5 ways to treat skin wounds & incisions in dogs

5 Ways To Treat Skin Wounds & Incisions in Dogs

As a dog owner, you have to deal with at least one surgery of the pooch during lifetime. You might assume that taking care of wounds would be a trivial thing. But that is hardly the case. There is always a risk of the wound to reopen, an infection to develop or the wound / incision not healing properly.

These risks increase without proper post-surgical care. Taking proper care of the wounds would help in speeding up the dog's recovery after surgery, thereby reducing the risks associated with infection.

Let us now look at some factors that you need to consider while treating skin wounds and incisions in dogs: Avoid Using Chlorhexidine Soap Chlorhexidine soap contains toxic substance that can be dangerous for dogs. It comes under the brand name Hibitane. Small animal practices widely use this soap and no one thinks about the toxicity in the soap. Logically speaking, if it kills bacteria through a chemical effect, it has to be toxic. If you do not read the technical documentation, it is important to note that Hibitane is very hazardous when ingested and can cause irritation to eyes, skin and when inhaled. It is even toxic to the lungs and mucous membrane. Prolonged or repeated exposure to this soap can damage target organs of the dog's body.

Hydrogen Peroxide Should Not Be Used For Wound Care Although, you might think that hydrogen peroxide is one of the easiest and safe choices when it comes to wound care, the fact is, it bubbles up on injured tissues to develop the disinfecting element of oxygen and water. The other problem is hydrogen peroxide releases oxygen that burns the exposed skin and tissue cells, which slows down the healing process. Hence, our suggestion is to treat the wounds with a simple flush of body temperature and/or saline solution, if available. Then use Wound Gard for fast healing. To heal an incision in a dog, the best thing to do is to clean and use something that is nontoxic, so that it does not harm the dog, even if he licks the product.

Problems Faced While Using Polysporin For Wound Healing Polysporin is commonly used to treat wounds. But there are several problems with it:    

It is made up of petroleum jelly which is toxic to the skin of the dog.

Prolonged use and overuse of antibiotics can result in spreading of resistant bacteria.

Petroleum jelly creates a film on the skin surface that slows down the healing process and prevents the wound from closing swiftly.

Most dogs will lick anything greasy, which results in additional trauma to the wound and delays the healing process.

Most Of The Wounds Heal Better And Scar Less When The Scab Is Removed

This may surprise dog owners, but when a scar develops on the skin it often slows down the healing process, thereby preventing the wound margins from gradually closing. If you rinse your dog's wound once or twice per day or as required and keep it clean, soak off the scab and then apply Dermaclens it would heal faster than when you leave the scab on.

Do Not Ever Allow Your Dog To Lick Wounds It might seem cruel when you wear a buster collar to prevent your dog from licking their wounds. But if the collar is not buckled up, your pet would lick the wound and make the wound margins thick and swollen resulting in delayed healing. Remember, the dog's mouth is full of bacteria, not to forget that dogs lick their bums, which makes it equally important not to allow the dogs to lick the wounds.

So, do take care of these factors while treating skin wounds and incisions in dogs.