# Boil above eye? (Update: Histiocytoma diagnosis confirmed!)



## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

I noticed this afternoon that Jasper seems to have a small boil (or other boil-like abscess) above his eye. I attached a picture--sorry for the quality, it was on the phone and he wouldn't hold still! Anyone else see something like this in their dog? It's red, firm but not hard, and it doesn't seem to be bothering him much at all--he doesn't try to scratch it or act in pain when I touch it. Also doesn't seem to be impacting how much he can open that eyelid at all.

I've just been treating it like a human boil--warm compresses! Hopefully it goes away quickly--I leave in four days for a 5-day reunion and Jasper has to stay with some friends, and I would rather them not have to worry about whether or not to take him to the vet in case it gets worse.


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## adrino (Mar 31, 2012)

*Re: Boil above eye?*

Isn't that a sting maybe?


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

*Re: Boil above eye?*

It does look sort of like an insect bite. It's a possibilty. What you're doing can't hurt, really. The warm compresses will increase the blood flow to that area and get the toxins out of his system faster. Hope he heals up quickly!


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## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

*Re: Boil above eye?*

Could be! The picture doesn't do it justice. It's a little bigger and redder. He was outside with me while I was cleaning _all the dog hair_ out of the car, and he was rolling around in the grass like a silly, happy fool, so he might have gotten bit then.  He also has an attractive clustering of mosquito bites on the top of his heads--a handful of little white bumps and no hair! They don't seem to bother him like they do me. I'm allergic to mosquito bites, so I'm jealous of his non-itchiness!


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## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

*Re: Boil above eye?*

Hmmm. After three days of watching, I've changed my initial, non-professional, web-searching diagnosis to histiocytoma. That's a type of benign tumor that young dogs frequently get, often on the face or ears, and which usually resolves itself anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months, depending on who you're asking. I wish it photographed better--maybe I'll try it later with an actual camera, instead of just my phone! But it does look very much like a histiocytoma.

Either way, we're going to the vet tomorrow for her to take a look at it, probably only to tell me that's what it is and we'll have to wait and see if it goes away.  Still, it always takes a load off when the vet is the one that says we can wait and see, instead of me just thinking that's ok!


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

*Re: Boil above eye?*

Yes, I agree, redrover. Better safe than sorry!! I'm with you.


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## Emily1970 (Apr 21, 2011)

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I hope everything turns out ok! Riley had one of those under his chin (huge and gross) and it busted open. They were going to try to take fluid out of it and test it, but when they did it started bleeding really bad so they left him alone and put him on Simplicef for a month. Miracle drug for him. It took almost the full month, but it did heal. It is always better to be safe than sorry.


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## raps702 (Dec 19, 2010)

*Re: Boil above eye?*

Axel has a boil on his neck, we thought it was from his collar rubbing when going on walks, but not sure, it does not seem to bother him, however it is kind of ugly and has been on neck for awhile now and does not seem to be going away. Jasper's does look more like an insect bite than a boil though in my opinion. I have the feeling that if we take him to the vet he will just say leave it alone and it will eventually go away, and then charge us $200 as usual. So, we may just hold out for awhile. Will be interested to hear what your vet says though. Good luck


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

*Re: Boil above eye?*

raps702, with all due respect, I think if your Vet charges $200 for an office visit, you need to find another Vet!

The DVM that I have used for years charges $23 for an office visit/wellness exam, plus extra for any lab work and/or medications. He is competent and well-respected. Unfortunately, some Vets, just like some MDs, can be ridiculous with their charges. It makes you think that they must have a boat payment coming due. It also discourages people from going, even when they should.


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## Emily1970 (Apr 21, 2011)

*Re: Boil above eye?*

Mswhipple I want to come live where you do!! Our vet is pretty expensive also, but it's not just him or his clinic, it's all over this area. We rarely get out of the vet under $200 either, but Riley has had a lot of major issues, so not sure that I'd expect to. Even their shots and tests every year run around $300!


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

*Re: Boil above eye?*

Well, it's true that most of the Vets around where I live charge pretty steep prices. I first went to this Vet back in '93, on the recommendation of a friend. I have talked to him a LOT during the past 19 years. He really does love animals, and keeps his prices low so that people will not hesitate to bring their pets in when needed. He has even told me that he has a hard time enjoying a vacation, because he worries so about his patients!

I've had occasion to use Veterinary Specialists every now and then. My regular Vet is well known to them, and is also highly respected. I feel very lucky to have found him, and do wish there were more like him!!

