Is itraconazole the right med for my dog's fungal infection?

Hello, there are several oral medications used to treat fungal infections in dogs, including ketoconazole, fluconazole & itraconazole. All require a prescription from your veterinarian to treat a pet. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

It's true, the possible side effects are very scary. But this is true of most antifungals and unfortunately they are the only treatment for aspergillosis. The appropriate dose should be determined by your veterinarian who is familiar with Marley's medical history. It could take weeks or even months for the antifungal to start working, depending on the severity of the current infection. If he is really struggling, I would urge you to call your vet to see if additional medications or hospitalization for oxygen therapy is indicated.

Itraconazole has a broader spectrum of activity. This means it can treat a greater number of fungal infections. Both can cause varying degrees of GI upset or liver function issues. Itraconazole is also more expensive than fluconazole.

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.

I'm so sorry that Maggie has been diagnosed with Blastomycosis. I have most commonly used Itraconazole, but there are other antifungal drugs that are used to treat it as well. Here is some additional information on Blastomycosis and treatments. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2256 Unfortunatately without knowing specifics about Maggie's case I can't tell you about her prognosis and if it was caught early, but I can say that the drugs for Blastomycosis tend to work very well. I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach. Good luck to you and Maggie.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This sounds like a focal infection. You can try to use chlorhexidine containing pads (such as the Douxo chlorhexidine 3% PS pads) to clean the are twice daily for 7 days. You may find these online or at your local pet store. If there is no improvement or in the meantime this appears to be getting worse, have him evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Good luck and have a good night!

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.