Lilly and Vulvitis - An autoimmune problem - Mucocutaneous (discoid) Lupus

Poor Lily. And poor you. Would plain zinc cream be a better option than regular sunscreen? iI acts as a barrier against the sun—as seen on cricketer players. Some chemical sunscreens can really burn. And the zinc cream has the added benefit of the zinc, which is good for skin. And it’s white, so you can see it.
 
Found this. It suggests nut oils like almond or coconut as they are high in zinc so will sooth dry, crusty skin and protect short term in the sun but apparently red raspberry seed oil and carrot seed oil have a high spf. At least with these although Lilly will probably still lick you know it's not going to do her any harm, you can keep putting it on liberally and wack it on just before a walk and she might not bother with it too much.
Natural Sunscreen for Dogs... Dogs need UV protection too - Dogs First
 
Poor Lily. And poor you. Would plain zinc cream be a better option than regular sunscreen? iI acts as a barrier against the sun—as seen on cricketer players. Some chemical sunscreens can really burn. And the zinc cream has the added benefit of the zinc, which is good for skin. And it’s white, so you can see it.
Apparently zinc oxide the ingredient in nappy rash creams and those highly coloured sun screens that sports people use is toxic to dogs. So be cautious.
 
Apparently zinc oxide the ingredient in nappy rash creams and those highly coloured sun screens that sports people use is toxic to dogs. So be cautious.
You bring up an important point. Ingesting too much zinc can be toxic. If Lily licks a lot of the cream off, she can be in danger of zinc poisoning. I’m guessing this would be the case for sunscreen, too. Here’s a vet article on zinc toxicity: Zinc Poisoning (Toxicity) in Pets
 

Jacqui-S

Moderator
Location
Fife, Scotland
Thanks for all the tips and suggestions!
And of course all the sympathies - I have let Lilly know that you are all concerned about her. She sends her licks x
I am tempted by the nose balm - Snout smoother - but did note that a lot of dogs just licked it off.....
And the doggy sunscreen @Jennifer I was quite hopeful about, but its only an SPF9, so although maybe okay if not outside, probably not protective enough.
I think I will have to try and persevere with the kids SPF50.
We have an appointment 2 weeks today. We needed to be off steroids for 21 days or we would have been there next week.
Thank you everyone for your concern and sympathy. xx
 

Jacqui-S

Moderator
Location
Fife, Scotland
Dropped Lilly off at the dermatology vet about an hour ago. Poor soul.
She feels it is muco cutaneous lupus.
Will take a biopsy from her nose and possibly also her vulva. And some base line blood tests.
She says about 10% of dogs lose weight on prednisone. Another type of steroid may be an option, or an immune suppressing drug like cyclosporin.
We discussed a couple of other treatments too. We need something that isn't 3 times a day as there are 2 days a week at least that we can't easily do that and asking a neighbour to be involved in that kind of lifelong commitment not really practical either.
Doing some retail therapy to distract us whilst we are waiting.
 
Top