My dog on immunosuppressants has a red rash. Is it life-threatening?

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!

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.

Fighting secondary skin infections and allergies is tough. Drugs like prednisone and Apoquel are used to control inflammation. In some cases, we add a drug in an effort to taper prednisone if long term immunosuppression is needed. Ideally, long term immunosuppressives should be avoided but in some cases are needed. You should consider discussing referral to a veterinary dermatologist for intradermal skin testing.

It does look like a skin infection but the origin (bacterial, fungal, yeast) I don't know just by looking at it. If it is bacterial, sometimes oral antibiotics are needed if topical therapy is not working. I don't know what cream you are using as I am not aware of a chlorhexidine cream, or how long you have been using it, so it's hard for me to comment much more on what you are already doing. I personally like these chlorhexidine wipes because they also contain an anti-fungal/anti-yeast component (climabazole) and a component to help repair the skin (phytosphingosine) so it is gentle. ( https://www.allivet.com/p-5393-douxo-chlorhexidine-3-ps-pads-for-dogs-and-cats-30.aspx?SearchTerm=duoxo+Auto ) If she is licking this area, it will never get better. So, if she is licking, you will need to get an E-collar (cone) for her to wear until this is healed. So, if you want to try the medicated pads, I would do that. If there is still not resolution after a few weeks then she should go back to the vet. Skin maladies typically take quite a long time to respond completely to treatment so as long as it's not bothering her too much just continue on for a few more weeks. Treat the affected areas for at least a few days past all resolution of the lesions. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Hi, and thanks for your question. This could be due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask 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 to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

That picture looks like a pretty severe reaction, so I would recommend having your veterinarian examine it just to be on the safe side. Anytime new areas develop while a dog is already on Prednisone, it is worth having them evaluated. Good luck! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. The cefpodoxime should help with the bacterial infection component and the prednisone should help with the itch component. 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!