Tinea Powder
★★★★★
Turmeric and Clove Tincture
★★★★★
And ended up keeping this guy; now named Ronin, & found to be a Rhodesian Ridgeless. Yikes.
A neighbor's white retriever, Chloe, used to get horrible hot spots which she used to lick until she was bloody & bald on these areas. I used a medieval remedy of whole cloves steeped in alcohol (I used cheap vodka). Dabbed clove tincture onto hot spots to ease the pain; once the pain was gone (immediately!) she stopped the licking & my friend could move onto healing the hot spots. She was a vet tech & could not believe my remedy worked.
Love your site, am glad to be 'here'...
Use a Poultice
★★★★★
Vegetable Oil
★★★★★
The following is a copy of email recently sent to the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine and the American Veterinary Association.
I filled out the form on your website. I could not copy the below email and paste it into your "comments" window...so here it is if you want to use it. I think it is important as it is a simple cure that I have now found sucessful on another dog other than mine also.
Hello to all my Vet friends,
When all else fails.....!!!
I came upon this purely by accident. This cure will not make you any money, but it sure will make you lots of friends with your clients.
I am no casual pet owner. I have shown, field trialed and hunted champion German Shorthair Pointers for 45 years, plus being owned by an assortment of mixed breeds, cats and an assortment of other exotic critters. In the 1970's I was one of the first to breed large falcons in captivity.
My present dog, a mixed breed, short-haired medium-sized (Tamarindo Purebred...) had severe skin problems since he was around nine months old. His full brother/litter-mate is neighbor and enjoys the same, virtually identical environment, so I know the dog's living situation was not the problem.
He developed a severe rash on his "hot spot." To which he continually chewed, and then started chewing his tail to the point of its having no hair at all, and other parts of his rear anatomy. He had a severe flea problem. End result was a neurotic dog with no hair on his tail and rump, constantly chewing and biting himself there and other parts of his body. He was loosing skin in nasty dried chunks and flakes like a huge case of human dandruff. I tried several local vets who provided a variety of creams, soaps and lotions. None worked. I tried human skin products from the local pharmacies. None worked...after considerable financial expenditure. His neighbor brother remained unaffected. I was seriously considering putting him down.
Then, I remembered that when I applied vegetable oil on my sunburn (I now live in the very hot and dry tropics of NW Costa Rica) it immediately soothed it and no peeling of my skin occurred. I tanned nicely, despite the severe sunburn.
So, I looked around the house and found a 1-inch paint brush I had been using for a "meat baster" in the kitchen. I also found a stiff laundry brush. I then brushed him from back to rump and gently on tail to remove loose skin. Then I put some cheap cooking oil in a small plastic tub. Using the paint brush, I gently massaged the oil onto the affected parts.
He immediately stopped biting himself. Within a day, I could see the redness in the skin start to dissipate. I continued bathing him with a flea/tick soap.
Soon, the redness disappeared altogether. I continued this treatment nightly. Within a week the amount of dead skin started to ease up. New hair started to appear. I also scrubbed oil (with the soft paint brush) into the hair and skin in all areas where I saw fleas...mostly under the tail around the lower rump. Within a couple hours, there is no oily feel to the hair...it has been absorbed by then into the skin.
Today, just over a month of daily treatment, all his hair is back. His tail now does not look like a rat's. He is completely flea free. He chews no more and his coat is glossy. He was also very skinny. Now, he has put on many pounds and is in the pink of health.
My Conclusion: I think the veggie oil acted as a systemic. It penetrated the skin and suffocated the mites under it that were eating the hair follicles and roots. It also did the same for his skin as it did for mine. The oil also suffocated the fleas to the point they now no longer exist.
Correct me if I am wrong. I would love any input. I thought this treatment was of significant importance that you folks should know. Maybe you do already. However, try this next time on one of your client's dog.
This experience might make a useful entry for your newsletter.
