Feet Been treating this as bumblefoot, but possibility of ringworm? Any ideas?

[Jomhogan]

Hi all,
Our girl Hallie (6yrs) has lost most of the fur on her front paws. We thought that she might be biting it off herself, but there’s no open areas at all. Last week when we discovered it, her paws were both red and inflamed. Been treating with topical Bactroban ointment in case of staph, and doing daily Epsom salt soaks. Inflammation has gone down quite a bit but the skin still looks quite red. Her pads are not swollen. Any thoughts on what this could be? Vet trusts what we thought with the bumblefoot but just looking for other recommendations if any. We were thinking possibly ringworm but the skin is not flaky or dry and it’s isolated to just her front paws. Thoughts?

 

[bpatters]

Do you notice her licking the paws a lot?

I'd assume it's a fungal infection, in which case you want to apply an antifungal ointment. Since she can get to her front feet to lick, them, apply it very sparingly and rub it in very well, using a q-tip. Do this a couple of times a day for several days and see if you see any improvement. If you, do, keep on treating the area until the hair has grown back, because fungus can be very hard to get rid of.

I'd also apply some cold-pressed coconut oil after the antifungal treatment. It will keep the skin soft and supple, and avoid any cracks that might harbor the fungus. I'd also discontinue the Epsom Salts soaks. That stuff is really to reduce swelling, not treat an infestation of any kind.

 

[Jomhogan]

Thank you! It’s so hard to tell. I’ve seen her rubbing at her feet quite a bit. I figured it was strange to be bumblefoot since only the top parts of her feet are swollen. I will go buy some lotrimen to see if it helps. Thank you so much!

 

[bpatters]

Bumblefoot always starts on the bottom of the foot, as far as I know. A bad case can spread to the top, but if it were that bad, the area would also be red and swollen.

 

[Jomhogan]

Hi,

ive been treating with clotrimazole for 3 weeks with no improvement. Vet added Bactrim to rule out any bacterial issues and I’ve treated for mites once, with the second treatment due today. I’ve also bathed her twice in Nizoral. Vet really has no idea what to do from here. Hallie is not missing fur on her nose, all 4 paws and her back hind legs. She has been biting, there is definite signs of tissue Damage on her rear legs from her biting them.
I was going to switch to monistat to see if that works better than the clotrimazole?

 

[Jomhogan]

Sorry, she IS missing fur in those areas, dumb auto correct