Dog scratched open cyst on the side of his head

[RandyC]

Hi everyone,

2-3 years ago, we noticed a little bump on the right side of ChewChew's head. We took him to our local vet and after discussion decided to do a biopsy of the bump. The vet poked it. He said it popped and fluid came out. He told us it was a cyst. He said it'd probably fill up again and might get bigger. He said he didn't recommend doing anything unless it bothered ChewChew or for cosmetic reason.

This week we noticed that the cyst got really big (his hair is usually long and you can't really see it. I gave him a haircut last week so all of a sudden realize it's gotten big). Today I noticed blood on his hair and realized that he scratched the cyst while scratching his head.

We have an appointment with the local vet on Monday (originally booked just to do a simple physical checkup. Because of Covid, appointments have 3 weeks wait time). We will inquire about popping the cyst since we don't want him to keep scratching and wounding his head.

My question is - in the meantime, do we need to do anything preventing his from scratching the cyst and also what can we do to prevent infection on the wound?

I've attached a picture of the cyst and the wound (!!!!WARNING!!! the picture isn't pretty and is a little bloody)

Thank you so much for your input.

Randy

 

[Dr. Jeff]

Hey Randy.

Keep the area clean using green tea (steep up a cup then use it to gently wipe the area). Hydrogen peroxide will also help with some of the bloodiest areas.

Please let us know what your vet says.

 

[ChristineL]

I would clean the area with colloidal silver, followed by ozonated oil or hemp salve.

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[Dr. Christina]

Good for you to not panic and run to the emergency clinic. When all else is well, a little blood is usually not an emergency.

And good for your vet to not have suggested surgery years ago. Probably even now it is not needed.

Anytime there is bleeding, a Chinese herb combination can be helpful topically and internally - Yunnan Baio. Good to keep in your pet first aid kit.

Dr. Christina

 

[RandyC]

@Dr. Jeff , @ChristineL , @Dr. Christina Thank you for your suggestions! We have been cleaning the area with the things Dr. Jeff suggested as those are what we have on hand. We realized that we should get the other things suggested by Christine and Dr. Christina and start a first aid kit.

We are thankful to have the forum so we can get help . We were actually not sure if this was something that we needed to panic and go to the emergency clinic. Given there was no blood gushing out and ChewChew seemed ok, we decided the forum was the better place to ask.

What would be the situations where it's advisable to remove a cyst with surgery?

ChewChew seemed to have popped the cyst himself. The cyst looked a little deflated today. I have attached a picture. What will happen to the extra skin?

 

[Dr. Jeff]

You're very welcome Randy!

Consider homeopathy before removal. The latter would be if it was bothering Chew Chew or if the vet was worried about it.

 

[RandyC]

@Dr. Jeff Thank you for your reply.

Yes, we always want to resolve issues/correct imbalances with homeopathy first.

By the way, we have an appointment with you tomorrow morning. Looking forward to speaking with you

 

[Dr. Christina]

the skin will just wear away or remain as a small lump, or scar tissue.
Dr. Christina

 

[RandyC]

Thank you @Dr. Christina!

@Dr. Jeff Here's the update after ChewChew went to the vet this morning -
The vet had in his note that we went to him in Oct 2019 for the small bump, but he had forgotten that he popped it and it was a cyst. So, he originally suggested we could do a biopsy this time. However, after we reminded him that and also let him know ChewChew scratched and popped it as few days ago (hence it looks like a weird growth today), then he said he wouldn't worry about it.

He did suggest injection (or oatmeal shampoo) and flea treatment for ChewChew's allergy/itchiness, and we politely declined both.

 

[Dr. Christina]

Good for you, Randy. Great demonstration of being an advocate for your dog!

Thanks for the update.
Dr. Christina

 

[GinnyW]

Yeah, nice lesson all around! The body frequently handles things like this - the same way we take the trash out

 

[RandyC]

Hi everyone,

The cyst seems to have filled right back up in a few short days! (see below for the pictures)

The cyst was still flat on Tuesday when I took pictures for Dr. Jeff after our call, and I have checked it after (I can't remember if it was Wednesday or Thursday) and it still looked flat. Today (Sunday) it's filled up again. Can a cyst fill up this fast?

Here's some additional information to hopefully provide some context -
After our appointment call with Dr. Jeff, we started ChewChew on a new remedy - Lycopodium 6c @10/Qtip on Tuesday. We didn't see any big good/bad changes with ChewChew on Tuesday or Wednesday. The instruction was, if no big changes, to dose ChewChew once per day starting Thursday for up to a week. So, ChewChew has been getting the new remedy everyday since Thursday.
Friday during our evening walk, ChewChew's stool was abnormally large - double to triple the normal amount, and the color was lighter than usual. The frequency of his stool has been normal lately (1-2 times a day), so it wasn't like he hadn't gone in a couple of days.
Saturday during our morning walk, he took a couple bites of the grass and threw up right away (yellow bile). He continued on with the walk with good energy. This also happened last Sunday (prior to the new remedy) during morning walk. It (eating grass and throwing up) is one of his symptoms that comes back once every several weeks.
Today (Sunday), we noticed the cyst has filled up again.
His BEAM has been good (his normal BEAM is energetic, loves to eat, happy). His mood might even be a little bit better than last week (he seemed to have some tummy discomfort last week so his mood was slightly lower).

Are all of these (big poop, fast filling cyst) signs of detoxing?

Also, @Dr. Jeff given the above, should we continue with the daily dosing of Lycopodium?

 

[Dr. Jeff]

1. Yes, cysts can refill that fast.

2. Any change in BEAM since Lyco dosing?

 

[RandyC]

@Dr. Jeff thank you for your replies!

1. Is it a cause for concern if it's filling up that fast?

2. Yes, his energy and mood are even better (it was pretty good before). In fact, after I posted the above update he displayed some playful behavior that we hadn't seen in a long time.
Additional notes -
We noticed a decrease in eye discharge since Lyco dosing.
He has been drinking more water but I noticed that the day before (Monday) starting Lyco.

 

[Dr. Jeff]

1. Nope.

2. Fantastic!