Hi Corrie,

Thanks for reaching out and calling the show. I’m sorry you’re dealing with this issue.

Symmetrical lupoid onychodystrophy is an uncommon, complicated disease process that most visitors to the site will never experience. There are multiple treatment regimes for this condition that have varied success rates. Your specific question was about these treatments so I will mention the drugs that are tried. I would recommend that you work closely with your veterinarian to select a trial of one or a combination of them. I never give dosage instructions over the website and I always recommend that any advice be used in conjunction with a physical examination and consultation with your veterinarian.

The treatment regime that I found successful was a combination of an antibiotic called tetracycline and a vitamin called niacinamide. This treatment plan has less concerning side effects than steroids and I would recommend you consider it initially. Supplements such as vitamin E and omega 3 fatty acids have been recommended to help control the condition as well and are completely safe. Doxycycline is an antibiotic in the same category as tetracycline, which can be substituted for it if a positive response is not seen or if your dog has a sensitivity to tetracycline. Pentoxifylline is an immune modulating drug that can have some of the positive effects that steroids can achieve without the harmful side effects. Lastly, prednisolone, a steroid, can be considered but since this condition may require chronic or repeated treatment, the chance of undesirable side effects from the use of steroids is almost guaranteed to occur depending on dose and frequency.

Consider discussing these therapies with your veterinarian and although this condition is uncommon, it is well discussed in the literature and would be simple for any veterinary practitioner to access treatment recommendations for it.

If the treatment is not ideal or successful, you could consider requesting a referral to an internal medicine specialist to manage it. They are more likely to have encountered the condition and have greater knowledge on the success of long-term treatment and control of it.

I hope this helps.

Dr. Clayton Greenway