Since hot spots are painful and irritating, this clipping and washing can often require tranquilization or even anesthesia to accomplish a good wound cleaning. After cleaning, your veterinarian will apply a strong steroid creme to the wound and give a steroid injection in order to reduce the irritation that is feeding the infection. Antibiotics are sent home to kill the bacteria. Since dogs often lick at these wounds and make healing impossible, we can place a collar on the dog that prevents the dog from licking. In seven to 10 days the wound is mostly healed and the hair begins to grow.
Hot spots are somewhat preventable.
The earlier you can put out the fire, the less problem you will have. Once an owner is trained to recognize the beginnings of a hot spot, they can immediately clip the hair off the wound. Then they can have an antibacterial wash at home to wash up the wound. With a little steroid creme and some antibiotics, most owners can stop these wounds before they become a forest fire. If your pet is having trouble with hot spots, talk to your veterinarian so he can identify the probable cause of the infection.