Paw Spa: Zymox Enzymatic Rinse

Zymox, owned by Pet King Brands, markets enzyme-based health products for veterinarians to sell to their clients. Their offerings include ear cleaners, oral care products, and various skin treatments. Our vet recommends Zymox Enzymatic Rinse when Brisbane has major skin issues. The rinse can be used along with a number of different shampoos, and can be rinsed or left on.

How Does It Work?

The whole point of the Zymox products is that they use a proprietary LP3 enzyme system against microbial organisms. The company's FAQ page cites several peer-reviewed articles published in the International Journal of Applied Research in Veterinary Medicine. 

I was extremely impressed with this until I read the entire citation and realized that every single paper was about an in vitro study. This *basically means they proved that their enzymes kill bacteria and other nasties in a petrie dish. Since these are topical products, in vitro studies are very promising. However, I would like to see some controlled double-blind studies demonstrating actual clinical efficacy because I am a science geek.

It Totally Smells Like Coconuts

We've been through several bottles of this stuff, and I love the way it smells. I hate the way coconut tastes, but the scent is lovely when I'm smearing it on my dog.  Zymox Enzymatic Rinse can be used diluted or full-strength, and can be rinsed off or left on without causing problems. When Brisbane is just a bit itchy, I dilute it and rinse it off a bit but not very thoroughly. After the dramatic shavedown, I slathered on the full-strength product, put on his bathrobe, and sent him off to spread the coconut-scented love. It left him feeling slightly dirty for a bit, but once dry his coat felt normal.

Zymox stuff is apparently effective against fungus as well as bacteria, and along with a medicated shampoo helped Brisbane beat his massive bacterial and fungal infection. My vet is a skeptic and sticks to science-based medicine, so I trust her recommendation as more than an attempt to sell a product. It seems to have worked for us, though I'm not sure how much of that to attribute to the Zymox Conditioning Rinse and how much to the medicated shampoo we used.

Happy New Year!

Tonight I'll be snuggling with Brisbane, Sisci, Ru, and also Ranger and Annie who have come to escape their neighbor's scary fireworks. In 2016 I'm hoping for fewer skin issue for Brisbane now that we've begun allergy shots and identified more food sensitivities. I'm not sure what else the year will bring, as we had a followup on Brisbane's face bump today. Two weeks of abscess-targeting antibiotics did nothing at all, so today our vet took three different needle biopsies and sent them to the cytology lab. I'm hoping to get results on Monday, and we'll decide what to do from there.