Epsom Salt bath/compress for anal sac?

[Jerry_NJ]

Life is sure interesting since we adopted our adult Westie.  He will be in our care one year in April.  

Many of you have seen and given helpful inputs to my many posts on this Community, all have been about this one dog.

The latest, and a repeat, is he has taken to doing "butt spins"  -  other dogs I have known and seen have sat down and drug their bottoms across the floor, usually a rug.  There seems to be several possible causes, including hair growing into the anal passage.  The Westie has rather soft, and not very curly hair the rear apron.  This I have trimmed, but then because some poop was stuck following a "dump".  I can not see on close inspection any sign of ingrown hair.

I decided to wash the area including the anal area with a cloth soaked in Epsom salt.  Looking on the "web" I see a possible cause is inflamed anal sac which can be treated with an Epsom Salt "sit bath" for 10 minutes (good luck on that one with a Terrier) or a compress for a similar time period.  I soaked a cloth in warm Epsom Salt water and washed, then pressed it against his anal area.  He seemed to find that pleasant and was willing to sit back on my hand held wet cloth.  I plan on doing that 3 or 4 times a day and see if it helps.

I didn't try to get him to sit back for a full 10 minutes, but perhaps the shortage of time can be made up with my repeated 3-5 minute treatments.

The best I can tell Epsom Salt has the old 100 and 1 uses, and is in general safe as even some ingestion of some will do no harm.  

I also see that anal sac problems can be caused by a lack of fiber in the diet.  Boy does that sound familiar.  Our Westie's main food is a (Now) Nature's Recipe Salmon and Sweet Potato kibble.  He was eating a similar kibble by Natural Balance for the last month.  I believe the potato is rich in fiber... and his stools look firm and "normal" to my uneducated eye.  Still, something causing him to need a scratch of his anus.

[Jerry_NJ]

Okay, we start another day without any "butt spins".  After his trip outside for toilet duty, which included a very normal looking bowel movement, I used a wet warm clear water wash cloth as a compress on his anal area... to remove any Epsom salt hat may have been deposited in early treatment.  He seemed to enjoy.

I was under the impression that an Epsom Salt sits bath may be enough to soften up the sac (opening?) to provide relief.  It seems that may be the case.  However, I tried with the compress cloth to put pressure on the sac area, including some cross pressure (but not a pimple busting focus) but I did not detect any strong smells nor did I see any discharge.  

At this point, given the apparent improvement in his condition I will guess he isn't suffering from worms - he does take the monthly tablet - as Epsom Salt compress should have no effect on anything living inside his intestines.

Here too I will discuss with the vet on his annual visit.  But, I think the Epsom Salt treatment has produced some "cure" results.  I have read that Epsom Salt, not a product of modern chemistry, is really a "wonder drug" for topical use, yet I think it can even be used for some internal problems, but none come to mind at the moment - I don't think stomach problems, but maybe even there. I'm talking about human uses too.

[Ghilly]

Jerry, unless there is obvious irritation of the anal area, which it doesn't sound like there is, it definitely will not hurt matters to wait until next month when you see the vet.  BluCrystal is correct when they say that it smells awful, worse than poop.  There is no smell on earth quite like the contents of an anal sac, so while it is easy enough to do yourself, it's a whole lot less disgusting to just let the vet do it.  :)

I know what you mean about having to be the one in charge.  Boy, they quickly become manipulative little turds, and considering the language barrier that exists between humans and dogs (and cats, too, for that matter), they learn awfully quickly how to win us over with one of "those looks".  I swear, my Collie can have me eating out of his paw in an instant, no matter how strong my resolve was going in to the matter, whatever the matter was!  He wins frequently, unless, of course, it's something that would be hazardous to his health of somehow detrimental to him in any other way.  It's not fair, is it?  There should be a way to have dogs be the liaisons for countries who are at war with each other, the wars would end very quickly with both sides getting a cookie!  LOL!

Ghilly

[BluCrystal]

I worked with a vet for 8 years.  So, even tho I am not a vet, I do know something of your complaint.  If his anus does not appear on the outside to be irritated or swollen, then his licking it isn't going to cause further harm.  It can be difficult for someone who doesn't know to locate and express anal glands.  Plus, it can be rather disgusting to do.  But if you want to be brave, I can tell you how its done.  Put the dog in the tub and turn on the warm water slowly (for washing him and yourself).  Have some soap ready.  Lift his tail and press against the sides of his anus: if his glands are swollen, you will feel things like small nuggets there, sometimes this thakes a bit of pressure, as not all dogs have glands close to the surface, and at this point, you are only checking to see if you can find them, and if they are hard.  If you cannot locate them, then stop, and let your vet look.  If you do locate them and they are hard, you will use a thumb and forefinger to squeeze them outward.  Use the same pressure you would on a stubborn pimple.  If he is not impacted (so full that the contents have solidified), you will wind up with a handful of really gross gunk, for each side.  It will smell awful, worse than poop. Then wash yourself and the dog. :)  Any probs with this, see the vet.

[Jerry_NJ]

Thanks, I did read on the web about "expressing" suggesting the vet, or some groomers do it, or DIY.  It then explained there are two sacs, one on each side lower.  It suggested using fingers to put pressure on the sacs somewhat like one can do on a pimple.  As I was doing the compress with Epsom Salts I put some pressure on the sides but I didn't detect any discharge on the cloth or smell. Still, he has not done a circle scoot in the last 24 hours that I saw.  He tends to hang around so there is only a small chance he could sneak one in.

I think I will try to run with this until his annual check up comes due next month.  I'd like to also see how my efforts to stop feet licking works.. again some of that may have been due to discomfort with his ana sacs.  

I try to catch him licking before I put the E-collar on, which can be dangerous, he gets very unhappy when I slip it on.  Then he tried to make-up and pleads with me to take it off of him.  I hate doing that but someone has to be in charge, and that's an ongoing battle between him and me.

[Ghilly]

Jerry, the anal sac doesn't really even have to be inflamed for them to do the "scooting".  It could just be that it needs to be expressed.  Normally, defecation takes care of this on its own, but sometimes it just doesn't work that way and the sacs need a bit of help being emptied.  Sometimes, worms can make the anus itch.  You could make an appointment with the vet to have the sacs expressed and take a stool sample in with you at the same time to make sure he doesn't have some type of internal hitch-hikers in there.

Ghilly