Chronic nasal discharge in a dog

Our question this week was:

My dog's nose is being blocked on one side by dry mucus. I have to clean it out each day. She was taken to our vet and they scoped her but did not see any cause, also they flushed out her nasal passage and put her on clavamox. it has been several weeks and it is not improving much. Please help. She is 11-years-old and I am getting worried.

Answer

Hi – thanks for your email. Your email indicated that your 11-year-old dog has chronic nasal discharge on one side. You also indicated that your veterinarian scoped the nose and did not determine an underlying cause.

Your question is a good one. I don't know the results of all of your vets testing. There are many causes for nasal discharge that can include infections, parasites, fungal disease, foreign bodies and cancer to name a few.

Generally, when most dogs are scoped, they examine the fluid that is flushed to determine if there is an infection, parasite, cancer or fungal organisms. I do not know what your vet did, the results of these tests or if he just took a look with the scope as a first step to see if there was an obvious cause and he has a plan for additional plan in the next step if this doesn't work.

If the signs continue, you could talk to him about getting more tests done or a second opinion with a specialist.

An article that might be helpful to you is on our Petplace.com is Nasal Discharge in Dogs.

Best of luck!

Dr. Debra

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