K9 MRSA INFECTION

Pearla is a two year old American Bulldog who is very athletic and friendly. She has a variety of food allergies that is monitored by her parents. We suspect she has airborne allergies but testing has never been done to conclude this. This blog was created to establish events in chronological order while she fights this horrible staph infection (MRSA). A brief history of her other allergy related problems are also listed here.

Wednesday

First Visit to a Board Certified Dermatologist Veterinarian



(01/28/2010)

Today we visited a dermatologist and got a lot of good information about her condition. At the moment though we need to fight the MRSA infection and stay on the Clindamycin. The dosage was changed to only 525mg a day ONE TIME a day instead of 900mg. There was no allergy testing done today because that involves anesthesia. If we do decide to go ahead with the procedure it is estimated to be about $1800USD!!

The blood work and procedures done today was about $850 and consisted of;

Comprehensive Physical Exam $145
Ear Cleaning $42
Registration Fee $9
CBC & Chemistry Profile $125
Biohazard Disposal Fee $7
Thyroid Panel #4 (free T4, T4) $150
Dermatophyte Test Medium $45
Skin Scraping $38
Cytology-Ear $28
Cytology-Integument (skin) $28
Clindamycin (300mg,150mg,75mg) $27, $16.50, $20

Below is ear cleaning and bathe stuff for Pearla


DSS Ear Cleaning Sol. (200ml) $21.50
Anim Pharm Chlorhex 4% 16oz $22.75
ResiCort 16oz $41
Conofite/Dexamethasone (200ml) $66.50

The reason why I was given all this stuff was because keeping a dogs ears clean that has skin issues such as Pearla is very very important. There was some ear issues showing that the Vet pointed out to me and that it was a good idea to start this now. Who really knows though; I'm always a little skeptical.

So $850 bucks later I know my dog has good "Chemistry" and "Hematology" levels and a bunch of cleaning solution. I will be writing all the prices on each bottle so it reminds me how much I spent on this stuff. Oh what people do for their dogs...

I've also scheduled an appointment with a "Holistic" Veterinarian which focuses on Chinese medicines. I'm hoping to gain a lot of valuable information to boost Pearla's immune system to fight off these allergy attacks and make her healthier.