Pets: Anyone have experience with lime/sulfur dip for mange?

[Scent of Pine]

I was at a conference for two weeks this summer, and when I got back I found that not only did my husband have ringworm, and in-grown toenail and mild malnutrition, but my little pomeranian had a spot of mange mites on her cheek.  I took her to the vet and was given drops to be applied daily.  After several months the spot was still there, and we found a scaly patch under her fur on her side.  After shaving her (a bald pom is quite pathetic) we found another area near the base of her tail where the skin was scaly/red/possibly with mites. 

This time the vet gave us a lime/sulfur dip for her with instructions to use it twice a week.  The dog's had four treatments now in two weeks.  She hates it, and is crabby about it, and since the stuff has to dry on her she smells like sulfur.  It's like having a small pink demon lurking around the house. 

Most of the spots that looked bad may have cleared up, but the area on her cheek still looks scaly.  It doesn't seem to have the little black specks anymore, could it just be irritated skin?  Anyone else use this stuff?  How long did it take to clear out the mange?

Thanks.

[Juniper]

Most of the spots that looked bad may have cleared up, but the area on her cheek still looks scaly.  It doesn't seem to have the little black specks anymore, could it just be irritated skin?  Anyone else use this stuff?  How long did it take to clear out the mange?

Are we dealing with demodex here? I'm presuming we are, but just wanted to ask in case it's sarcoptic mange...

Usually it will take a few months for the spot to heal and the hair to grow back after using the dip. However, some dogs do have reoccuring incidences that makes it feel like the problem is never going away.

All dogs have demodectic mites on their skin. Unfortunately though some dogs have more of them then other dogs, and that's when it causes the skin trouble known as mange. It's considered passed down from mother to puppies even though not necessarily hereditary, so it's not recommended to breed a dog who has suffered from demodex.

One thing that's niggling me though is the particularly stubborn spot on her cheek. You said your husband had ringworm. Is it possible that she has ringworm on her cheek? You could try using an anti-fungal cream just to rule it out...

[Jenett]

It doesn't seem to have the little black specks anymore, could it just be irritated skin?  Anyone else use this stuff?  How long did it take to clear out the mange?

 
My resident feline had a couple of spots of ringworm when I got her from the humane society this spring. My vet gave her a complete lime-sulfur dip (cost me, I think, $15 - worth every penny both because at the time I had an apartment with only a shower, and that way, she was not mad at me, but at the vet) but they also suggested mixing some up (I used an old glass jar, same dilution ratio as you'd use for dip) and dabbing it on the relevant spots with a cotton ball.

That was a much more pleasant experience for both of us (find jar, get cotton ball half wet, hold cat, apply sulfur, feed cat treat, get on with life) and I did it every other day or so. They said to bring her back if that didn't help, but it clearly did after the first couple of applications, and I kept it up until the skin looked normal and I could see hair starting to grow back.

I'd check with your vet, but ask if topical applications of the dip solution to just the spots that need more might be useful.

[Faemon]

Most of the spots that looked bad may have cleared up, but the area on her cheek still looks scaly.  It doesn't seem to have the little black specks anymore, could it just be irritated skin?  Anyone else use this stuff?  How long did it take to clear out the mange?

As a puppy, a dog that I used to have, would play in her urine while she was getting housebroken. The housekeepers weren't allowed to touch dogs and everyone else would be out of the house. I think that's what left the poor thing with mange spots on her elbows and under her chin that lasted for years.

I've used some sulfur ointment that this kennel owner gave, that the vets said I should discontinue because it was for mites and not mange. They kept pushing for this watery coffee-colored alcohol-smelling liquid that, seriously, for years never worked at all ever-- and then they even started my dog on pills for the mange, that also didn't work at all ever.

But the sulfur ointment was the only thing that showed the slightest effect, so I continued using it on my dog for what felt like about four months and by then it was completely gone.

[Scent of Pine]

Are we dealing with demodex here? I'm presuming we are, but just wanted to ask in case it's sarcoptic mange...


One thing that's niggling me though is the particularly stubborn spot on her cheek. You said your husband had ringworm. Is it possible that she has ringworm on her cheek? You could try using an anti-fungal cream just to rule it out...

 
The vet did a scrape test and said it demodex.  We were concerned that it might be ringworm, but she said it isn't.  The hubby, by the way, still has issues with the ringworm.  His doctor told him that since this is the tropics, it will remain a problem for a while.  He initially used neosporin on it, which made it worse.  Now he has to apply anti-fungal cream daily or it immediately pops back up.  He may have some immune system issues.

But the Wee Beastie seems to be doing better.  Her hair seems to be growing back, and the spot on her cheek seems better.  I think that the dip may have worked.  Hopefully she will be able to come back to bed with us soon.

Thank you for all the tips!