Colloidal Silver Minerals and other natural remedies

Someone recommended that I research colloidal silver and colloidal minerals with vitamins in regard to pet health.   I found this spray called 'Vitamist':
http://www.vitamist.com/Colloidal_Minerals_p/coll.htm


I recently purchased some colloidal silver:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BSZBHS

I also read that putting 1-2 drops of iodine in the water tends to help dogs with health issues.  I have some Nascent Iodine and will probably try this.

Another sore came up on Ziggy's foot (same foot, different location) and I'm using Manuka Honey which seems to be helping it to heal up.
http://www.amazon.com/Sterile-Australian-Honey-Management-Creamed/dp/B0018XX0WI/ref=sr_1_15?ie=UTF8&qid=1303824955&sr=8-15

Ziggy is being treated at a Banfield Vet clinic here in West Palm Beach.  He is taking Fluconazole pills which is helping to clear up his skin.  Also some "Medically Formulated Wipes" from GlenHaven.  The doctor said I can use these once daily in addition to the MalaPet shampoo (which is really good and contains the Ketoconazole).  These seem to work very well.

Also he provided "Resortin Skin Ointment" but licking it is not allowed and Ziggy is a licker.  I tried placing it on his leg/foot and bandaging it up but he acted like it hurt (or stung) so I wasn't really comfortable using it.  I'm using the Manuka Honey instead, placing a dab on the sore and then wrapping a bandage on it to keep him from licking it off.

Improvement in Florida

The first weekend in March, Ziggy and I relocated to West Palm Beach, Florida.  I knew that he always did much better in Florida so I watched and waited and now one month later, he's actually doing much better.  The only treatments I'm doing right now are:
- Epi-Otic ear cleaning every other day
- Mometamax ear treatment (about 1-2 times per week)
- Malipet shampoo (used to be maliseb) wipe-down every morning and bath every 2 weeks.

He is really doing much better, the skin looks better, smells better and he is more active than he was in Virginia.

I'll continue to monitor his progress but I'm hopeful that he will continue to improve in this new climate.

Online Homeopathic Remedy Finder Results

I entered as many of Ziggy's symptoms as I could into this tool at http://www.abchomeopathy.com/ and it came up with Sulphur as the best remedy for his skin issues and some ear issues but not all of the ear issues. 

Here is a copy of the results:

The homeopathic remedy which best matches your symptoms is Sulphur Of your symptoms, it applies to these:



ear; discharges from ear;
ear; discharges from ear; offensive smelling;
ear; discharges from ear; offensive smelling;
ear; discharges from ear; offensive smelling; sour;
ear; inflammation; skin erysipelas;
ear; inflammation; inside; ;
ear; itching; in ear;
ear; itching; bowl-like part, by ear canal; ;
extremities, limbs; dryness; hands; ;
extremities, limbs; dryness; hands; skin of hands like parchment;
extremities, limbs; skin; discoloration; blotches; red;
extremities, limbs; skin; discoloration; red; blotches;
skin; chapping;
skin; cracks;
skin; dry;
skin; dry; burning;
skin; abnormal growths;
skin; inflammation;
skin; inflammation; skin erysipelas;
skin; inflammation; skin erysipelas; worse after scratching;
skin; hair falls out;
skin; itching;
skin; itching; gnawing, biting;
skin; itching; must scratch; until it is raw;
skin; itching; worse scratching;
skin; itching; spots;
skin; itching; tickling;
skin; moisture;
skin; sensitive;
skin; generally unhealthy;

However, it is not relevant to the following. If any of them are central to your case, you should consult the remedy grid (click next again).

