best way to clean cut between toes???

[kaos]

Hello Every one

I was just wondering what the best way to clean a cut between my girls toes is.....

 

I thought it was doing alright but she can't seem to cleave it alone and it is looking weepy. I'm thinking of immersing her foot in a hydrogen peroxide bath and applying polysporin. THe peroxide won't hurt, but I wonder if it will clean it out enough or if I should just go with warm water and topical application of peroxide. What do you all think?

Sara

[jimahall]

I am not a vet, but have over 30 years of experience. My father once did a C-section on a cow. Saved both cow and calf. Anyway, I would suggest a water spray bottle or hose that can spray water between the toes. Then pour hydrogen peroxide over it. It may help to soak it a few moments in the hydrogen peroxide. You can cover it with a child's sock for a bandage. I would also keep her away from the barn until it heals. Good luck.

[Carson Crazies]

Peroxide will kill tissue, so that's probably not your best option (I've read where using peroxide on an animal is a no-no, but I can't remember where). I would soak it in warm water with a little epsom salts mixed in, and then apply some neosporin.

[Keegan's Mom]

Yes, Laura...I think AK Doc Dog (used to post on these boards) mentioned that peroxide was a no-no for animals. She is a vet and suggested cleaning an open wound with only things you would put in your eye...so we stick to saline solution. Also, she mentioned that you could use diluted betadine.

 

Hope this helps.

[Carson Crazies]

That's right, Rachel, I forgot - Betadine is fine too (you rock). I also keep a bottle of regular old Saline (like I would rinse my contacts in) around, but make sure its ONLY Saline. Sure do miss her.

[Rave]

Whatever happened to AK Dog Doc?

 

I do saline (I keep bottles everywhere) to flush, epsom salts to draw out any foreign bodies and/or infection and neosporin to top it all off.

[Carson Crazies]

I'm not sure Laura. I *vaguely* remember something about her busy season coming up, but I think her last post was somewhere around Dec 04 ish.

 

We go through a lot of saline and neosporin at my house too (hard to keep hubby out of it for his softball injuries too).

[Tiga's_mom]

I was wondering about this too, it's kind of the same question. Tiga has some soreness between his pads on one of his front paws. He's been picking at it a bit and I was trying to figure out what I could put on it to make it better. I'll try the water and epson salt and I have some neosporin that I could put on it. I'll try to find a sock or something to cover it with. Could be a challenge, he doesn't like it when I try to look at it, but other then that it doesn't really seem to bother him. He's not limping or anything.

[Sooner1]

OK. I know this is gonna sound like a crazy idea!

My BC is, like many, obsessed with all things round. One day while out chasing her ball, she apparently cut one of the pads on her feet. I noticed it after we came in and she was just licking it constantly.

 

When I called the vet, they said to rinse it, and apply an antibiotic ointment like Neosporin, then to place a sock on it. Well, Miss Lexie did NOT like that sock! She walked funny with it on and had it off in all of 10 seconds!

 

My mom happened to be in town and she said, "Why don't you use a maxipad?" Well, I thought she was crazy! But we did and it worked beautifully. I can't remember how we held it on...I think we used masking tape, which was okay b/c none of it touched her fur or skin so it didn't hurt when it came off. It was perfect b/c it offered a lot of padding and she didn't even seem to notice it. I think she wore it for a good 4 days, and we still went out, took walks, etc. (I think it was a 'super' version.)

 

I later tried this again after another foot incident and could never get it on tight enough by myself.

 

But I thought it was a most clever solution.

 

Aren't moms the best?! (Well, usually....)

[Alaska]

I was researching something else on the web and found this about hydrogen peroxide in some vet class notes:

 

□ Hydrogen peroxide is commonly used as a foaming wound irrigant.

 

□ Has little antimicrobial effect, except on some anaerobes.

 

□ More effective as a sporicide.

 

□ In concentrations of 3% and more, hydrogen peroxide is damaging to tissues, causing thrombosis in the microvasculature adjacent to the wound margins, impairing proliferation of blood vessels.

 

□ Hydrogen peroxide should be reserved for one-time initial irrigation of dirty wounds.

 

□ It should not be delivered to wounds under pressure, because its foaming action forces debris between tissue planes, enlarging the wound and allowing accumulation of air in tissues.

 

 

The same source generally suggests the use of sterile saline or Ringer's for wound irrigation.

[Brildwn]

here is a little article on peroxid from my vets site i hope that it will help some what!

 

its some where on this site!

 

www.northwesternvet.com

[AK dog doc]

Now, see, just when you think no one listens to you, people go and prove you wrong.

 

Rachel remembered right: open wounds you only clean with things you would put in your own eye. That makes saline best, water second best, and for antiseptic action dilute the betadine in either water or saline to about the color of iced tea. Sponge clean (or soak) and pat dry, put on as much neosporin as you want, and cover if necessary. (I generally use the original recipe neosporin or generic equivalent, not the pain control, in case they lick it.) For an inflamed wound or one with a lot of swelling or pain, hotpacking or soaking in epsom salts is fine and may be soothing. Remember that epsom salts cause diarrhea if ingested, though, so rinse the salts off with plain water or saline to avoid that problem if they lick the area. No alcohol or peroxide in open wounds - as Alaska pointed out, it's generally not a good idea for antisepsis, and besides, it stings like mad. Everyone seems to try it, though.... Maybe from the era when tetanus was more of an issue?

 

There are lots of ways to wrap a foot, but remember that you need circulation to allow healing, so make sure you're not getting it on too tight and cutting off the circulation.

 

And as a P.S. about where the $*#& I've been (my bad, I do apologize), there's thread in the general discussion that Mark, bless him, started, in Which All Is Explained (perhaps in more detail than desirable, but there you are...) which I believe is entitled (quite touchingly) "Welcome back AK Dog Doc" - in case you're the gory-details sort.