Dogs with swollen faces.

Every so often a dog comes in with a swollen face.  In fact, twice in a twelve-hour period this weekend I've seen a dog with a swollen face (different dogs, okay?) Look at that right lip and left eye.  "What happened to him?" We don't know.

Dachshunds (more commonly than other breeds) sometimes get facial swelling as a part of a drug or vaccine reaction.  It's like hives (urticaria for you scientific types).  Some type of allergic reaction, we think.

Insect stings are probably the most common reason that dogs look like this.  Again, an allergic-type reaction,  but rarely as severe as the anaphylactic reactions that make your bronchial tubes swell shut.  Those are the ones that cause you to quickly turn blue and die if you aren't carrying your epi-pen [a device for injecting a pre-measured dose of epinephrine, aka adrenaline -- it opens them back up].

Snake-bites are a less common cause of facial swelling.  In our part of the country, the only poisonous snakes we have to contend with are the copperhead and the cottonmouth.  Dogs always investigate nose-first, so snake-bites almost always are on the front of the muzzle.  The dog usually does not swell up anyplace else.  When your basic mutt gets a face like a Shar Pei, think snake-bite.

Most of these would get okay eventually without much treatment.  We give them antihistamines and cortisone, plus pain medicine if needed.  The snakebites also should be treated like any other contaminated puncture wound (antibiotics).  Unless there is respiratory distress, they really aren't emergencies.  Of course, when it's your dog who is "blown up" they can sure look an emergency.

Comments

[Joey]

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[sherry]

Omg! This looks like my dog yesterday! Her left eye blewup top of her nose & inside right lip the parts that was so swellon looked almost bloody bright red. I took her to a local er vet they muzzeled her she was not bhaving but they could not give her a correct exam due to muzzle & it all in face area they said they gave her injection of benedryl & something else sent me on my way with 4day supply of predizone & 50mg hydroxazlene they said for itching and a $200.bill (not that my dog isn't worth it) but now she is worse she is sick laying around,throwing up about 15x,urinating like crazy & eating grass like no tommorow!! I called this er vet place back they told me to bring her back but it would b more $$ I'm mad cuz they already couldn't handle her & examine her correctly idk if I should coontine to give her these pills if its making it worse. She also just had all her yrly vaccines exactly 2weeks ago I didn't feed her anything out of norm & we know she didn't get into anythingin or around house to cause this please any suggestions I would most greatly appreciate she is 4yrs old aprox 45lbs about 10lbs overweight she is mixed spayed we believe sheltie&amer eskm. Thank you

[Doc]

Hello, Sherry,

Sorry to be so late in replying, but I was out, due to having a medical procedure myself.

In a situation like this (hindsight being better than foresight), I probably would have sedated the dog for an exam, rather than trying to muzzle her. This is a difficult call. I have been bitten after a sedated dog grabbed me as I was approaching with a tongue depressor to try and lift her lip without touching her.

I hope she is better by this time (two days later). That type of sudden blow-up is usually an allergic reaction, or a severe infection. That type of facial swelling is not usually accompanied by vomiting. I can't think of a good explanation that ties it all together from the data you have given me.

Please let me know what has happened in the last two days.

[Theresa]

hey the same thing is happening to my dog right now....and it was 4 days ago she had vaccinations and she is currently taking prednisolone for other issues.....what did you end up doing?

[Doc]

Since she is already on a form of cortisone, I might add antihistamines, I might up the dose, but I would DEFINITELY call your veterinarian to report what is going on and get his/her advice. Your veterinarian knows your dog and is best equipped to advise you.

[Mishelle]

My dogs face swelled up, not as severely as this poor dog, but it's still pretty bad this morning. I was wondering if it could be something other then an insect bite. She didn't eat anything out of the norm, except a deviled egg that my dad made, although she's had them before. We gave her some benadryl and it seemed to have worked a little, but it's still pretty swollen. Could it be a tooth problem? I'm scared for her, she is about 13 years old, and she has tumors all over her body, but they're non-life threatening, just from aging. Could it be another?

[Doc]

Hello, Mishelle,

It could be a tooth. Another cause of facial swelling would be a swollen lymph node under the jaw. This could cause fluid to accumulate in the face.

The lymph node can be swollen due to an infection (including throat or teeth). Worse would a tumor in the lymph node itself.

If the swelling has not resolved in 24 hours, you need to take your dog to her veterinarian.

Good luck.

[Todd jones]

How soon would it happen? And would she itch? Our Daschund came in tonight and is swelling and itching. She had vaccines yesterday.

[Doc]

Hello, Todd,

With vaccine reactions, they usually occur within six to eight hours (generally sooner).

If it is over 24 hours since the vaccines, I would suspect another cause, possibly an insect sting.

Thanks for reading and writing.

[Tony]

My dog vomited 4 times last night. This morning he woke up with a swollen face. He hasn't been out of my sight for basically the last 4 days. We went to the beach over the weekend but that was 2 days ago and he was never outside my watch. He is a Chesapeake so what he did do was go chase a ball into the ocean like he always does. He will intake saltwater and have diarrhea for a day but nothing like this. I gave him benadryl 20 min ago. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

[Doc]

Hello, Tony,

The benadryl is a good start. This does sound likely to be an allergic reaction.

It could also be due to swollen lymph nodes in the throat area causing poor circulation. If he is not responding pretty rapidly to the Benadryl, then I would take him to your veterinarian.

Even if it is only an allergic reaction, he might need some systemic form of cortisone as a more effective treatment than the antihistamine.

Good luck.

[Beth S.]

My Shar-Pei/Basset Hound mix had a very swollen face about 2 weeks ago. We took him to the ER vet and they diagnosed him with an allergic reaction (to what remains a mystery). He was given a Benedryl and steroid shot there and prescribed Benedryl pills for the next 2 days. Today he is having swelling again. This time it's mostly only in his eyes. He also vomited twice. We gave him some Benedryl and the swelling has mostly went away, however, he just vomited twice in the past hour. How concerned should I be? Does this require an immediate vet visit or might it pass?

[Doc]

Hello, Beth,

If the swelling responds rapidly to Benadryl, then an allergic reaction is the most likely diagnosis.

Finding out the cause is often difficult. You might start keeping a journal of the dog's activity (location, food intake, possible insect exposure, etc.) and see if you can determine a pattern.

There is a genetic disease of purebred Shar Peis that causes fever and kidney damage, usually with swelling in multiple areas. I have not heard of this in mixed breeds, but I suppose it could happen. This is a severe disease that shortens the life of the dog. I would not expect it to respond to Benadryl.

I think it would be worthwhile to visit your regular veterinarian for a checkup and discussion of the situation.

Thanks for reading and writing.

With an allergic reaction, we would be most concerned about swelling of the airways making the breathing difficult. That would be an emergency situation.