General statement
Painful inflammation of the anal sac glands occurs in dogs and cats. The two anal glands are located on either side of the anal opening. In the anal sacs are glands that produce a strong-smelling secretion of varying color and consistency. When the animal defecates, they normally release their secretion to it, which serves as an odorant. Inflammation of the anal sac is usually preceded by congestion, i.e. accumulation and thickening of anal gland secretion. You can see the overfilled anal sacs and feel them as small balls on both sides of the anus. If the contents remain in the anal sac, either due to a blockage in the duct or very soft stools, an infection can develop. Small breed dogs are more commonly affected by anal sac infections.
Symptoms
The following symptoms can appear with anal sac inflammation:
- Licking the anus
- inflamed skin around the anus caused by licking
- “Sledging” = the animal slides because of the itching on the buttocks
- Avoiding sitting (because of the pain)
- the-rod-chasing
- In addition, many animals press hard when they want to defecate and show pain through facial expressions or pain sounds. Sometimes they stop defecating at all because of the pain.
When should you go to the vet?
If you observe any of the symptoms described in your animal, you should go to the veterinarian. In the beginning, it may “just” be frequent licking of the anus – the faster you react here, the sooner the problem can be solved. So the itching does not have to become pain and the accumulation of secretions does not have to become a serious inflammation.
Treatment and prognosis
The vet will try to drain the anal glands. If it is initially just an accumulation, the secretion can usually be brushed out with your fingers. If this does not succeed because it is already too solid, it must be made more liquid using certain rinsing solutions and can then drain off.
If the anal sac is inflamed, it is treated locally with an antibiotic after it has been emptied and rinsed with an antiseptic solution.
If the inflammation is already very advanced, so-called fistulas may even have formed. These are additional gland exits, which can also be next to the anus, for example. They are caused by the high pressure inside the anal sac: glandular secretion and/or pus then find their way out. Fistulas need to be rinsed with antiseptic every day for a while. Abscesses (i.e. accumulations of pus) must also be cleaned daily until they subside. As a rule, anal sac inflammation heals well with adequate treatment.
In most cases, the treatment can be carried out without anesthesia, but if the pain is severe, sedative and analgesic medication is necessary.
If an animal has repeated, i.e. recurrent anal bag inflammation, the glands can also be removed. You have to wait until the inflammation has just healed before they can be surgically removed.
Possible other diseases with similar symptoms, especially itching, are e.g. severe worm infestation (tapeworm limbs stick to the anus and cause itching) or skin inflammation (dermatitis) of other causes.
