet. With this many pets, this can get pricey, so ask your vet for an alternative medication that you can purchase from your local pharmacy (i.e. Terbinafine). I would still continue with a topical ointment as well for the most effective treatment of this fungal infection. Also its best to shave around the affected areas, since the fungal spores like to hang out in the haircoat and spread further this way. Best of luck with your fur babies and I hope they clear up their infection soon! Take care.

You will first need to determine the type of infection. A recheck with your veterinarian would be recommended. Samples can be submitted for fungal culture as well as for bacterial culture and sensitivity. If it is a fungal infection, your vet can dispense an antifungal. Some of these infections can take weeks t months to resolve. If it is a bacterial infection, the sensitivity panel should determine the most effective antibiotic to use in treatment. Allergies should also be ruled out as an underlying cause. They can be frustrating to diagnose since they have multiple causes (food, environmental, parasites). Discuss allergy testing, food elimination trials, hydrolyzed diets and antihistamine use with your veterinarian. Legally, we are prohibited from recommending a medication in the absence of a physical exam. Any prescription medications will need to come from your vet.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Izzy has one of the most frustrating dermatologic issues we face with our pets. Fungi are notorious for taking a very long time to kill or at least have managed. Unfortunately, there are multiple factors that contribute to a dog getting ringworm, and part of it is inate susceptibility that Izzy has. Inflammation of the skin will make skin infections of any kind more likely, so that should be a priority to get under control. There are shampoos available with a prescription, so ask your vet about them. Also, on rare occasion, oral antifungal therapy is warranted. This is less than 5% of cases from my experience, but if it is widespread on her body, it could be necessary. As she is susceptible, using a topical anti-fungal shampoo would be beneficial to minimize chances of recurrence once Izzy's skin has cleared-up. The itching needs to be explored further because it is what leads to skin inflammation and thus a higher chance of having an infection. Without being able to examine her, it is difficult to say whether the ringworm is under control, so continue to follow up with your vet as it can take weeks to months for it to clear up completely. Hope this helps!

Hello Kashish You will need to take your dog to a veterinarian for an exam to make sure it is a fungal infection. This could also be a bacterial infection or be caused by other agents. Your vet will then prescribe the proper medication, either a fungicidal ointment or shampoo, or bactericidal shampoo or antibiotics.