Tip of the Week: Caring for Hot Spots

Summer brings with it several different skin conditions that pets (and their owners!) have to look out for. One of the most common conditions we see when warm weather crops up is pyotraumatic dermatitis, also known as “hot spots.”

Causes:

Hot spots occur very quickly and can be horrifying in appearance. Hot spots are triggered by any kind of irritation to the skin including: insect (flea/fly/etc.) bites, allergies, excess skin-surface moisture, heavy/dense hair coats, matted hair, or abrasions to the skin. The pet then chews, licks or scratches at the irritated spot and their saliva (moisture) trapped under their haircoat causes a hot spot. Normal bacteria that live on your pets’ skin overgrows causing the area to become raw and infected. The bacterial overgrowth also makes the spot more itchy which just perpetuates and spreads the infection.

Treatment:

The most important key to treating hot spots is the “clip and clean.” The hair must be clipped away from the entire hot spot. This can be a very large area that may be alarming to pet owners as we often don’t know the entire extent of the hot spot until we start clipping. Once the hair is removed, the area is cleaned with an antibacterial scrub to remove the majority of the bacteria that have built up on the skin. We will also dispense an antibiotic to resolve the infection and possibly a steroid if your pet is excessively itchy.

If the hot spot is small, you may be able to manage it at home. The basics of at-home hot spot treatment are: keep the dog from licking the area, promote drying of the moist skin, and alleviate the itching that started the whole thing in the first place. A cone collar may be needed to keep your pet from licking/chewing. If you have a set of clippers at home, clip the area around the hot spot to keep hair from becoming matted to the wound and allow the wound to dry. The area can be cleaned with a mild antibacterial soap and then patted dry once or twice a day. If the hot spot was triggered by a flea bite, flea prevention and control is an important next step. I do not generally recommend any topical human medications be put on the area because the goal is to get the hot spot to dry out, not trap moisture in with heavy creams or ointments. Things like Neosporin or A&D ointment are too heavy and will be less help than if you’d put nothing on the spot.

If no improvement is seen within 2-3 days of at-home treatment or the hot spot continues to worsen, seek veterinary care. Hot spots can be painful, so sedation or anesthesia may be necessary in order to shave and clean the spot properly.

Prevention:

The key to prevention is to prevent the inciting irritation of hot spots. Adequate flea and tick control is very important. If your pet routinely gets hot spots, there may be an underlying allergy that needs to be addressed. Dogs with thick haircoats may be clipped in the summertime to allow more air flow to skin. Some dogs will get hot spots below their ears due to ear infections so routine ear cleaning may be crucial in summer months to prevent both ear infections and hot spots.

Concerned your pet may have a hot spot? Give us a call at (636)561-9122.