My pit bull has recurring red, wet paw blisters. What's wrong?

Question

My pit bull who is 4 & has allergies continues to get red blisters in between his paws and his paws swell up and often times it appears as if the blisters are wet. Despite antibiotic treatments with novadin pads and antinflamatory meds his blisters return within a month. What could this be and what could it be caused by? Pet's info: Dog | Pit Bull Terrier | Male | neutered | 4 years and 6 months old | 80 lbs

Lauren Jones VMD · Accepted Answer

Poor Zues - those lesions are quite prominent! Recurrent interdigital (between the toes) lesions can be frustrating and can be caused by a number of different issues, including atopy (environmental allergies), food allergies, bacterial infections, yeast infections, mange, autoimmune issues, or even cancer. In many cases, secondary bacterial infections occur when dogs lick or chew at their feet, meaning that the bacterial infection happens on top of another cause, like allergies. This might explain why the antibiotics helped initially, but the lesions then recurred. At this point, it sounds as though more diagnostic testing is needed. Your vet will likely want to do some skin cytology (examining some cells under the microscope) to check for signs of bacteria and/or yeast, a skin scrape to check for the mites that cause mange, and may even recommend taking a biopsy so that a pathologist can evaluate the affected tissues. Depending what those tests show, your vet may then recommend trying allergy medications (such as Apoquel or Cytopoint), a prescription hypoallergenic food trial, or other medications. I understand how frustrating this issue must be and wish you and Zues all the best!

My pit bull has recurring red, wet paw blisters. What's wrong?

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