Hot Spots in Dogs
One of the most common medical complaints in dogs and cats
is the familiar “Hot Spot” -- also called “acute moist dermatitis.”
There are many causes of hot spots, including allergies and
parasites, but the common factor is infection, whether bacterial, fungal, or
yeast (another type of fungus). A hot spot can appear anywhere on the body:
hind leg, feet, rump area, neck, etc.
The bottom line for your pet is that there is an infection
and intense itching, regardless of how it got that way.
Sometimes hot spots seem to appear out of thin air. For
example, many animals are very sensitive to simple lawn grasses. These animals
are physically and nutritionally normal, but show signs of inflamed skin and
hair loss. If the animal bites and chews at the inflamed area, it could quickly
become a hot spot, similar to the one shown below.
Minute scratches on the skin from a clipper blade may also
trigger a hot spot.
Moist eczema is one example of a hot spot type. If the coat is dense or allowed
to become matted, moisture on the skin may remain long enough to allow
superficial bacteria to reproduce and create an infection.
Rashes and Skin Infections
(Infectious Dermatitis)
Bacterial, fungal and yeast organisms are notoriously obnoxious skin and coat
pathogens. They can cause skin infections for your dog, itching, rashes, dog
dandruff, and other problems in otherwise healthy dogs.
Bacterial dermatitis rarely occurs spontaneously. Normal
healthy skin has tremendous numbers of a variety of bacteria present all the
time. If something upsets the normal balance, such as antibiotics eliminating
one or two types, the remaining types proliferate. Any contact with grass,
plastic, an abrasion or moisture, or parasitic invasion can bring down the
skin’s defensive barriers and opportunistic bacteria then have their way.
Fungal infections first appear as one or more small areas
of hair loss that may be reddened or inflamed. As infection progresses, crusts
may form on the area of hair loss, the patches increase in number and size, and
large portions of skin may become involved.
Yeast, a type of fungus, can irritate an already diseased
skin surface. Yeast infections typically create greasy, odorous and inflamed
skin in affected dogs. Symptoms may include blackening of the skin, dry flaky
skin or greasy type grit on the skin. As the condition worsens, a bad yeasty
smell or odor may accompany this, and the dog will experience severe itching,
leading to endless biting, chewing and hair loss.
DERMagic products fight yeast
and most types of fungus, fast, and are the first line of defense against dog
hot spots and other canine and feline dermatitis.
