Dog scratched face until it bled. How to heal and prevent infection?

Question

My dog tends to scratch his face. He scratched it recently and it bled and some of his skin was showing in that area. Are there any ointments, cream or methods that can I can do/put to help heal it quicker or avoid it from getting infected? Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Male | unneutered | 1 year and 5 months old | 20 lbs

Ricardo Fernandez, DVM · Accepted Answer

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. The main way of treating this would be by addressing the allergic component. It would be recommended to have a veterinarian evaluated the affected area before adding any ointments or creams as it may be too deep for some medications for example. In the meantime, you can place an e-collar to avoid further self trauma. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

Dog scratched face until it bled. How to heal and prevent infection?

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