Lichen is one of the most common skin conditions in dogs. The main symptoms of this disease are hair loss, the formation of a red crust on the skin and bleeding sores.
Veterinarians are inclined to believe that the reason for the appearance of lichen in a dog may lie not only in the presence of physical contact with an already sick animal, but also in improper nutrition. An inadequate diet (low-quality dry food or a low content of nutrients in natural food) can provoke a decrease in the animal's immunity to all kinds of infections, one of which is lichen.
Lichen treatment
At the first signs of lichen it is necessary to immediately seek the advice of a specialist, since it is timely treatment that will save the animal from suffering and serious damage to the skin. You should know that a person can also become infected with shingles through contact with a sick animal.
A few decades ago, an animal with shingles was most often euthanized, but now a number of very effective drugs have been developed, the use of which gives an almost 100% guarantee of recovery.
The first thing to do before you start treating your pet is to carefully cut the hair around the problem area of the skin. It is desirable that the trimmed area be one and a half to two centimeters larger than the area affected by lichen. In order to protect yourself from infection, you must work with rubber gloves.
If the lichen has not very much spread over the body of the animal, it can be painlessly and quickly removed with the help of drugs such as "mycozoline ointment", "clotrimazole", 10% salicylic acid and iodine solution. It is necessary to apply this or that medicine to the problem area at least twice a day. You also need to make sure that the dog does not lick the ointment.
If lichen is running
If the disease has spread too much and covered large areas of the animal's body, treatment with ointments may not be effective enough. Therefore, for the treatment of an advanced form of lichen it is necessary to use special vaccines: "Mentavak", "Polivak-TM" or "Vakderm". As a rule, for successful treatment, it is enough to give the animal two injections intramuscularly with an interval of 5-7 days.
In order to protect yourself from infection with shingles, it is better to isolate the animal for the period of treatment - place it on the balcony or in another place. Places in the house where the dog likes to be or rest most often must be thoroughly disinfected with a bleach solution.
Important: the decision on whether to use a vaccine or simply dispense with the treatment of infected areas of the body with external preparations should be made only by a specialist.
