If you have ever seen a dog dressed in a  T-shirt laced up the back or another one looking like a punk with bald spots  shaved all over his body, his owner doesn’t  need to be  an eccentric dog person.   The poor  pooch may be dressed or  shaven because  of hot spots.

Depending on what hemisphere you are in, summer  may be in  full swing  and hot spots are likely to be  a hot topic under the even hotter summer sun.   It is also one of the most misunderstood  problems under the sun.

Things often are not what  they appear to be.

For years,  I lived in oblivion, believing that hot spots were the result of hot weather, swimming and scratching,  sometimes fleas may be in the equation.  Frequently, a dog with hot spots is pronounced allergic which stands for – “no matter what we do,  your dog is going to be itchy unless we put him on drugs.”  First antibiotics and antihistamines, then steroids which usually  unleash the nasty dragon of side-effects, such as liver disease,  obesity, muscle weakness, excessive thirst and urination, adrenal gland problems and believe it or not, usually more itching.

The Steroid Intermezzo

Yes,  I  know  I promised to write about  hot spots. I just can’t seem to  resist the and share a little bit of information about  prednisone and steroid drugs in general.  These overused and very powerful hormonal drugs help a few and  irreversibly damage so many.  Originally, they were thought to be a miracle of the modern day.

There is a strange analogy of steroids  with DDT, because it was also thought  to be a miracle until it started showing its  true effects such  as birth  defects  and fertility disorders.

Steroid based drugs don’t  have the cumulative effect in the environment as DDT , however, they can be devastating on the individual patient basis. There are a  few exceptions where corticosteroids are needed such as  adrenal deficiencies and a few incurable cases of immune disorders.

However, I dare to say that prednisone and other steroids are the most misunderstood and damaging drugs.  They should  definitely  not be popped like they were  “Smarties or M&Ms.”

Wondering why?

Imagine a  house on fire

Imagine  your house or apartment  catches on  fire.   You walk in the door  and see  the flames and smoke spreading fast.  You need help. You run to your neighbor, panic stricken, ringing  the bell and yelling: “ Help, there is a fire, help, quick! “

Your neighbor, as if  in a dream state, turns around slowly and disappears for   a moment.  A few minutes later, he  appears in the door holding a vial of sleeping pills. “ Here take some too, I took some a while ago.  You will feel good. You need to get some sleep. “

Are you crazy? You are yelling,  wake up, something has to be done.” And then you  wake up from this bad dream.

Taking  a prednisone can be the same as taking a sleeping pill at the time of fire.

The fire symbolizes the hot spots on your dog’s skin, allergic reaction or  asthma of your friend.  The symptoms are the body’s  signals that there  is something wrong;  there is “fire”  and  something needs to be done.   A prescription of  prednisone or another steroid  simply numbs the immune system down,  puts the signaling system to sleep.

Wondering why today’s topic of my article are hotspots?

Today,  I got  a message  from a person on our website.  Unfortunately the person didn’t put  her name down and  I  hope she or he will get this article.

Here is her  question:

“We have 14 dogs at my sanctuary and another 8 up for adoption through our rescue.  Anything I can learn to help my dogs is greatly appreciated. I do have a dog with a skin condition – lots of hot spots and I don’t want to continue giving him steroids, as I know they are not good for his long term health….is there something I could give him for this that is not expensive?

I hope, dear anonymous friend that the  following information  will help you, and will make a difference in  all dogs  troubled with hot spots.

Things are often not as they appear.

Would you like to know, where many hot spots originate?

Lets first look at  what hot spots are “on the surface.” They are, in fact, a superficial inflammation and bacterial infection of the top layer of the skin – surface pyoderma in medical terms.

At the beginning of my veterinary career.  I too, was prescribing antibiotics and antihistamines and tried to  stay, sometimes unsuccessfully,  clear of steroids. All the books said the same  thing.  Hot spots are a form of skin infection that has to be  treated  with antibiotics and steroids.

Sometimes there may be hormonal origin like hypothyroidism ( low thyroid ), allergies or excessive swimming and persistent coat moisture. As I continued the struggle with one of the most common conditions, I started observing an interesting pattern in my “hotty spotty”  patients.

The skin  lesions usually  appeared in very  specific areas  of their body.
Sometimes around the neck or  head, sometimes on the feet or the chest,  torso, hind  legs and abdomen.

Oftentimes, I  observed that in some cases the underlying muscles were sore, suggesting a local muscle injury, sprain or strain.  In other cases, the hot spot location corresponded neurologically to a particular spinal segment that was reactive to touch or immobile.  This is a sign of stagnation of energy.

Here are some examples  the location of hot spot and its relationship to a spinal location

• Cervical spine  =   Fore paw hot spots or licking
• Cranial thoracic and mid  thoracic spine  =   Fore arm licking, shoulder and armpit hot spots or scratching.
• Thoracic spine =   hotspots and skin lesions on the  chest
• Cranial  lumbar spine =  Abdominal skin lesions
• Caudal lumbar  =  Hind legs and groin and genital region
• Tail base  =   Anal gland  abscesses, anal region

Why is there such a strong correlation?  Because there is a strong relationship between the decreased flow of energy, nerve impulses  and blood  in the affected area.

To simplify this phenomenon, imagine that the tight muscles cause lack of nourishment to the adjacent region. This can be compared to a watering system where one  hose gets pinched in and there is lack of water flowing to one garden bed.

What  is the result?  The plants would not thrive.
What is the analogy with hot spots?  Lack of energy and blood flow means lack of nutrients for  skin that gets more prone to rashes  and infections.

