helping anal abrasion to heal

Question
Our 14-yr.-old unneutered male all american dog in otherwise excellent health has what we think is an anal adenoma (just under his anal opening). We are probably going to have it dealt with in the near future. It does not bother him at all and he pays no attention to it.
The present problem (2 days) is (happened once before about 8 months ago) that it got an abbrasion somehow (about 1/4" diam. raw spot) and is very slow to heal because of the location (it gets rubbed when he sits and gets up. It often bleeds and we stop it by keeping direct pressure on it with a few folded up tissues. It usually stops in a few minutes.
Once we get this reasonably healed we'll take him to a vet'. But in the meantime, do you have any suggestions that may help the spot to heal ?

Answer
Hi Lou!  This actually sounds like an abscessed anal gland.  Anal glands are located around the anus (under the skin) at 5 and 7 o'clock.  These glands produce a lubricated substance that is secreted during a bowel movement.  When a dog's fecal matter is not as firm as usual, being just a bit softer, or if the dog has suffered from a bout of diarrhea, there is not enough force on these anal glands to secrete the substance they hold.  Because of this, the anal glands keep filling, until they are full.  After prolonged time of them being full without being manually emptied, infection sets in.  The infection will then abcess the anal gland, and you will see that small raw spot that will bleed from friction.  The only way to actually heal this would be for your veterinarian to empty the anal glands, and prescribe antibiotics to kill the infection.  In severe cases the anal glands are actually removed.
I hope that this has been helpful.
Please let me know how he does and give him tons of get well kisses for me!
Hilary