ear; discharges from ear; left; ;
ear; discharges from ear; night; ;
ear; discharges from ear; cheesy;
ear; discharges from ear; gluey, sticky;
ear; discharges from ear; gluey, sticky; morning;
ear; discharges from ear; offensive smelling; like rotten cheese;
ear; discharges from ear; thick;
ear; discharges from ear; yellow;
ear; inflammation;
ear; itching; in ear; better rubbing;
ear; itching; in ear; comes on suddenly;
ear; odour;
ear; skin; fungal growths;
ear; ear wax; dry;
ear; ear wax; dry; peeling off in scales;
ear; ear wax; thick;
ear; ear wax; yellow;
extremities, limbs; dryness; fingers; ;
extremities, limbs; dryness; lower limbs; ;
extremities, limbs; dryness; feet; ;
extremities, limbs; hands and feet; odour of feet, offensive, without perspiration;
extremities, limbs; skin; discoloration; blotches;
extremities, limbs; skin; discoloration; mottled;
extremities, limbs; skin; discoloration; red;
extremities, limbs; skin; discoloration; red; in spots; ;
extremities, limbs; skin; discoloration; thigh; marbled;
extremities, limbs; skin; discoloration; thigh; white, in spots;
extremities, limbs; skin; discoloration; ankle; red;
extremities, limbs; skin; discoloration; ankle; itching skin disease;
extremities, limbs; skin; discoloration; foot; red;
extremities, limbs; skin; goose-flesh;
extremities, limbs; skin; goose-flesh; thigh; ;
extremities, limbs; skin; goose-flesh; leg; ;
extremities, limbs; skin; wrinkled;
extremities, limbs; skin; wrinkled; leg; ;
skin; cracks; burning;
skin; cracks; offensive smelling;
skin; dry; rough;
skin; abnormal growths; fleshy;
skin; thickened, as if hidebound;
skin; inflammation; skin erysipelas; chronic;
skin; inflammation; skin erysipelas; recurrent;
skin; itching; better bathing;
skin; itching; painful parts; ;
skin; itching; on going to sleep; ;
skin; sensitive; right side; ;
skin; sensitive; left side; ;

Skin Irritations Flaring Up

Ziggy's skin condition has escalated in the past week or two.  He licks and bites on his legs and feet a lot.  The bleeding spot on his foot has returned (indication of the cysts).   The skin seems to clear up and do well for a couple of weeks, then it worsens.  He smells very yeasty.  I bathe him with the Douxo shampoo and that seems to help a little but it's only temporary.

His ears seem to be doing ok.  I clean them every day or two and apply the Mometamax.  Not sure if that is keeping his ears clean or if it's the homeopathic remedies.  He's been on the latest round of remedies for about 3 weeks or so.

He's usually very lethargic but has occasional bursts of energy (usually after eating or coming in from his walk).  I'm wondering if I should add a multi-vitamin to his diet.  Current diet is turkey and vegetables (peas, corn, carrots, green beans organic frozen veggie mix) and the powdered bone meal supplement.  He also drinks a little organic whole milk after his meals.  Could the milk be causing some of the skin issues?  His snacks consist of greenies and the Bravo dry-roasted chicken breast strips.

Here are some pictures I took this morning:

Back left leg. 

Very red and raw from licking and chewing.

Inside of back legs.  It's actually redder than this picture shows.

His foot bled yesterday so I bandaged it up overnight and so the blood has dried. 

He's licking at it right now as I type.



Back on Antiobiotics

Ziggy's foot issue keeps flaring up a couple of times per month.  He seemed to be in a little discomfort this time so the doctor put him back on antibiotics and gave him some pain meds.  He licks and bites at his feet a lot but his ears have been doing better.  The doctor still wants me to clean his ears daily and use the Mometamax to keep the irritation down.

We're also using Douxo shampoo and spray which is supposed to help heal the skin irritations but not sure how well it's working.

Dehydrated Pet Food

My local pet store has dehydrated pet food (http://www.thehonestkitchen.com/).   It's minimally processed so I'm hoping that Ziggy can eat this without it affecting his allergies.  Over the weekend (Oct 23-24), I mixed some samples (the grain-free versions) with his turkey and vegetables (after rehydrating with warm water).  He really likes it and this option fits in with my long-term food storage plan so I could buy this food in bulk, separate it into oxygen-free packages with the food saver and that should store successfully for 20-30 years.  I can mix it with his turkey and veggies or serve it alone if I have no access to those other items.

I also found another dehydrated raw dog food here:
http://www.pawnaturaw.com/organic_raw_dehydrated_dog_food.html

Eventually, I'd like to have both of these in my food storage.

Back on Antibiotics

In September, Ziggy's skin condition flared up pretty badly.  The ears got infected, the skin was icky and the foot was bleeding.  My local vet felt that we really needed to get it cleared up quickly so we did a round of antibiotics (Simplicef) andKetoconazole to clear up the yeast infection.

He's doing better now but the foot bleeding has occurred two more times after that.  It seems to be cycling around about twice per month.  I'm so afraid the cysts are returning which could require another surgery to have them removed.

I made an appt with Dr Loops and I'm hoping that maybe we can find another remedy (or a change in the dosing) to get this under control.