What exactly is a Hot Spot?
A hot spot is a single area of skin that has an infection on the surface. These localized areas of infection are more likely to happen in dogs that have thick hair coats, dogs that swim a lot, and in moist or humid environments. Sometimes flea bites or other insect bites can also be involved. A hot spot starts to develop when more than the usual amount of moisture stays close to the skin. This changes the local environment of the skin and allows bacteria to grow. The bacteria release toxins, which cause inflammation in the skin. This makes the skin itchy in that one spot. A dog will chew and scratch on that spot to relieve the itching, but this makes the situation worse. The chewing damages the skin more and makes the skin infection worse. This makes the area even itchier. This becomes a vicious cycle. A large hot spot can seem to develop over only twenty or thirty minutes and can get bigger quickly. A flea or insect bite can also start the itching process.
Hot Spots – The Symptoms
These spots are very easy to identify. They are large areas of the skin that are red, inflamed, hairless and sometimes oozing or scabbed over. Most commonly these spots are found on the rear legs and neck but can appear on other areas of the body as well. This are will be so irritating that a dog will not be able to stop licking, chewing, biting and scratching at it. This can make the area very painful to touch.
The Diagnosing of Hot Spots
Generally, all that is needed to diagnose a hot spot is a visual inspection or physical examination.
If your dog has several hot spots, a visit to your veterinarian may need for testing. These include:
Scraping of the Skin: This rules out Mange
Fungal Culture – This will rule out Ringworm as the cause.
Blood Tests – These are used to rule or seasonal or inhalant allergies.
Blood or skin tests to identify flea allergies
Extensive flea treatment even if no fleas are present.
Dietary food trials to test for food allergies
Dog Hot Spot Treatment
The most important things to address when treating a hot spot are:
Stop the itching
Cure the Infection
Stop the dog from biting or itching the area
Keep the area dry
All hair left on the area as well as that surrounding the area must be clipped. Then the spot must be cleaned with antibacterial soap and dried thoroughly. Oftentimes, these spots are so severe that this procedure is very painful. In these cases, the dog must be sedated.
The next step is for the area to be treated with oral and topical antibiotics. The topical antibiotic will generally contain a corticosteroid to reduce inflammation while the oral antibiotic will contain a corticosteroid to reduce itching. The most important thing is to stop the itch, chew, infection cycle. By making your dog comfortable, the healing process can begin more quickly.
An Elizabethan or lamp shade like collar may be needed if your dog can not stop licking the area. These are generally only needed for 24 hours. In about one week’s time, the hot spot will usually be completely healed.
Methods to Prevent Hot Spots
There are several different ways you can prevent hot spots from occurring. They are:
Use effective flea control on a dog and in the environment
Trim the hair of long and thick haired breeds during the summer months
Whenever possible, prevent your dog from swimming
If your dog does partake in a swim, be sure to dry them thoroughly
Heather Fox is a an experience veterinarian who writes and shares her knowledge with others. She is a featured writer on Clivir.com where she shared more information about Dog Illness Diagnosis and Dog Hot Spots Treatment.
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