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Q & A - Chronic Skin Infections
Q: "My 5 year old Labrador Lux has been taking antibiotics for several years for what his doctor calls a Staph skin infection. He does better while he’s taking the medication but the skin infection returns shortly after stopping the antibiotics. The doctor said he’d probably need antibiotics for the rest of his life. I’d like to try a more holistic approach but was wondering how well this works for skin infections. Despite using holistic therapies do you ever encounter a dog that needs to be maintained on antibiotics forever for skin disease?"
A:
"Most of my patients with chronic skin disease only need infrequent antibiotic therapy as the holistic therapies we use usually work very well. First, for pets with chronic skin infections I always make sure an underlying problem such as allergies, food intolerance, or hypothyroidism is not the cause of the problem Assuming Lux does not have any of these issues, a holistic approach makes sense. Using frequent bathing to cleanse the skin, feeding a natural diet, using various supplements including antioxidants, fatty acids, and various herbs and homeopathics, you should be able to help Lux reduce his need for antibiotics.
While some pets treated with only conventional medications such as antibiotics require lifelong therapy, I have yet to encounter a pet with Staph skin infections that does not respond to a more holistic approach. The good news for you is that while not an overnight success, Lux will likely improve with time and the correct treatment. As a worse-case scenario, lifelong antibiotic therapy would be a last resort (and even then, if combined with immune-boosting supplements I bet that lower doses of the antibiotics could be used.)"
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