Regards,
Tom Knight
Tamarindo, Costa Rica
(Asheville, North Carolina)
02/19/2009
★★★★★
I am trying the vegetable oil for hot spots remedy that I found on your site for my dog who has 3 hot spots on his hind legs. It appears to be working. To help get rid of the infection (possibly staph) today I added 6 drops of povidone iodine to the oil because of the smell of infection (my other dog keeps sniffing the newest/latest hot spot in concern, that's how I know). I mixed the iodine with meat baster brush into the oil really well, then applied the mixture to each hot spot with the brush. I think adding the povidone makes a difference. My dog was licking his newest hot spot obsessively all day, but then stopped after I applied the oil with the iodine. I also take him for a walk after applying the oil to give it time to soak in. I also run the meat baster brush under extremely hot water to sterilize it after each use.
(Tamarindo, Costa Rica)
03/25/2009
FYI...Up date on the mange cure.
I still have some skin flaking off on his "hotspot", but regular application with the veggie oil keeps it in check. No more fleas or ticks though...or any raw, ugly skit patches...and he doesn't scratch or bite the dry spot. I can live with it....and so can my dog.
Cheers
Tom Knight
Tamarindo, Costa Rica
(Houston, Texas)
05/28/2012
People and animals prone to skin problems have a deficiency of linoleic acid, an essential Omega 6 EFA, in their sebum. Which may or may not be due to a dietary or systemic deficiency. Usually not as most people get too much of the omega 6s and as do most animals fed grain-based commercial food.
This can be improved by applying it topically. In fact there is a spot on treatment called something like Allerderm that is a combo of essential fatty acids.
Grape Seed and Safflower are both over 70% linoleic acid. But note, these oils are not stable and should come from a good source, come in a dark bottle and be stored in the fridge with only a small amount left out at a time. The average supermarket is not a good source, btw. of much of any oil. Of much of anything for that matter.
Hemp seed oil would be a good source of a combo of EFAs good for skin.
(Mexico, New York)
07/13/2015
(Mcdonough Ga)
08/04/2015
Vinegar
(Virginia)
08/08/2013
I have a 10 yr old siberian husky w/ bad hotspots on hip & neck/throat. Went to vet 2 wks ago-was put on antibiotic & Genesis spray. Spots are getting worse & one on neck smells. I can tell he feels bad & does not want me to touch neck. I live alone & it is hard to handle hin to shave or bathe him, plus area is very sore. How do I dilute the apple cidar vinegar & any other advice?
(Asheville, NC)
08/08/2013
Dear Susan, years ago I had a dog with a hotspot issue and it was indeed difficult to treat. The thing you need to be careful with is that hotspots can turn into staph infections quite easily. Sounds to me like your dog's hotspot that smells has turned into a staph infection. I would try putting povidone iodine on the wounds a few times a day as it doesn't really sting. That's what the vets use to begin with.
Be careful with apple cider vinegar. I tried every home remedy imagineable and the apple cider vinegar was not at all helpful. The best cures for hot spots come from the vet, I'm afraid. Perhaps someone on this site can offer you nutritional advice to help you with this issue. Please let us know how your dog is doing.
(Columbus, Oh)
08/09/2013
Dilute organic Apple Cider Vinegar (the one with "the mother" which is the nutrient-rich sediment in the bottle; just shake the bottle before using) 1/2 and 1/2 with distilled water, and spray on the affected areas.
IMPORTANT: do NOT spray the ACV on any open/oozing sores! This will sting! These sores need to be healed first with antibiotics from your vet, THEN you can use the ACV as a preventative.
White Vinegar, Antiseptic Powder
★★★★★
Witch Hazel and Apple Cider Vinegar
★★★★★
(Oklahoma City)
02/12/2015
Witch Hazel and Gold Bond Powder
★★★★★
(Hartford, Ct)
05/07/2012
i want to know how to treat severe hot spots in a cat my 5 yr old cat has eplipsy and on meds about 3 yrs ago she started with this allergy have taken her to vet 3 times. she has no fleas or mites. i have her on 1/2 a allergy pill every 12 hrs but she still has bitten her legs naked and spots all over body. i have her littermates. they are all fine. i tried different canned foods, different litters, nothing is helping. please help me she is tiny. only 4 pounds and 5 yrs old. i can't afford any more vet bills. i am a cancer survivor and a widow on limited income. thank you in advance and god bless. please help tiny.
