Treating the dog and bleaching down the house!

[matis_mom]

At our appointment with Dr. Latimer she recommended we treat the dog too... she said not to spend money on testing, just tell the vet you want him treated and if they won't do it, go somewhere else. Our vet was saying Group A strep is very uncommon on dogs, and usually you'd see symptoms, but we basically told her what our son has is also very uncommon, and he is going through some pretty heavy treatment here, so we don't really mind putting the dog on abxs, even if he doesn't need them. So now the dog (Frodo) will be on Amoxicillin too!

 

Another thing she recommended was to bleach down everything. I was only using bleach on toilets to cut down on the chemical load, as our other dr., who does more of the natural/homeopathic thing, suspects some chemical sensitivities. But, I'm back to mainstream approach here, so that's my project for the weekend... open all the windows and bring on the bleach.... FUN! We are also going to dissinfect the well/pipes, which we had been thinking of doing anyway.

 

I am kind of trying to put all my ducks in a row before I start the steroids. It's quiet an undertaking with seven kids! Washing sheets, changing toothbrushes, and anything else I can think of.

 

The vet also said dogs have strep B in their mouths, so it's probably best for my PANDAS ds to stay away from him (his germ-phobia had kept him from even playing with the dog for a long time, now he's back to petting him and running around with him, we'll just make sure he is not the one feeding him and avoids direct contact with the mouth).

 

I appreciate any thoughts/tips you ladies may have, and if anyone else has treated their dogs, I'd like to here what kind of abxs they used. We got amox, which was $80 for a three-week treatment. The vet said she could give him something stronger, but it's about $600! I need a prescription plan for the dog!!!

 

Isabel

[EAMom]

If you need more abs (and it's also a human med like amoxcillin) you could ask him to write a script and you could get it filled somewhere like Costco...sometimes that is cheaper than filling it at the vets.

 

How big is your dog?

 

Keflex (cephalexin) is another option, stronger than amoxicillin (and it should not be $600 for 3 weeks worth!)

 

Our own dog (since passed away-16 years old)--never was on abs for strep per se...but was on Clindamycin periodically for her teeth. That one would be expensive in a bigger dog however.

[lismom]

If you need more abs (and it's also a human med like amoxcillin) you could ask him to write a script and you could get it filled somewhere like Costco...sometimes that is cheaper than filling it at the vets.

 

How big is your dog?

 

Keflex (cephalexin) is another option, stronger than amoxicillin (and it should not be $600 for 3 weeks worth!)

 

Our own dog (since passed away-16 years old)--never was on abs for strep per se...but was on Clindamycin periodically for her teeth. That one would be expensive in a bigger dog however.

 

 

Our vet gave us zithromax. Same thing my son is on. We broke it up and gave according to weight. I don't understand the pricing of your antibiotics though, ours was no where near that expensive. Kathy

[EAMom]

Zithromax is expensive...but a lot would depend on how big the dog is. It wouldn't be so bad at all cost-wise for a smaller dog since 1 pill could last multiple days. Even for a huge dog, I can't imagine it would be even close to $600.

 

Yeah...I wonder what antibiotic was going to be $600?

[matis_mom]

Zithromax is expensive...but a lot would depend on how big the dog is. It wouldn't be so bad at all cost-wise for a smaller dog since 1 pill could last multiple days. Even for a huge dog, I can't imagine it would be even close to $600.

 

Yeah...I wonder what antibiotic was going to be $600?

It is a 100-lb dog, so maybe that's something to do with the cost. I had no idea what the other abx option was, but if we have to do another round, I'll try to get a prescription for Zithromax and bring it to Costco. I had no idea you could get dog prescriptions there, good to know. We have a friend who is a vet, so he could even write it for us.

 

Thanks ladies for the tips!

[dabel]

OMG - This is something I have never thought of! We have to treat the pets? It makes since but I did not expect it! We have practically a zoo here. 1 - 45 lb dog, 1 - 110 lb dog, 2 cats, one rabbit, one snake, and a tank full of fish. My son is having IVIG done in about 1 1/2 weeks. We are scraping every penny together that we can to pay for it. Now - we have to treat the animals? Geez Is this a practicle joke or are you serious? How many of you have actually done this?

[matis_mom]

OMG - This is something I have never thought of! We have to treat the pets? It makes since but I did not expect it! We have practically a zoo here. 1 - 45 lb dog, 1 - 110 lb dog, 2 cats, one rabbit, one snake, and a tank full of fish. My son is having IVIG done in about 1 1/2 weeks. We are scraping every penny together that we can to pay for it. Now - we have to treat the animals? Geez Is this a practicle joke or are you serious? How many of you have actually done this?

I know what you mean! I hate spending money on the dog when we have so many other medical expenses. Maybe for now you can just make sure your son is not the one feeding/caring for the animals, and do what you can to bleach/disinfect any areas they may have contaminated? Our vet said it's very rare for dogs to have Group A strep, but they do have Group B in their mouths, I don't know exactly what this means for us in practical terms. We are just going to treat him and minimize contact (just when my son was able to play with the dog again ) But hey, priorities are priorities, if the dog has to go, so be it!

[matis_mom]

Well, look at what I've found... I'm only posting the highlights, click on the link for the full article.

 

http://www.vetmed.wisc.edu/pbs/zoonoses/St...streptdogs.html

 

 

Group A Streptococcus: are dogs an epidemiologically important source of infection for humans?

....This tutorial's author has personally been involved in two clinical situations in which a GAS was cultured from both the household dog and from children suffering from recurrent pharyngitis. In both of these cases, all of the people in the house had been treated simultaneously with antibiotics without clearing up the problem, but when all the people in the household and the dog were simultaneously put on antibiotics, the problem resolved.