Back in the old days, human doctors (MDs) got into the health care field because they wanted to help people. Now it seems like they get into it because they want to get rich. It is such a shame.


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## raps702 (Dec 19, 2010)

*Re: Boil above eye?*

mswhipple, I was being somewhat sarcastic and also just speculating. It just seems that whenever we go to the vet it's at least a $100 for whatever reason. Kind of like shopping at Costco, can you ever leave without spending $100? But our vet is good, I can't complain about the treatment.


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## Emily1970 (Apr 21, 2011)

*Re: Boil above eye?*

Funny you say that raps702, when we walked out of Sam's Club this weekend they remarked how we had made it out under $100 and that's rare. There's a lady I work with who after my referral took her dog to the same specialty hospital we had to take Riley too because they couldn't get her dog's diabetic meds straightened out. She came back to me and said they were great, but I guess her husband remarked about how horrible it was to pay over $300. I told her to tell him if it made him feel any better, I didn't get out of there for under 8 grand. :-\


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## redrover (Mar 17, 2011)

*Re: Boil above eye?*

Jasper went to the vet this afternoon! In the end we would have had to go anyway, because it looks like he got another minor infection in his toenail bed. I think stuff must poke up there sometimes when he runs--this is the second one this year. Caught it early, so no oral antibiotics, just ointment, so that's good.

Regarding the bump, the vet looked at it and agreed it looked like a histiocytoma. I can't get a decent picture to save my life, but it looks almost exactly like this, only more pink than red: http://www.web-dvm.net/Histiocytoma.jpg

Because of its location and Jasper's general excitement at being at the vet's office (he gets totally amped when we pull into the parking lot and can't wait to get inside!), she preferred that we take a wait-and-see approach. He's very young, so statistically it's highly unlikely that it's a mast cell tumor. The histiocytoma typically regresses on its own in 1-3 months. If it gets a lot bigger, more than one pops up, or it doesn't go away on its own, she said we could do a fine needle aspirate and maybe a biopsy. Again, because of its location he'd probably need to be at least sedated for the aspirate, and definitely anesthetized for the biopsy/removal. Since that could be difficult, since there's not a lot of extra skin on the face to help with the healing, she'd rather wait and see how it goes before having to put him under general anesthesia. She also mentioned that it might get kind of gross looking before it gets better--sometimes they bleed a little/weep, especially if the dog bangs it on something or scratches at it (they can get itchy), and then might get infected. If that happens, we can run back in to get antibiotics or some cream to help make it not itch.

So we'll see! As for vet care costs...phew! A wellness exam costs me around $60, which is fairly typical, I've found, for the middle of Mpls/St. Paul. In more suburban/rural parts of the state, it gets closer to $35ish. Then the ointment was $12. It could have been worse! The cost is certainly enough to make me pause sometimes (grad student--restricted budget!), but I always find a way to make it work. I will say that the nice thing about my vet office is that they're rather conservative--other vets could have talked me into the aspirate/biopsy today, which would probably run into the hundreds, but the vets at this place are really good at taking into account each animal's history and needs, and helping the owners understand what is and what isn't necessary. I've heard of lots of vets that talk owners into treatments or peripherals that aren't that necessary in the end, just to make an extra dollar. I understand the economic climate--I have a friend that just graduated vet school and his student loans make me wince, even though I have my own--but in many cases I think its pretty ridiculous and silly and borderline horrible to talk owners into nonessential stuff just to make an extra $.


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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Thanks for the update, redrover. Sounds like you have a good vet!!  Hope Jasper's histiocytoma goes away all by itself, and quickly (and his toenail gets better quickly, too)!


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

Here's hoping Jasper heals quickly.
You can soak his foot in Epsom salt and warm water to help the toe nail heal faster.
Mine don't care to stand with one foot in a bowl of salt water for very long so I just do it in the bath tub.
Just don't let them drink the salt water.


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## datacan (May 15, 2011)

Jasper, get well soon...

Chamomile tea eye wash works wonders. Of couse, the tea should be at room temp. 

And I still think dogs don't produce enough vitamin C so Sam gets 2 pills ester C weekly. 
Animals are mentioned, at least:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArkbEv0Q8D8

Unrelated but relevant to humans:
http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j...wv3yCA&usg=AFQjCNE_YT69u6HKYSfZPwlFagAVxOlXOA


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