Local muscle pain causes similar situation -  dogs scratch the area and less resistant  skin gets inflamed.

Dogs  often  lick the affected area either because of pins and needles sensation that  radiates from the congested spine or sometimes they simply try to “massage the affected muscles”  by  licking.

14  steps of treating hotspots

There would be no use to this  theory,  if it didn’t  work in practice.

If your dog suffers from  hotspots, go through the following process:

1. Relate the hotspot  location with the related spinal segment and examine the spine first (  see  relationships of spine and what area it supplies in the green section above ).
2. Push down on both sides of the spine and note any signs of discomfort to touch, heat or skin twitching.  These are all signals of decreased spinal energy flow, injury or  congestion.
3. In this case, you need  to  find either a good gentle animal chiropractor, physiotherapist, acupuncturist or IMS ( intramuscular needle stimulation )  practitioner to treat  the area ( please  contact us if you are looking for someone in the Vancouver area, there are several practitioners that may be suitable).
4. In severe recurrent hot spot cases, back X rays may be indicated to determine the degree of bone changes around the vertebrae.
5. The more chronic changes, the more frequent and longer term the treatment needs to be.  The less changes, the better prognosis.
6. Assess the size and location of the hotspot.
7. If possible,  examine the surrounding muscles  for pain, swelling, heat and other signs of injury.
8. Clip all hair in and around this area if possible. If your pet is too sensitive to touch, use an icepack to numb the region out.
9. Sometimes a sedation or topical anesthesia may be needed.
10. If the skin appears sore and very crusty,  use a face cloth or gauze to soak and soften the scabbing.  Gentle wash the whole scab off and continue doing so for  2- 3 days.
11. Thick crusty scabs harbor bacteria and delay healing.
12. Dry the area gentle and spray on Dr. Dobias’ Healing Solution 2 – 3 times daily for 2- 4 days. ( click on the name for more information )
13. I thin scab formation is usually a good sign of healing
14. Book a consultation if  the problem appears to be severe.

What to do If the hotspot reoccurs or doesn’t heal?

• Re-examine the spine and the surrounding muscle
• Make sure that your dog doesn’t overdo activities like sprinting, swimming, ball retrieving, running behind a bike.  These can be aggravating factors.
• If the spine continues to be sore,  check with your practitioner or ask for a second  opinion if unsure.
• Get back X rays done  to check for chronic changes -  disc disease, arthritis and spondylosis
• If they are present, put your dog on mobility and joint support such as Glycoflex  (  create mobility and joint  support  category -  link to store )
• The more chronic injury is, the longer treatment takes. Some  patients  need a regular maintenance treatment to prevent hot spot  recurrence.
• Remember that  other causes can be at the root of the problem such as hormonal issues, food  allergies or fungal disease which is fairly  rare.
• Inappropriate use of collars may also be at  cause ( see more here)

A word or two about antibiotics in case of hot spots

• In most situations,  antibiotics are  not needed if the underlying cause is  addressed.
• Bacteria on the skin is generally opportunistic and spreads  only if the skin in the area is “malnourished” weakened or traumatized by scratching
• It is extremely unlikely for hot spot infection to  spread systemically.
• Most of the time, antibiotics improve the situation but  will not resolve the primary cause.
• In  RARE cases  antibiotics may be needed as a temporary measure.

How about steroids?

Steroids like prednisone or topical creams such as Panalog, Surolan or Otomax reduce the inflammation of skin and the injured muscles and give a temporary relief. ( remember the house on fire story ).

These preparations often leave permanent  traces of their effect. They reduce the patients “self healing” ability and block the effect of homeopathic remedies.

In the long  run,  they may cause permanent damage and incurable disease

Topical desinfectants like chlorehexidine or hydrogen peroxide?

I do not recommend  these because they  are not  exactly  friendly to the growth  of  new  skin cells and generally slow down the healing process.

A story:

When  I  worked  in  Whistler,   I performed  an abdominal surgery on one of my patients.  The  routine recommendation then was to use Chlorhexidine soap in a diluted form.  For  some  reason,  my  client  didn’t dilute the soap  and  applied it  for 10 days.  When the  stitches   were removed, the  incision fell apart immediately, leaving a big gaping  hole in the skin which had to be re-stitched. Chlorhexidine soap  clearly prevented  healing.

Since  then,  I only  use my own  formula of herbs, Healing Solution, which has excellent  healing, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties.

One  more thing

Believe it or not,  I  originally planned a 1 page summary of how  to deal with hot spots.  Pages  later,  I am  still  typing.

Before I  stop typing there is one more thing  to say.

Never underestimate the importance of hot spot appearance and back discomfort.  Often times, these are warning signs  that  something needs to be done.If you address the issues  early on,  your dog  or  cat  will continue to be happy and healthy.  Neglect may lead  to  other  problems  including  organ dysfunction,  immobility and in some cases,  I have seen a relationship with severe spinal pain and cancer.

Why? Because as it is in the case of skin that needs energy flow  and nourishment,  each  organ  does too.  Organs relate to specific spinal segments and do not receive the proper energy flow, if the spine is injured.   But  that  is a topic for  another article that is  coming soon.

Just  remember that

you or your dog ,  we  all need  a tune up every once in a while.  Prevention is the best  investment  and medicine.

And …  If you see the  dog  in a T shirt or shaven like a punk, perhaps  stop by and share what you just learned.  You can make a whole world  of difference.

Sincerely Yours,