Question Details
Peeling Foot Pads In A Lab
by
Hi Steve,
I enjoyed hearing you and Karen peak at this last AHVMA conference- always a wealth of information to bring home. I am seeing a 2 year old intact female chocolate lab that has had a year long history of interdigital inflammation and peeling of her pads- they literally look like she's been running on concrete, but it will look fine in the morning and then be peeled by lunchtime. She has had some fine dry scale through her coat, her tongue is dusky pink, pulse feels deep to me. We have her a grain free diet now and noticed that she did a complete turn around after an injection of dexamethasone during a particular crisis. She has had some liver detox issues due to a neighbor that leaves cigar butts in their yard. I put her on Yi Guan Jian granular concentrate at a dose of 3/4 teaspoon BID (she weighs 62#) thinking that she looked like a Liver Yin deficiency, but he has relapsed as we have tried to wean her off of the prednisone.
Any other thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated!
Replies
by naturevet
December 2, 2008
Any active acupuncture points that change her pulse?

Generally, when an animal is much better after rest, one of the diagnoses is Qi deficiency. In the case of recurrent skin infections and poor epithelial integrity, it is the Wei Qi in particular that maybe lacking. So a Wei Qi tonic may help, such as Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang or even Yu Ping Feng San. BZYQT also treats Liver Blood deficiency, so it might be the better choice.

Love to hear how it goes..
by
March 2, 2009
Hi Steve,

I wanted to update you on this case (2 YO lab with foot pad problems) She seemed to do really well on the BZYQT and I decided to try weaning her off the pred. Just a couple of days after completely stopping it, she was back to weepy discharge between her toes and peeling around the edges of her pads. Should we switch her to the Yu Ping Feng San or is there another recommendation?

I appreciate your help on these cases- thanks for being available!
by naturevet
March 5, 2009
Hi there,

The pred was likely providing a moistening influence, which makes me wonder if we just added Dang Gui to the BZYQT, or even used Si Wu Tang or Xue Fu Zhu Yu Tang in tandem with it, you'd get that pad building effect you were hoping for. But if it looks more like a chronic inflammation and infection that just won't resolve, then Yu Ping Feng San is a good call, either alone or in tandem with the BZYQT.

Sorry I can't nail it down for you further. This is when pulses, tongue, and points really help me decide things. I guess it would be okay, too, to find the absolute lowest dose of pred required, and just go with that a while as you bumped up the dose of herbs.

Continued good luck, whatever you do.
by
March 15, 2009
Hi Steve,

On a recent recheck her tongue is pale pink and she is losing patches of hair with pale skin underneath- not itchy , and overall thinning of her coat on her abdomen. Her pads are a little more hyperkeratotic now, too. I am feeling heat from these points: LIV3, LIV8, LIV13.
by naturevet
March 15, 2009
Hmmm. Maybe we should pursue your original idea of Liver Yin deficiency and try Yi Guan Jian or Bu Gan Tang. Those points are suggestive as is the hairloss. Perhaps the pad loss is an example of not enough circulation (Blood) to maintain the epithelium. BZYQT treats that, but not as aggressively. To err on the safe side, I'd use BZYQT plus YGJ for a while, and see if it gets you further ahead.
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