There are different sores that immobile people get and the management is different. Warm flowing air is one thing that seems to help any type. Soaps and detergents are increasing thought to be harmful to elderly skin. Cleansers need to be pH balanced to skin and not drying. Skin breakdown from urine, feces, and other moisture needs to be kept clean and exposed to air regularly to heal. Desitin works well to protect from repeated exposure, but the area needs to be exposed to air and warmth too, for 20 minutes at least 3 or so times a day. It doesn't matter if you put the desitin on first, if it dries to a coating that will not hurt the skin (good in fact, if really moist and weepy), just don't think that you have to scrub every bit of it off every time you clean. A hair dryer on low, or a sunny window, or a warm lamp (NOT a heating pad or lamp!) are examples that work. Generally for excoriated or macerated skin, antibiotic creams are not needed and will upset the normal balance of bacteria on the skin. Pressure sores are another animal. They also need to be kept clean, but relieving the pressure is the only true treatment. Prevention is the best treatment! All the other dressings etc are just add-ons to try to provide the best environment for healing. There are many types of cushions available; gel is generally considered the best for a chair or small area, there are also some very good air seat (Sundance Medical makes a nice one that I got for my mother) and bed cushions plus the air mattresses that can inflate with a special machine do work. Eggcrate foam is another option more budget friendly. None of these will 100% (or even 80%) prevent a pressure sore if the person stays in one position for hours. The Calcium alginate and silver dressings are quite effective, westelle, I can tell you that. But it takes time. As someone stated above, elderly skin and tissue just don't heal quickly sometimes. Ulcers that are due to nerve damage or poor circulation can be nigh impossible to heal completely. I don't like duoderm that much for pressure wounds, I think that there are better products like Mepilex (very gentle on the skin) and Tegasorb, but it is a good protecter/preventor for areas that tend to get banged up like ankle and elbows. Tegaderm (and similar products) is good for skin areas that are prone to tearing or abrasion--like arms and shins. It is like adding a layer of tough skin, but mind, once it is on, it stays on until it comes loose on its own or you risk tearing the skin further. A product like skin- prep or cavilon no-sting barrier needs to be applied to the skin before any kind of adhesive (tape or dressing). These also can work quite well as incontinence barriers. The other key to preventing sores is to prevent shearing -- like when the person tends to slide down & out of the chair. Find a chair that doesn't encourage this. Hope all that helps someone! (PS I am a critical care RN and on my unit's skin team)

Demodex mites usually cause simple hair loss, usually in young dogs but sometimes in old dogs or in immunosuppressed dogs. It doesn't usually lead to open sores. Sarcoptic mites cause incessant itching, which can lead to secondary infections. Mange (both demodex and sarcoptic) is best controlled by oral ivermectin, not dips. Dips for mange contain very toxic chemicals that I would *never* prescribe to any of my patients due to risk of neurological adverse effects. I wasn't even aware the dips were still available, due to those adverse effects. They are dangerous to both the patient and the person applying the dip and should be outlawed if they haven't been already, IMHO. Of course, I think Harzt and Seargants flea products should be outlawed for the same reasons... I've never seen mange in a husky and only rarely in a lab, so I doubt that's the cause. But a simple skin scrape at the vet's will confirm that possibility (or not). There could be many things going on. Anything that causes itchiness can lead to sores that ooze bloody pus via self-inflicted trauma (scratching, biting)- fleas, atopy (allergies to things in environment, food), scabies, lupus complex, other immune-mediated diseases. Pressure sores, certain insect spider or snake bites, other skin trauma can also cause those types of wounds. As far as making your dog more comfortable, I would prevent him from licking/chewing the wound by either an E-collar or a bandage. You could also use neosporin ointment with lidocaine on the wound to help control the infection and itching. Otherwise I would keep it clean and dry until the vet can look at it and make a proper diagnosis.

If the wrapped towel is working, just keep using it. My dog is having to wear the cone, she's OK with it. She only has to wear it at night now when I can't watch her. If you have a cone that you aren't using, you can always donate it to an animal rescue. They are ALWAYS needing these for injured dogs or dogs that have had a surgery. Below is another type of collar to keep them from chewing, looks like if you are handy with a sewing machine, you could make this pretty easily. ETA: I forgot to say that I found a towel wrap when I was google searching and tried it but MY dog hated that but she is OK with the plastic cone collar...go figure...HA! Here is a link that might be useful: another alternative to e collar This post was edited by arkansas_girl on Mon, May 6, 13 at 8:09

Since I have had more than my share of dog skin issues to deal with, I'll just tell you what I think. I'll go down a list to sort things out. *Your dog has a sore that has been there for at least a month. *Your dog is uncomfortable. *It does not seem to be getting better. *It seems to be spreading. *Your vet has tried medications. *Medications are not working. There are numerous reasons why your dog could have a problem. In my humble opinion, your vet does not know why. It's been my (and my dogs) painful, costly experience, that when a vet allows something like this to continue this long, and/or switches medication more than once, vet probably does not know what the problem is. After much frustration and money spent on stupid, completely wrong diagnosis, I learned the hard way to put a time limit on medications. Be specific about a date when you will start to see improvement. If vet cannot tell you, and again, want's to switch medications, he/she probably is shooting around in the dark and does not know what the specific problem is. All of this while you are spending money and the dog is in discomfort. I would consider consulting a "qualified" veterinary dermatologist. Skin issues tend to be separate from other regular veterinary issues. Before I do this, I would consider altering the dogs diet, one to a "hypo-allergic" food available from your vet. Lots of people and vets simply do not realize that diet can and does cause lots of problems. Your dog may be prone to a food allergy. Going this simple route could wind up saving you so much time, frustration and money. If you have not already, research the subject on Google. If this is your problem, you should start to see positive results within a short period of time, perhaps a month. Gradually switch to the new food over the course of a week or two. Feed nothing but the new food for at least 6 weeks. Finally. You need to scold your vet for allowing this to go on this long. State that this is completely unacceptable, and you are depending on vet to fix this, you want to know what is going to happen, how much itÂs going to cost, and when itÂs going to get fixed. If your vet cannot get with the program and fix things, find another vet. SG