Feline nailfold dermatitis

Re: Feline nailfold dermatitis

Vet2Vet — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 23:51:25 GMT

Yes , high dose steroids needed to get remission . You need to be brave . Lowish doses will not hit it . But be careful to rule out Demodex first .

Re: Feline nailfold dermatitis

Anthony Todd — Thu, 10 Oct 2013 17:44:12 GMT

[quote user="Suzanne Kelly"]+1 for Pemphigus.[/quote]

Well, I didn't use the fancy name, but those terrible steroids always worked in these for me, although I tried to get the owner to give an adequate dose to effect, when necessary, rather than continuously.

Is the cheesy stuff pus or what [seeing as it's not an infection]? What's the histo on the cheesy gunge, you know now, you've always got to take a sample to send to the lab, surely.....

Re: Feline nailfold dermatitis

Suzanne Kelly — Thu, 10 Oct 2013 16:20:05 GMT

+1 for Pemphigus. My own cat was adopted as a stray with mystery cheesy feet. It was horrible, her toes were 3 x normal size with cottage cheese/custard coming from her nail beds. Histo/custard analysis was non diagnostic, but she's doing great 2 years on on pred 2.5 mg Mon, Wed, Fri. She had the characteristic butterfly pattern of lesions on her face too.

Best of luck,

Suzanne

Re: Feline nailfold dermatitis

Claire Fisher — Thu, 03 Oct 2013 19:51:47 GMT

[quote user="Bob Russell"]

Pemphigus foliaceus would be pretty high on the list I suspect.

[/quote]

This would be my guess too. The dermatologist I got some advice from last time I saw one advised swabbing and examining a smear - acantholysis suggests immune mediated disease I believe.

Re: Feline nailfold dermatitis

Sammy82 — Thu, 03 Oct 2013 17:26:29 GMT

My own cat has the same issue as part of his atopy. In his case it seems to be triggered by harvest mites, as the skin always flares up in September and I found mites in the most affected nailfolds. He responds very well to a course of steroids and is fine the rest of the year, so I have not put him through any invasive tests.

I would treat the allergy and possibly add on antibiotics if secondary bacterial infection is suspected.

Re: Feline nailfold dermatitis

Martin Atkinson — Thu, 03 Oct 2013 15:58:35 GMT

[quote user="Bob Russell"]

Pemphigus foliaceus would be pretty high on the list I suspect.

[/quote] Ah ha....the fancy name!!

Re: Feline nailfold dermatitis

Bob Russell — Thu, 03 Oct 2013 15:54:49 GMT

Pemphigus foliaceus would be pretty high on the list I suspect.

Re: Feline nailfold dermatitis

Martin Atkinson — Thu, 03 Oct 2013 15:52:55 GMT

Is this all his nails or just a few and the same few each time? I'm sure someone could put a fancy name to this condition but it doesn't make a diagnosis. You clearly have 3 basic differentials here: ectoparasites, chronic fungal or bacterial infection and immune mediated disease with secondary infection. So have you done haematology/biochemistry, swabbed/ scraped/taken hair pluck samples for examination/culture, if not why not? If no joy from that biopsy and take a nail out and submit that also if necessary. Your answer will lie somewhere within that lot. FInally what have you treated the atopy/FAD with, if corticosteroids do the nail beds get better as well or worse?