# brown waxy discharge around vulva - help! (very long)



## dapupster (Oct 31, 2010)

hello,
I have mostly lurked on this very valuable forum since Spencer came home to us in Oct 2010, and then his niece Minx came home in Aug 2011 - thanks and hats off to this forum! 

I cannot find any answers with my searches, either here or on the internet, and I hope someone can help.

My Minx will be 2 next week, and she was spayed about 10 months ago.

She had a brown discharge around her vulva for about 5 days, so we saw the vet on Saturday. He said she had a vulva infection, that her vulva was tipped and plus she needed to lose a couple pounds as it added to the fold where infections develop.

He shaved her area and gave me Gentizol cream to apply twice a day to the area. She was really jumpy afterward, and the doc attributed it to the new shave.

Here is the problem - since she was shaved, she continues to be very jumpy and very sensitive "down there." She doesn't even want to walk anywhere, and she cannot get settled very easily. She is exhausted.

I phoned the vet's 24 hour line yesterday, and he prescribed Tramadol over the phone. That stopped her jumpiness, but she panted half the night and looked anxious and had trouble sleeping because of that! So no more Tramadol.

I phoned the 24 hour line again today asking if I could give her Benadryl or something to make her drowsy (our human doc neighbor suggested it) and the response was they want to see her on Tues and prescribe her a dog pain med possibly then (our human pharmacy doesn't have dog meds).

I am very upset to see her jumping, she can hardly settle down, she doesn't even want to walk outside or on smooth cold surfaces, presumably because it's too cold for her snit area. Her vulva is completely exposed now, and I assume she's very sensitive down there and more so with the shave.

HELP! What can I give her to make her drowsy enough to forget the discomfort? I know it's not pain per se, as she was not doing any of this prior to the shave.

I welcome your ideas, many many thanks.

Spencer and Minx's Mom, Kate

p.s. pics of Minx when she was 3.5 months old, and her big brother (uncle actually) Spencer, 13.5 month old. Will post more pics later


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## HavaneseSoon (Nov 4, 2008)

Poor baby! She is probably cold down there, not use to all that coolness down there. How about some PJ's, like they would use after a spay, so they do not get at the stitches. 

Make sure her area is warm and cozy. Praise, stay upbeat and excited. They know when Momma is upset. Wonder if the shave and the cream is irritated her skin.


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## TilliesMom (Sep 30, 2010)

that is odd for her to get an infection being that she was spayed 10 months ago...
has anyone else ever heard of this??


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## dapupster (Oct 31, 2010)

HavaneseSoon said:


> Poor baby! She is probably cold down there, not use to all that coolness down there. How about some PJ's, like they would use after a spay, so they do not get at the stitches.
> 
> Make sure her area is warm and cozy. Praise, stay upbeat and excited. They know when Momma is upset. Wonder if the shave and the cream is irritated her skin.


That is such a good idea, thank you! A diaper or something like that did occur to us - I'm off to find one now. :heart:


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## dapupster (Oct 31, 2010)

TilliesMom said:


> that is odd for her to get an infection being that she was spayed 10 months ago...
> has anyone else ever heard of this??


I will look forward to comments, for sure....

her vet said that it was a "vulva infection" and that hers was a little "tipped" and that she was a couple pounds heavy, so it created even more folds to catch the urine and create bacteria.

I wondered if it was like a UTI...

We'll see her vet again on Tuesday to recheck and clarify, but meanwhile I want her to get some sleep. I don't think she's in any real pain (it doesn't seem so, anyway).

I put a large fleece PJ on her backwards, so the front legs are at the back. Strangely, it fits perfectly (half way down her) and she does seem a little calmer - thank you, HavaneseSoon!!

Does anyone have input or thought about the Benadryl? Is that a bad idea in a small dose in pill form? I read that the suggested dose is 10mg for under 30 pounds....she weighs 18 pounds, so I'd give her 2-3 mg to start, probably.

I'm nervous to do that because of side effects, however.

Any thoughts?


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## rdanielle (Sep 2, 2008)

She's a doll. Sorry to hear she's uncomfortable.

I'd go ahead and give her the Benadryl.

http://voices.yahoo.com/over-counter-medicines-safe-pets-4896384.html?cat=53

Do you have any coconut oil handy and a cone? Liberally apply some in and around her vulva. Coconut oil will help heal and reduce inflammation to the area and also ease itching. The cone is for preventing her from licking it as dogs love the taste..

More on coconut oil: http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/

Hope this helps! Hope she gets to feeling better


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## Pixiesmom (Jul 31, 2008)

Coconut oil is great for skin issues. I like colloidal silver also. They both work well on my two.


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## dapupster (Oct 31, 2010)

rdanielle said:


> She's a doll. Sorry to hear she's uncomfortable.
> 
> I'd go ahead and give her the Benadryl.
> 
> ...





Pixiesmom said:


> Coconut oil is great for skin issues. I like colloidal silver also. They both work well on my two.


Thank you both for your notes, I will check out the coconut oil.

UPDATE: I took her in for a follow up Tuesday after Memorial Day and her other doc said the jumpiness was a combination of cold (no hair) and more direct pressure (pain) on her vulva which, the doc said, looked better and less inflamed (it was hardly inflamed at all, imo :wof and that she would need to lose 2 pounds to keep the area from folding and creating a problem there again.

So she's on the mend (and on a diet), and she celebrated her 2nd birthday on May 31 feeling great again, thankfully (as soon as things quiet down here, I'll upload the birthday pics) -

thank you all so much for your advice and care! You guys are champions! :kiss: :first:


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## andra (Aug 23, 2010)

Awhile ago, Dionna (who is three and normal weight) developed a dark rusty colored crusty/dried goop around her female private part and it was making her uncomfortable and led to her licking it, which seemed to make the situation worse and the area would become inflammed. The vet initially told me to use this OTC creme to help with the irritation and it did not help. We then progressed to a prescription blue wash that I would use a cotton ball with the wash twice a day on the area and then another creme--this did not help. We then progressed to a prescription creme, prescription medication and the blue wash and this did not help. Oh, and I began a cranberry supplement from the vet although she had no evidence of UTI or pain on urination. I also started distilled water early on, partly due to what I read on this board and partly due to a health conference I attended (for human health) which discussed distilled water.

With the passing of time, Dionna became increasingly unhappy with me poking at her privates. She also became progressively more unhappy when another dog would try to poke down there and she would sit down. Towards the end, she even began to do her very low and quiet growl of protest when she knew I was getting ready to treat the area. Always a love bug, she would let me do the treatment but did voice that she was unhappy which I understood.

At the last vet visit, he referred us to a specialist--a dermatologist. Right before the appointment, I noticed that she also was getting a rash on her lower legs on the underside. Dionna, bless her heart, is such a love bug and she endured skin scrapings of various areas and cultures of various areas without protest. She was started on two medications and the dermatologist doctor told me that for skin issues, the course of treatment is much much longer. One of the medications I was only given two weeks worth until the culture results came back, which confirmed it was the right medication and then I got more of the medication. She just finished the one medication and has a week left of the other. Her private part is finally healed and the excessive licking has stopped.

I need to mention that my regular vet is very skilled and experienced so I do not fault him at all and he did the next right step in referring us to the dermatologist. My regular vet also mentioned that sometimes anatomical shape can cause this (or being overweight) but he said that Dionna did not fall into those categories.

I am at work so I do not have the names of the various medications and cremes on hand. The prescription creme was supposed to heal it and also soothe it by quieting the inflammation. I can get you those names if you would like.


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