Dog scratching, losing hair, and in pain. Can I give him old antibiotics?

Question

My 7yr old Pom has been scratching and biting off the hair on his hips and now his chest. There is no blood, pus, or bumps. The same thing happened last summer and the vet prescribed cephlaxin (sp) and steroids. The spots seem to hurt him at times. Can I give him the left over cephlaxin? His paw seems to bother him also. He has trouble jumping in the bed. Could they be related? Please help. Pet's info: Dog | Pomeranian | Male | unneutered | 8 lbs

Destini R. Holloway, DVM · Accepted Answer

The Cephalexin bottle should have an expiration date on it. Also it is not recommended to give antibiotics if you cannot give them continuously for at least 7-10 days duration. So if you don't have enough or if they are expired, then I would not proceed with giving Nike the Cephalexin. Also it is good to get Nike re-evaluated because he may not even have an infection if there is no pus or bumps on the skin. The antibiotics in this case would be unnecessary and would not help with his itching. Instead he needs allergy medications +/- topical medicated shampoo's sprays available through your vet. Until you can get Nike in to the vet, you can try over the counter pet formulated fish oils, which helps to provide a natural anti-inflammatory property to the skin. You can also try an oatmeal based or aloe based shampoo topically if you want to try an over the counter approach. Just keep in mind however that most pets with true allergies require stronger meds at the vet. I would also recommend ensuring that Nike is on a high quality flea preventative such as Nexgard, Comforitis, Trifexis (flea and heartworm prevention), Bravecto, Seresto collar or Simparica. This may be a flea allergy that he is having. I hope that you get his itching resolved soon. Best wishes and take care.

Dog scratching, losing hair, and in pain. Can I give him old antibiotics?

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