Disease Ontology ID: DDTO:0001321

Disease Description: A birth defect where the tail is twisted tightly on itself.

Inherit Mode: -

Disease Symptom: How severe the condition is depends on how deep the tail fold goes. In some cases, screw tail leads to an infected, painful and itchy skin fold. The tail can partially obstruct the anus, in which case feces and anal sac fluid enhance the skin infection. The tail fold may then become painful and itchy. In most cases, the smell is so terrible, that it is sometimes difficult to breathe near the poor dog!

Disease Cause: -

Disease Diagnose: Mild cases may be treated medically or conservatively. Skin fold dermatitis, a skin infection between the folds of skin, can be treated with antibiotics by mouth or inside the skin folds along with daily cleaning of the skin folds. Cleaning involves special shampoos, antiseptics, baths or medicated wipes. Ironically, while cleaning the skin fold helps treat the infection, it can also make it worse. The reason is that bacteria love the environment inside the skin fold because it is dark, warm and moist. Therefore, any liquid or ointment placed inside the skin fold maintains the moisture level. This is a classic, vicious cycle with no end in sight. Most of the clients I see for this problem are frustrated after months or often years of unsuccessful treatments and sometimes exorbitant veterinary bills. Unfortunately, if the case is severe, medical treatment will not be effective.

Treat Method: The best way to treat a bad case of screw tail is surgery. This entails removing the end of the tail and the infected skin fold in order to end up with a clean area. This is a fairly technical and challenging procedure, which is typically performed by a surgeon. 

Breeder Advice: -

Disease Description Source: Link