Why does my Cavalier with IMHA on prednisone have severe skin sores?

The circular areas in the second picture almost look like bruising, which may be related to the medications or the primary medical issue. If the neurologist won't examine Casper for this issue, then I would recommend taking him the primary care veterinarian for evaluation. If they are bruises, blood work should be performed to make sure Casper can clot appropriately. If they aren't bruises, then cytology can be performed to see if there are bacteria and/or yeast present. Some dogs on steroids can have difficulty healing simple skin issues.

If the skin lesions became worse on prednisone one has to seriously consider that these lesions may be caused by mange mites. Your vet would need to take a skin scraping and hope to find a mite in the scraping (this is not easy). Mange mites do emit a sort of sweetish odor, so this would be another giveaway. Of course this could also be caused by a fungus or bacterial infection, however the lesions should have improved with the antibiotics given. You will need to take Buster back to your veterinarian for a recheck.

That is quite an unusual lesion. Has your vet consulted a dermatologist regarding that? Given the history of autoimmune disease and immunosuppressive medication options could include calcinosis cutis secondary to the steroids, a fungal (or atypical bacterial) infection, drug eruption, etc. There are higher risks for complications with certain drugs and for certain infectious agents in different parts of the country. Sampling is likely indicated (cytology or biopsy, culture) and i would definitely recommend getting the input of a dermatologist before it progresses. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

I am sorry Rylee has not been feeling well. I am unsure by the picture if Rylee is having a drug reaction. Cushings disease is when the body over produces cortisol which is a steroid. Once cushings is being treated a lot of dogs will start to have underlying skin issues due to allergies. The cortisol/steroid being produced by the body will decrease or hide skin allergies. I would recommend taking Rylee to the vet to determine if maybe this is why the skin has changed. It is possible a course of antibiotics or topical shampoos will help with the skin./ I hope this helps and Rylee feels better!

Hi there and thank you for using Pet Coach to address your concern. If she has had history of an immune mediated disease such as immune mediated hemolytic anemia, I would get her in to see your veterinarian as soon as possible to check her lab values and see if this disease has returned. I would want to see what her red blood cells and platelet numbers look like. She may need to go back on immunosuppressants to stop the disease from progressing any further. The bruising on the abdomen has be concerned that she has a bleeding disorder. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If this is associated with itchiness, this may be due to skin allergies. There are medications such as Apoquel and prednisone which may help to decrease the itch. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

Poor Chantilly, i am sure you are quite worried about her. If your girl has IMHA what this means is that her body is attacking and destroying her own red blood cells. If enough are lost it will make her anemic which can cause the symptoms you report. IMHA can arise without a cause (idiopathic) but many diseases can also cause it as well (secondary IMHA) and low red count is not always IMHA (low red count just means we need to find out where they went or if the body is not producing them). The safest plan would be to have her red count rechecked to see if this is contributing to her symptoms. Pets with IMHA are treated with pred typically but other meds can be used and some cases are more severe then others. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!