Treating Staph with 2-3 week old??

[NewSquirrelMama222]

I need some help figuring out how what I think is Staph on this 2-3 week old!

In the beginning of the week, there was just one or two red bumps. They look like pimples/white heads with a red ring around them. By Tuesday I was giving her topical treatments of betadine twice a day. The redness went away but the bumps have progressed. Every day, they spread and get worse.

I don’t have any antibiotics leftover and I have asked everyone I know. Is there a steroid cream or anything I can get at the drugstore? I’m nervous it’s getting into her bloodstream and I don’t want it to progress too far!!

She seems fine, eating and drinking, going to the bathroom. But I don’t want to keep waiting because it’s not getting better!! Any ideas?

(Last two pictures was this morning. First was the first couple days of red bumps.)

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[SamtheSquirrel2018]

Hi NSM:
This condition appears to me to be folliculitis. All babies who are destined to have hair (fur) have specialized areas in the skin that make the hair. These are in a sense tiny pits from which usually a single hair grows out of. At the base of the hair follicle "pit" are the cells that actually make the hair and send it growing out beyond the opening of the follicle. Every mammalian baby is born immature and the various organs and tissues must continue the maturation process within their own time-frames. The skin, in a very real sense, is an organ of the body and a complex one at that. As the hair follicles develop in the immature skin, some may not be fully functional and the opening may become plugged or just not open up to begin with. A plugged follicle occurs commonly in adult animals and people but it is not usually as extensive as seen in your baby Squirrel because and adults skin is usually fully matured.

Some of the tiny bumps appear to be possibly infected although inflammation without infection can be the primary issue. I would like to encourage treatment with an antibiotic that is effective against Staph. There is a lot of common misunderstanding about staph infections. Physicians and Vets are not really surprised when a skin infection is caused by Staph because Staph can and often does live on the skin. You may also have heard about MRSA (methicilin resistant staph aureus) and MRSI (methicillin resistant staph intermedius). These are not usually nastier forms of staph, they are just resistant to some of the common staph drugs. A commonly used antibiotic called SMZ-TMP (sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim [a brand is Bactrim]) will treat the resistant strains but really, many medications are capable of treating the pain old staph aureus. I know that your stash of antibiotics is gone but please try friends and family. Only one tablet will be all that is needed. Let us know what you have found (hopefully!) and the strength of the tablet or capsule along with the weight of your Little One.

I would also suggest consulting a Vet and hopefully emailing your photos to the Vet but of course that is usually easier for me to say than for it to really happen. When I suggest the diagnosis of Folliculitis, I am going only upon appearances, the age of your Squirrel and the fact that I have seen this same sort of tiny bumps that were eventually proven to be a folliculitis. There are other possibilities for causes but this appears pretty classic from your photos.

I would not recommend using steroids for the concern you expressed in your post and that is that they can and most likely will be absorbed by the skin and are capable of causing some problems.

Very dilute Betadine should be ok. Also, I might suggest gentle applications of warm but not hot water 4 or 5 times daily and then gently patting it dry. This may also help to open the follicles and let any drainage take place. As the skin matures, these bumps tend to resolve and will be less likely to recur.

Please keep updating us on your Squirrels condition and hopefully on her progress!
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[NewSquirrelMama222]

Hi NSM:
This condition appears to me to be folliculitis. All babies who are destined to have hair (fur) have specialized areas in the skin that make the hair. These are in a sense tiny pits from which usually a single hair grows out of. At the base of the hair follicle "pit" are the cells that actually make the hair and send it growing out beyond the opening of the follicle. Every mammalian baby is born immature and the various organs and tissues must continue the maturation process within their own time-frames. The skin, in a very real sense, is an organ of the body and a complex one at that. As the hair follicles develop in the immature skin, some may not be fully functional and the opening may become plugged or just not open up to begin with. A plugged follicle occurs commonly in adult animals and people but it is not usually as extensive as seen in your baby Squirrel because and adults skin is usually fully matured.

Some of the tiny bumps appear to be possibly infected although inflammation without infection can be the primary issue. I would like to encourage treatment with an antibiotic that is effective against Staph. There is a lot of common misunderstanding about staph infections. Physicians and Vets are not really surprised when a skin infection is caused by Staph because Staph can and often does live on the skin. You may also have heard about MRSA (methicilin resistant staph aureus) and MRSI (methicillin resistant staph intermedius). These are not usually nastier forms of staph, they are just resistant to some of the common staph drugs. A commonly used antibiotic called SMZ-TMP (sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim [a brand is Bactrim]) will treat the resistant strains but really, many medications are capable of treating the pain old staph aureus. I know that your stash of antibiotics is gone but please try friends and family. Only one tablet will be all that is needed. Let us know what you have found (hopefully!) and the strength of the tablet or capsule along with the weight of your Little One.

I would also suggest consulting a Vet and hopefully emailing your photos to the Vet but of course that is usually easier for me to say than for it to really happen. When I suggest the diagnosis of Folliculitis, I am going only upon appearances, the age of your Squirrel and the fact that I have seen this same sort of tiny bumps that were eventually proven to be a folliculitis. There are other possibilities for causes but this appears pretty classic from your photos.

I would not recommend using steroids for the concern you expressed in your post and that is that they can and most likely will be absorbed by the skin and are capable of causing some problems.

Very dilute Betadine should be ok. Also, I might suggest gentle applications of warm but not hot water 4 or 5 times daily and then gently patting it dry. This may also help to open the follicles and let any drainage take place. As the skin matures, these bumps tend to resolve and will be less likely to recur.

Please keep updating us on your Squirrels condition and hopefully on her progress!
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel


While reaching out about antibiotics to friends and family, one of my friends said she knew a vet who rescues squirrels specifically so I took her over this afternoon, that way she can get the specific medication and care she needs. I was having a hard time finding antibiotics and was nervous for her. I’m wishing her all the best and, of course, I’ll miss her! Thank you so much for all of the information.

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

While reaching out about antibiotics to friends and family, one of my friends said she knew a vet who rescues squirrels specifically so I took her over this afternoon, that way she can get the specific medication and care she needs. I was having a hard time finding antibiotics and was nervous for her. I’m wishing her all the best and, of course, I’ll miss her! Thank you so much for all of the information.

I wish your Little Squirrel all the best as well; and you too!
Regards,
SamtheSquirrel

[SamtheSquirrel2018]

By the way, for anyone who might be looking at this thread, I inadvertently mentioned Staph intermedius and Methicillin Resistant Staph Intermedius but while there is such a bug as Staph intermedius, what I was really referring to was Staph pseudintermedius and its Methicillin resistant form MRSP). Sorry if there was any confusion. The only logical explanation for this error is that I have a frosting of MRSP over my brain.
Regards,
StS