How To Get Rid Of Interdigital Cyst Dog

Imagine having an ingrown hair between your fingers—also imagine that you cannot use your other fingers to scratch it! If your dog is suffering from interdigital furunculosis, they’re probably quite uncomfortable and need a remedy, quick.

Interdigital furuncles, sometimes incorrectly referred to as interdigital cysts, are painful lesions which can occur on the webbing between dogs’ toes. If your dog is limping, licking or chewing on their paws, or you notice something amiss about their paws, you should check closely for furuncles, which look like red, hairless, raised bumps between their toes.

Laser Therapy

A CO2 laser will vaporize the affected tissue and allow healing which won’t alter your dog’s normal paw structure. But it can take multiple treatments.

If your dog gets repeated occurrences of these cysts, it could be a deeper issue or an allergic reaction or sensitivity. Especially if the cysts appear along with other symptoms like weepy eyes and rashes or gastrointestinal issues. Then you need to look deeper into the diet or environmental influences.

What Causes Interdigital Cysts in Dogs?

When your dog has an irritation between his toes, he obsessively licks, which pushes the hairs into the skin and other layers. Licking breaks down the outer layer of skin and causes ruptured hair follicles. The result is inflammation and the formation of a cyst or cysts.

Ingrown hairs or foreign bodies that get trapped in the webbing between the toes are common causes of interdigital cysts in dogs.

This irritation is also common in dogs with atopic dermatitis. This is also known as eczema and can be caused by allergens like pollen, as well as stress, dry skin, and infection. Even household soaps and cleaners can trigger this type of flare-up and cause persistent licking.

Another theory is that hair between the toes splits from walking on hard surfaces. Then these split hairs create inflammation that causes irritation and cysts.

Other causes of interdigital cysts in dogs:

Food allergy

Environmental allergies

Yeast infection

Mites

Excess weight that puts pressure on the feet and between the toes

Poor foot conformation

You don’t need a vet to diagnose this but you can visit if you’re really not sure or if you want further diagnostic tests. She’ll use the symptoms and a clinical examination to confirm that it’s an interdigital cyst, clinically called an interdigital furuncle. Chronic cases may result from other skin conditions and even hypothyroid issues.

Your vet can do a skin biopsy and send it to the lab to ensure it’s not cancerous. She may do a bacterial culture to identify the bacteria or do skin scrapings to check for demodex mites or allergies.

What’s the Treatment Process for Interdigital Furunculosis?

First, your vet will likely want to extract cells from the skin between your dog’s toes to examine the bacteria, fungus, or mites which may be present, and to check for secondary bacterial infections. They may also send a sample to for lab work to rule out cancer and other issues.

Once your vet has diagnosed interdigital furunculosis, they’ll want to treat any secondary infection with a round of antibiotics. They may also prescribe topical ointments and suggest epsom salt foot soaks to help soothe the irritation. In very extreme cases, some vets may suggest surgery to remove the webbing between the toes, but this is not always a guaranteed solution and can cause further paw problems.

Before resorting to extreme measures, give the furuncle plenty of time to heal naturally. In almost all cases, and especially when caught early and properly treated, interdigital cysts will eventually subside and heal.

Other furuncle treatment measures, based on the underlying cause, can include:

Allergy testing followed by removing allergens from environment

Regularly cleaning and washing paws

Visiting a veterinary dermatologist

Using an e-collar to reduce paw chewing

Reducing your dog’s weight

Apply Natural Dog Company Skin Soother 2-3x per day

FAQ

How can I get rid of my dogs interdigital cyst naturally?

How do you treat an interdigital cyst on a dog’s paw?

1. Medications. Prescribing antibiotic therapy, a steroid or a mite killer is usually the first line of defense. …
2. Surgery. Surgery removes the cyst. …
3. Laser Therapy.

How do dogs get interdigital cysts?

1. Medications. Prescribing antibiotic therapy, a steroid or a mite killer is usually the first line of defense. …
2. Surgery. Surgery removes the cyst. …
3. Laser Therapy.