How to Recognize, Manage, and Avoid Pets’ Hot Spots
Your pet may scratch, lick, and chew itself into a hot zone when their skin feels like it is on fire from scratching. By learning more about these highly uncomfortable sores, you can help your pet conquer the itch.
What causes hot spots in animals?
Acute moist dermatitis, also known as hot spots or pyotraumatic dermatitis, is a skin condition that causes inflamed sores to appear on a pet’s skin. These blotches frequently appear overnight and can develop swiftly into an excruciating disaster for your pet.
Why do pets develop hot spots?
Hot spots are typically brought on by skin irritation brought on by flea, food, or environmental allergies. Anything, though, that prompts your pet to lick, chew, or scratch an area until the skin is exposed can be the problem.
Hot spots could be caused by:
- Otitis media
- Skin conditions
- Muddled fur
- Infected urinary tract
- Anal gland problems
How are animal hot spots treated?
To avoid a severe skin infection, you must act quickly to treat your pet’s hot areas. Your pet has to wear an Elizabethan collar (also known as an e-collar) as soon as you see a little area of inflammation in order to prevent future skin irritation.
As hot spots can be excruciatingly painful to the touch, when your pet comes to our hospital for hot spot treatment, we may sedate them and give them a potent painkiller. We will trim away matted fur to make the area more airy once your pet is at ease. To help the hot spot heal, the wet, matted fur that acts as a breeding ground for infection must be cut off.
To remove fur and other debris, we will carefully clean the area with an antiseptic rinse. Next, we will administer topical treatments to the clean, dry skin to relieve the itch and treat the infection. Depending on what caused the hot area in the first place, we may advise allergy medicine, anal gland expression, ear medication, routine grooming, or other therapies.
Do not delay to treat your pet’s skin if you discover an inflamed or irritated region. Before a little irritant develops into a significant, painful hot spot, give our staff a call to make an appointment.