★★★★★
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
★★★★★
EC: FYI -- the active ingredients of Gold Bond Powder (an over-the-counter skin irritation powder) are Menthol (0.15%) and zinc oxide (1.0%).
★★★★★
I received a Great Pyrenees on Christmas Day 2008 and was shocked at the inflammation, loss of hair, itching and brittleness of her hair. I was told that she had severe food allergies (and I did immediately switch her to a premium grain-free dog food) but in addition, I started ading apple cider vinegar to her drinking water and bathed her in it several times. I have proof-positive pictures that within one month this situation took a 360 degree turn for the better. She is happier now, more energetic, has a zest for life and no more itching and inflammation. I recommend apple cider vinegar wholeheartedly.
On her ankles and her elbows she has dried crusted spots and for those I looked up home remedies for hot spots and saw several people had success with plain Listerine, mixed with baby oil and water and spritzed on these spots. Within 2 weeks, those dried spots clearedup and new skin grown and hair growth is happening there.
Botanical Creams
★★★★★
Tea tree and lavender essential oils have anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, and anti-viral properties and have inhalant properties which are also said to help boost the immune system. The acidophilus provides friendly normal bacteria at the skin's surface to assist as well, and the special cream base keeps the skin supple and helps with cutaneous delivery of the essential oils.
The great thing about this formula, is that it stops itching almost on contact and the healing process starts right away. Anyone who has ever had a dog that has developed an itchy skin condition like hot spots, etc. knows that the itching causes the dog to lick or scratch and keep irritating the site -- this stops the itching, so the dog is not licking or scratching and the healing can begin. This also relieves a lot of stress on the dog.
Neem Oil
★★★★★
Several years later, my Mother was in the last few days of her life, from cancer, and we noticed a rather large bed sore on her back so I applied some Neem oil and the same thing happened. Even though her body had started shutting down the skin was reforming on the bedsore!
★★★★★
Have any of you ever tried a saturated solution of epsom salts in apple cider vinegar to swab out those hot spots? Epsom salts has both healing and drying properties and the apple cider vinegar will even cure impetigo which is caused by streptococcus!
Just dissolve epsom salts(2 lb box for $1 at Deals or Dollar Trees) in Heinz ACV (about $2 gallon at Save-a-Lot) until no more will dissolve and swab those hot spots out about 4 times a day. I am sure that neither ES or ACV will harm your dog.
★☆☆☆☆
WARNING!
Do NOT use Tea Tree Oil (Melaleuca oil) on hot spots. Tea Tree Oil can cause neurological damage and even death when absorbed directly into the blood stream.
At one point in time, it was commonly recommended for hot spots, but I learned a hard lesson that just because something is 'all natural' doesn't mean it's at all safe.
I had a dog with a hot spot, and applied tea tree oil to the area. The next day, Vinne was paralyzed from the neck down. The emergency vet's initial diagnosis was degenerative disk disease, which is a death sentence for Frenchies. Luckily I insisted on a second opinion, rather than following the vet's advice to put him down immediately. The specialist vet inquired about his hot spot, and told me about the neurological side effects of tea tree oil on dogs, cats and small children. Thankfully, Vin recovered with no side effects.
From the Animal Poison Control Center website:
"Clinical effects that may occur following dermal exposure to significant amounts of tea tree oil include loss of coordination, muscle weakness, depression, and possibly even a severe drop in body temperature, collapse and liver damage. If the oil is ingested, potential effects include vomiting, diarrhea and, in some cases, seizures. If inhalation of the oil occurs, aspiration pneumonia is possible. "
Details on neurological side effects of Melaleuca oil:
http://jvdi.org/cgi/reprint/10/2/208.pdf
http://www.exoticbird.com/gillian/teatree.html
http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pro_apcc_ask_misc&s_state=teatreeoil
EC: Melagel is made from Tea Tree Oil...
Black Tea
★★★★★
Then I heard about using black tea in a way that made the shaving, washing and applying anything else completely unecessary. It had the added benefit of reducing the number of hot spots until he was completely free of them.
It is very important to follow this exactly. Boil about two cups of water and add 10 black tea bags. As it steeps gently squeeze the bags with a spoon. Allow it to cool to until it's just SLIGHTLY warm to the touch and then pour it generously over the affected area so that it soaks through the hairs.
I have no idea why but this brew of tea becomes ineffective if it's too warm or after it cools completely, so if you have any left over just throw it out. Each application has to be made fresh.
It provides immediate relief for your dog, heals rapidly, no discomfort, no exposed bald spot to grow in, and it's cheap and easy to do.
The sooner you begin to treat the hot spot the faster it will heal, so even if you just suspect a hot spot treat it right away. It's cheap and does no harm even if you end up treating a simple itch.
At first you may have to repeat this twice a day for a few days but with any subsequent hot spots it works faster. My dog's hot spots began to dwindle until he was free of getting them completely.
★★★★★
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'...
Omega 3 Salmon Oil
Melagel
EC: Here it is on the company's website: http://www.melaleuca.com/ps/index.cfm?f=ps.contentPage&sCatID=100275
Mineral Oil, Listerine Mouth Wash
★★★★★
Antiseptic Powder, Sea Salt and Water Solution
★★★★★
Melagel
★★★★★
★★★★★
★★★★★
Tinea Powder
★★★★★
