# Nasal Aspergillosis (questions about treatment? your experience?)



## TheEddie (Jul 18, 2014)

Hello. Bandit, our 6 year old Border Collie/Beagle started to develop nasal aspergillosis a month or so ago. He has a very inflamed nostril (his right side) and has a clear nasal drip at this time. He sneezes constantly but otherwise is in good health, great appetite, not lethargic.

He is currently taking Itraconazole and has been for a month. We have a 3 month prescription but I am weary of waiting the whole three months as it does not seem to be helping yet (we believe it has stopped the progression for the most part, but the inflammation/dripping/sneezing has not regressed yet). I have contacted many specialists in the area (Chicago Area) and between a cat scan/rhinoscopy/clomitrazole flush we are looking at $3000-$4000 in treatment on the low end.

I was hoping I might find someone that has gone through this and has some light to shed on the subject as it seems the fungus infection can still return after the expensive clomitrazole treatment, or the treatment may be required multiple times to clear the infection, and even then it can return in the future.

During my searches I have come across more homeopathic remedies (Aurum Metallicum) that seemed to have helped others.

We sure would appreciate any advice from others who have dealt with this type of infection before we go down this route blindly.

Thank you very much!


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## 2chrism (Jul 22, 2014)

Hi, I'm sorry to hear about Bandit! My previous dog had fungal nose. It is a tough issue to navigate. She was 13 and I opted for the rhinoscopy and flush. I have to say that I did it only because the efficacy of this treatment is into the 90th percentile, while the oral meds hover around 50%. The thing is, I was unaware of how harsh the treatment is on the dog. And this was exacerbated by her age. Maddy aspirated after treatment and developed pneumonia and I ended up putting her down without ever bringing her home. The flush is expensive as well, and with the pneumonia treatment for 2 days in addition to the procedure, I ended up owing $6K and having no dog in the end. It was heartbreaking. They do say that the flush works best, but sometimes you have to do it more than once. I would make sure that your dog is otherwise healthy and not to old to tolerate the treatment, and please make sure you ask your vet to be perfectly honest with you about the challenges your dog will have recovering from it. I haven't seen much in the way of a holistic or natural remedy for this issue. Did they assess Bandit for a nasal tumor? Some of the symptoms are similar. My current girl, Luna, started showing signs of the fungal nose disease and I went into sheer panic. The options for this that I was given was that it could potentially be fungal (again), a tumor, an abscessed tooth root or a foreign body (i.e. foxtail). I had a CT scan done this past weekend and it showed a large mass in the left nasal cavity. I am once again devastated. The difference between the two, in my situations, was that with the fungal nose Maddy was sneezing regularly with a spray of mucus and blood. She was lethargic and just plain sad. Lu, with her tumor, had more reverse sneezing, gagging, loud breathing/snoring and some clear discharge, but her energy was maintained, she still enjoys walks, still eats well, etc... It has only been recently that the discharge went from clear to mucus (and now after the biopsy this weekend she is dripping blood - which I anticipate will go away). I've decided to not do radiation and give her palliative anti-inflammatory medication to keep her feeling comfortable and good until its time to tell her goodbye. I share this because diagnosis of nose issues are expensive and the outcomes are rarely good with tumors and fungus. They are just hard to treat. The treatments are very different, though. And even if the cancer is sarcoma based vs. carcinoma based or lymphoma based - there are different meds of choice. It's best to make sure that they know truly what they are dealing with so that you can give your boy the best fighting chance. The fact that he is 6 and not an older dog is really on your side. TheEddie, how did they come up with the conclusion that Bandit has fungal, did they do a CT/biopsy/scope?


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## TheEddie (Jul 18, 2014)

First off thanks for the reply!

So sorry to hear about your Maddy. :-( We wish for the best for Luna! We are sending happy puppy vibes her way!

As far as Bandit goes the vet that saw him agreed that it seemed fungal and was able to confirm the existence of spores inside Bandit's nostril. We are at day 30 or so of the Itraconazole and we are watching Bandit closely for any changes. If things do not improve we will likely go the way of rhinoscopy/flush as it does seem the most effective.

After you noticed the symptoms, how long was it before you were able to have Maddy's flush done? I am trying to gauge if it is worth waiting another month or so for the Itra to do it's job before we go forth with alternative means.

Thanks again for the reply as I am sure you know, information on this type of nose problem is hard to come by.


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## 2chrism (Jul 22, 2014)

With Maddy, I went in pretty quickly. I was seeing she was lethargic (but she had already slowed down a fair amount). When she started sneezing and blowing mucus, I took her in pretty quickly as we were headed on a road trip to visit my mom and dad, and if she was just sick I didn't want to get their dog sick. So, perhaps 2 weeks?? After we returned I think I waited another week or two, but kicked it into high gear once the blood started. I had the consult, and moved straight to the procedure within a week. That's actually the reason why I asked about whether they did the biopsy to find the plaques. Maddy's progressed quickly to an unmanageable mess. Lu's tumor is much slower...
I think that you are in better shape just due to Bandit's age. If you go that route, sooner vs. later will likely be the better option. Please keep me posted on how things go. Doggy noses are starting to be the bane of my existence!! Thanks for the good puppy vibes as well. I am sending them back to you as well.


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