Red bumps on inside of dogs leg, noticed today, he hasn’t

Hello and welcome to Just Answer. This is Dr Mike and it will be my pleasure to assist you with your questions today. I have over 20 years of experience in small animal medicine and surgery. I am sorry to hear that you are having trouble with your little one, I can understand how stressful it is for you. I will do my utmost to assist today and to see if we will be able to resolve this quickly for you. Please be patient with me as it takes time to review and write detailed recommendations. Shortly you will receive an offer from Just Answer for a phone call, this is not directly from me and you do not have to accept it. If you prefer we can continue this whole conversation here. I will begin our discussion today with some questions to better understand your concerns. To start with, have there been any changes in eating, drinking, defecating or urinating most recently?

Are there any underlying medical conditions or medications that I should be aware of?

Will it be possible to send some photos of the affected area?

We can type all here. The system automatically offers the call.

Just looking at them now.

Has he been outdoors more since this has happened?

Are they still getting bigger or staying the same size ?

Many dogs will start with reoccurring skin issues in this area as less hair to protect the skin and more contact with the ground/grass, etc. that can irritate the skin and then more moist at times between the legs. As there is also less hair to protect the skin it also can be a reason for more issues in this area. Often the stronger smell that you may be smelling in this area is often more from a proliferation of yeast. Also some dogs can have more sensitive skin and especially the lower parts of the body with more contact to the ground (via friction) with coming into contact with items outdoors can be more prone to these areas.

Bathing the area as above 1-2 times a week until resolved, then as needed, followed by topical administration of the sprays can be most beneficial to address the skin issues and to prevent future issues too. At this age already seeing this much irritation will likely be more prone for flare ups in the future too. This will allow you to quickly and effectively manage when flare ups arose also.

The concern is the in the skin there can be opportunistic bacteria and yeast that can proliferate to higher levels and can potentially cause skin problems. This is seen more often when there is skin damage by way if moisture or damage. The excess moisture can allow the normal yeast and bacteria that colonize and to proliferate to higher levels, as these levels increase then more issues may arise. Topical shampoos with chlorhexidine and miconozole can assist with yeast and bacteria control. When shampooing it is best to allow for a minimum of 10 minutes of contact time with the skin before rinsing it off. This contact time is critical to provide good kill down and penetration to the area for potential organisms. These topical items like chlorhexidine and miconozole can also be sprayed on the skin. (Micochlor spray is my an example ). This can be applied to the area 2-4 times a day. They can kill the yeast and bacteria as they are applied. This can be done in conjunction and between the shampooing. The chlorhexidine can address yeast and bacteria and the miconozole will also will address yeast. There is a topical spray that has lidocaine and hydrocortisone in it. This can be sprayed onto the red and itchy skin to alleviate much of the clinical signs also. This can be done 2-4 times a day as needed also the reduce itch and inflammation. The following are some example to look for, these can be found over the counter like at pet stores, pet section in some stores or online like at Amazon . It is generally more effective when the two different types of sprays are used together as explained below.

1. Micoseb Shampoo which has chlorhexidine and miconozole in it to assist with yeast and bacteria.

2. Miconahex plus Triz Spray by Dechra. The chlorhexidine will help to clean and disinfect and to address yeast and bacteria. The miconozole will address yeast also. This is just one brand example too look for. Most important look for chlorhexidine as the active ingredient with other brands too.

3. SynergyLabs-Veterinary-Formula-Clinical Care. Premium Itch Relief. The lidocaine and hydrocortisone will help with itch, pain and inflammation.

The shampoo may not be needed to cover the whole body however focussing on the affected areas. Synergy is most important in the above discussion. The one spray with chlorhexidine can address potential bacteria and yeast and the other spray with the hydrocortisone can address the inflammation and itch. Together the two items work very well together.

These items are over the counter and can be found at pet stores, the pet section like at Wal Mart or Amazon. I gave one brand example however many different brands are available. Most important is to look for the same active ingredients.

Diphenhydramine (which is the active ingredient in Benadryl) can be dosed at 1 mg/pound body weight every 8 hours. This may help some itch and inflammation.

Until able to acquire the above items, the area can be cleaned with dilute Chlorhexidine. It can be found at the pharmacy over the counter. It may go by the name Hibiclens clens or Hibiscrub. Then can apply triple antibiotic ointment to assist with potential infection. Topical hydrocortisone or lidocaine can assist with itch and inflammation.

If you are outside of the USA here are some other products that may be more readily available in your country.

The following are some example to look for, these can be found over the counter like at pet stores, pet section in some stores or online like at Amazon.

1. Duoxo pyo (these items all have Chlorhexidine and Climbazole in them)
2. Duoxo pyo spray

3. The Triz Chlor line also has these Ingredients also. Here is a link to review.

https://www.dechra-us.com/Files/Files/SupportMaterialDownloads/us/US-025-DET.pdf

Then as discussed above diphenhydramine at 2 mg/kg every 8 hours orally can assist with swelling/inflammation too.

See as they are raised, normally a rash will be flat and more irritated. As these are raised tben this may be more like an allergic reaction.

Sorry, was typing.

This is where an antihistamine like diphenhydramine can reduce swelling and often a skin rash can develop soon, this is never the chlorhexidine can help.

This is the summary of above. 

1 min ago

That along with running lots of water over the surface to remove potential irritatants, then if you have topical steroids to reduce inflammation along with diphenhydramine.

Do you have any steroids topically in the house like hydrocortisone?

The diphenhydramine can be found over the counter at the human pharmacies, bathe at home now and use what shampoo you have at home to clean the area.  Then can order a Chlorhexidine based shampoo even at Amazon or from a pet store.  This can be applied after bathing 3 times a days to inflammation areas.

Yes I understand that stores are all closed for the evening, many people have diphenhydramine at home too. This is what I was referring too and at times some pharmacies are open 24 hours too. This is what I was meaning.

If overall stable, eating, drinking well and getting around well then not so much of an emergency too.

Do you have any shampoo in the house? As a shampoo will help To remove more of the potential debris/irritants from the area too.

If some is licked biggest issue is will not taste well).

Any pet shampoo if you have any, if not a mild human shampoo like a baby shampoo Even can work well.

It may take a day or a few, really depends on the bodies response to a potential irritatant too. We can keep this message open for some days such that we can stay in touch as our little one moves forward. I am here daily and will be happy to hear how things are going. The messages now come directly to my phone for ease of this.

If worsens tomorrow feel free to keep me updated also.

Often mild ones can resolve very rapidly with diphenhydramine too.