How about cats?:

To this author's knowledge, there is only one case report of zoonotic GAS involving cats. (Roos et al., 1988)

 

Treatment:

The antibiotic of choice for S. pyogenes is penicillin.

 

At least I know it was $80 well spent!!!

[melanie]

Well, look at what I've found... I'm only posting the highlights, click on the link for the full article.

 

http://www.vetmed.wisc.edu/pbs/zoonoses/St...streptdogs.html

 

 

Group A Streptococcus: are dogs an epidemiologically important source of infection for humans?

....This tutorial's author has personally been involved in two clinical situations in which a GAS was cultured from both the household dog and from children suffering from recurrent pharyngitis. In both of these cases, all of the people in the house had been treated simultaneously with antibiotics without clearing up the problem, but when all the people in the household and the dog were simultaneously put on antibiotics, the problem resolved.

How about cats?:

To this author's knowledge, there is only one case report of zoonotic GAS involving cats. (Roos et al., 1988)

 

Treatment:

The antibiotic of choice for S. pyogenes is penicillin.

 

At least I know it was $80 well spent!!!

 

 

Order it from canada

[EAMom]

I should also add that Walgreens has a prescription drug plan. Individual membership is $20/year, Family membership is $35/year. You can add your pet(s) to your membership if you have family membership (or they can have an individual membership). Most generics (over 400) will only be $12 for a 3 mo. supply.

 

https://webapp.walgreens.com/MYWCARDWeb/ser...ardFAQRH#link15

 

Not all drugs fall under the $12/3mo. supply. Azith. wasn't for us (when we used the plan 2 years ago), although it was discounted somewhat. But, I'm sure something like Amoxcillin or Keflex would be fully covered. And, they wouldn't have meds that are pet specific (heartworm pills etc)...but for a lot of stuff it would be useful, esp. for those with 100 pound dogs!

[monarchcat]

I've been struggling with the pet thing, too. We have a dog and four cats. I think I am going to treat the dog and skip the cats since it seems much more unlikely that the cats would be carriers (anybody know if that's NOT true?). Our vet said it would be inexpensive to treat the dog (he said cephalexin pills). The cats are tougher because I simply can't pill four cats everyday for a week to ten days, so the option for them is a long acting shot called "convenia" which would be $60 each (times 4 cats.. ouch).

 

Hard call to make, but with money flying out the window lately... $240 for treating the cats is a bit much.

[matis_mom]

I've been struggling with the pet thing, too. We have a dog and four cats. I think I am going to treat the dog and skip the cats since it seems much more unlikely that the cats would be carriers (anybody know if that's NOT true?). Our vet said it would be inexpensive to treat the dog (he said cephalexin pills). The cats are tougher because I simply can't pill four cats everyday for a week to ten days, so the option for them is a long acting shot called "convenia" which would be $60 each (times 4 cats.. ouch).

 

Hard call to make, but with money flying out the window lately... $240 for treating the cats is a bit much.

I know, it's a pain to spend money on the pets, but think of all the money we are spending on medical anyway because we cannot seem to erradicate strep from the house! I don't know how picky your cats are, but maybe you could try opening an abx capsule into something they really like instead of doing the shot? My husband forced the abxs into the dog this evening, I don't now why he's doing it the hard way. That dog's so desperate for food, I plan to just break an egg and open the capsules on top, I'm sure he'll leak the bowl clean! He's a sweety, but a 100-lb sweety, and I am not going to wrestle him!

[EAMom]

That dog's so desperate for food, I plan to just break an egg and open the capsules on top, I'm sure he'll leak the bowl clean! He's a sweety, but a 100-lb sweety, and I am not going to wrestle him!

 

raw egg? eww. Why not wrap the pill in cream cheese or peanut butter...you could also squish a little white bread around it (in the peanut butter or cream cheese), make it into a bread ball. Most dogs will gobble that up.

 

there's also something called "pill pockets" available at pet stores http://www.amazon.com/Greenies-Pill-Pocket...s/dp/B001BS4G6O ...those work great too. There are versions for both dogs and cats.

[EAMom]

I simply can't pill four cats everyday for a week to ten days, so the option for them is a long acting shot called "convenia" which would be $60 each (times 4 cats.. ouch).

 

You could get a bottle of liquid Azith. I don't remember how many mls are in a bottle (15? or 30?) and know it comes in a couple of different concentrations...but it looks like you could treat a few cats with Azith (esp. if you only do 5-7 days) off of one bottle (which is about $40 ). That's a 1x day liquid which shouldn't be too bad. Here's a link: http://www.ayshazencats.co.uk/Downloads/zithdosing.pdf (If you're only treating 1 cat, 1 bottle is way more than you need...and you'd end up throwing the excess away after 10 days.)

[thereishope]

For people meds, Meijer offers some antibitics and even prenatal vitamins for free! No plans to pay into.Target and Kroger have $4 antibiotics too. You can call pharmacies for pricing prior to filling a script there. I've called around for "quotes" before.

 

 

 

I should also add that Walgreens has a prescription drug plan. Individual membership is $20/year, Family membership is $35/year. You can add your pet(s) to your membership if you have family membership (or they can have an individual membership). Most generics (over 400) will only be $12 for a 3 mo. supply.

 

https://webapp.walgreens.com/MYWCARDWeb/ser...ardFAQRH#link15

 

Not all drugs fall under the $12/3mo. supply. Azith. wasn't for us (when we used the plan 2 years ago), although it was discounted somewhat. But, I'm sure something like Amoxcillin or Keflex would be fully covered. And, they wouldn't have meds that are pet specific (heartworm pills etc)...but for a lot of stuff it would be useful, esp. for those with 100 pound dogs!