Hot Spot Remedies

Dog with Hair Loss, Severe Skin Allergies:

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.

Bailey's Skin Rescue is a special combination of tea tree, lavender essential oils and acidophilus in an all natural botanical cream base which also includes extracts of chamomile, avocado, echinacea, green tea, cucumber and sea kelp and various plant oils.

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.

Hot Spot Remedies: My dog Terra who is part Sheppard and part Akita, had two large hot spots on her back above her tail. I wasn't sure what to do so I asked the folks at our local herb shop ( called "the Herb Shop") and they recommended using Neem oil. When I got home I poured a little Hydrogen peroxide on them to clean and disinfect the spots and then I applied a coating of the oil, nothing else. After about 20 minutes or so, the skin started drying out and that was it, no more problem , completely healed with in a few days.

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!

Suggestion for all those dogs (or any other animals) with hot spots:

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!

A word of 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

My German Shepherd suffered from hot spots. I was constantly shaving the areas, washing with disinfectant and applying solutions.

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.

Hi there! I'm a newby here & thrilled to find your web site. I fostered a 3 month old yellow lab mix (or so my friend thought...) pup came complete with a goopy hot spot on side of his neck. I immediately dusted this with some powdered turmeric, and lo! Two dustings, 12 hours apart & he was cured. I impressed myself.
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'...

My golden retriever had constant hot spots and skin allergies. Tried a cheap product called Missing Link. It has omega-3 salmon oil in it and you just sprinkle a tablespoon on their food daily. What a lifesaver. Her skin is great, her hair is silky, overall health is good. No more biting at her skin and being miserable, or hot spots! My vet doesn't sell it, but they recommend it to all their pet owners now due to my dog's results. They tell everyone about my dog and her results and everyone runs to pet her when she comes in cause of her silkiness. Good luck.

Regarding Melagel - it's great for people too! In order to shop direct from Melaleuca you need to be referred by an existing customer. I'd be happy to refer you and give you additional information on all the amazing healthy products (at wholesale prices) they have.Contact me at [email protected] for more information. Thanks Yvonne

Where can I buy Melagel? Pharmacy or health Food Store?

Hot spots! use 25% water, 25% mineral oil,5 0% listerene mouth wash. Put it in a spray bottle. Shake it up to mix and then spray on the hot spot twice a day.

My Black Lab developed 2 hotspots on her belly after we got her spayed. I used a dry antiseptic powder (over the counter brand) which I applied approximately 3 times a day. After a few days of this I then dabbed sea salt and water solution on with cotton wool before I applied the powder. I used the sea salt solution approximately 3 times a day and the powder approximately 3 times a day. After 2 weeks she was completely free of hot spots. It is obviously highly important to the healing process to stop the dog licking the area as much as possible. Best regards

A Melalucca product called Melagel, stops hot spots almost immediately, scabbed over by next day and healing. Trimming hair around spot is necessary to create Like a "fire break" if you will, then I apply some Melagel 2 or 3 times in a day, by the next day, the spot has scabbed over and it soon starts healing. Amazing stuff!

Our yellow lab gets hot spots every year. Normally she has been taken to the vet for corticosteroid shots and benadryl orally. It always comes back. This year I bought hair trimmers, trimmed the areas and made a mixture of burrow's solution - DOMMEBORO, available at drug stores (mix 1 package with 10 ounces of water) and about 10 drops of tea tree oil. I placed this mixture in a spray bottle and sprayed the areas twice a day (morning and evening). In about 4-5 days the black 'scabs' began to fall off revealing healthy skin underneath. I continued to spray the area until all traces of the hot spots were gone.

Have you tried cayenne and salt on the hot spots? Never had one with the problem, but from what I understand it is an infection, or gets to be one, with bacteria and puss. The cayenne should heal it and take away any pain, so he doesn't play with it, and the heat would probably stop him from licking it, except for a chihuahua.)) I put it on cold sores as soon as they show, and it seems to stop them from continuing. It should if they contain a virus.

Remedy for hot spots - apply dry tinea powder twice a day, stops the' itching, kills the bacteria, and heals within 2-3 days.

I have little faith in vets and I try to find things that work and have some luck - manuka honey is really good as antibiotic internally and externally for animals and they like it. Chamomile teabag soak for any eye problems. These are 2 tried and trusted ones for me.

I have a Newfoundland dog who is very prone to hotspots, and I have tried just about everything on him. He has seasonal allergies and breaks out twice a year. Here's what I do as soon as I spot one: clip all of the hair away from the spot and a good border around it, and clean the whole area with lots of hydrogen peroxide. I will usually dab on some witch hazel to help dry it out, and then dust the whole area with Gold Bond Powder. The powder stops him from licking and helps keep the spot dry, and it's also antiseptic. However, hot spots can spread into massive staph infections really quickly, and sometimes antibiotics are the only way to treat them effectively.