Furunculosis – Minor Drainage Circuit
Furunculosis
In Chicco's case, this is not standard pyoderma, but an extremely sensitive output from the internal system.
Each "furuncle" is a manifested signal of overload or an attempt to release.
The first occurrence was dismissed as a "standard issue," but over time it became clear: this was a neuro-immune response, often triggered by external factors (walking, handling, physical strain).
In Chicco's body, these lesions appeared in areas that we later mapped as active drainage exits – "chimneys."
One rule always applies:
If a furuncle appears on the skin, it signals a pre-collapse state.
Conversely – a well-managed episode (without surgical interference) led to spontaneous release in Chicco.
The affected areas shift, rotate, and respond to limb use, posture, weather, touch, and pressure.
The variability in appearance and regression is a matter of tens of minutes.
Visual overview of hyperkeratosis and furunculosis patterns
Hyperkeratosis and Furunculosis
🔬Furuncles and hyperkeratosis: two faces of the same problem
Chicco went through all phases of both furunculosis and hyperkeratosis – from early inflammatory lesions to chronic, encapsulated forms with drainage through the skin.
Laser procedures were also suggested, but in his case, this would have only blocked the drainage chimneys – not addressed the root cause.
Today, we have these processes thoroughly mapped and documented.
➡️ Furuncles represent encapsulated sites of chronic inflammation, where the body "parks" waste material, pathogen residues, or its own cells that it cannot safely eliminate. These are isolated battlefields of the immune system, where internal phagocytosis occurs – macrophages consume the debris, but do not release it until a safe exit is secured.
➡️ Hyperkeratosis (HK) is a dermal armor the body creates to:
- protect a weakened area from further damage,
- hold back drainage openings that are not yet ready to open,
- or substitute for a lack of active drainage with a passive barrier.
The body "parks the problem" in the skin until it regains confidence to release it safely – for example, once digestion, lymphatic flow, or nervous balance are restored.
🧠 Extension: The Signal of a Connected Animal
🐾 A connected dog – one who trusts their environment and caregiver – will clearly show which area is ready to release.
❌ Pressing the body at the wrong phase – by pulling off a scab, applying oils, or using invasive handling – leads to regression or system overload.
✅ In contrast, respecting the body's rhythm allows the scab to separate naturally, at a time when there is no longer a battle underneath, but healing.
Furuncles are silent archives of inflammation.
Hyperkeratosis is their armor.
Only when the body trusts that the rest of the system can process the waste, it opens the chimney.
The body knows when to let go.
Everything else is violence.
– JanaB.
These phenomena are not rare.
Furunculosis and hyperkeratosis are not being studied – they are being ignored.
They are not unusual. They are simply inconvenient.
Veterinary medicine often dismisses them as "secondary issues" or "breed defects," but in reality, they are systemic signals from the body.
🌀 They are exits, drainage points, communication channels of the organism.
When we grind them down, suppress them, or fail to understand them, we risk an even deeper collapse – both physiological and emotional.
Fundamental Rule:
• Surgical intervention in these areas can destroy natural drainage and trigger systemic chaos.
• Corticosteroids "close the chimney", but increase internal pressure, which later amplifies the volume of toxic material expelled during natural detoxification.
A dog knows what it's doing – a hypersensitive (HS) body regulates itself through these points.
What it needs is simple:
• Protection (from infection – socks, soft boots),
• Peace (no forced walking or in-home movement),
• Time (for full drainage),
• and a caregiver who doesn't puncture, cut, panic over discharge or blood.
Thanks to long-term observation, a map of skin chimneys has been created – documenting these drainage points as regulated openings, not pathological defects.
A furuncle is not a failure. A furuncle is a valve.
Lymphatic "Stone" – Transitional Skin Phase
On certain areas of the paws (most often on the pads and around the nails), a specific layer may appear that resembles a hard, thickened formation – often slightly raised, grayish-brown or yellowish, and firm to the touch.
I call it a "lymphatic stone", as it corresponds to a phase where the body attempts to isolate and expel accumulated inflammatory and lymphatic material through the surface of the skin.
Beneath this layer, it is possible to observe:
- gradual separation of damaged skin,
- formation of a new, lighter, cleaner skin layer (often smooth, slightly pink, or shiny),
- spontaneous detachment of the "stone" – without bleeding, without cracking, and without intervention.
This phase can be understood as a transitional zone between old and new skin – formed naturally by the body, without any need for local treatment, as long as the environment is clean, non-invasive, and respects the animal's autonomy.
These formations are often associated with mild itching or licking, but not with pain.
In standard veterinary practice, this state would likely be interpreted as a lesion or scab requiring removal, often followed by intervention (e.g. disinfection, sampling, or treatment).
However, in Chicco's case, it was repeatedly confirmed that non-intervention and respect for the natural process led to full skin restoration – without trauma, pain, or scarring.