Lump on the chest

Hi. My dog got this "lump" yesterday. It is swollen and red. Its wasnt there 2 days ago. Its not on her breast. I put some cream (dexpanthenol) that a vet told me to use in another of my dogs and some saline solution to clean it. I took the photos today and it was a bit better (the hair is oily from the cream) but later she scratched it and got more red again. Should I go to a vet to check it? Or can I see if it goes away with some cleaning and desinfecting? She's still active and eating, nothing abnormal with her behavior. Thank you in advance.

Hello - this looks and sounds sore and it doesn't sound as though the treatment that you are applying is working at present.  We cannot condone the use of human drugs in animals unless recommended by your vet for that specific problem.  We recommend showing this area to them in the relatively early stages, as nibbling and scratching can make things worse extremely quickly.  Dogs usually rub or scratch an area when pain is involved - that superficial skin layer is the part most full of nerve endings - and an (appropriate - safe) prescribed product can help to reduce the scratching and prevent any secondary damage.  Whether the lesion would heal alone or not, often depends what is causing it - insect bites / plant stings / allergy / parasites / trauma (e.g. scrape on a rock) / internal medical diseases / lumps and bumps for other reasons, getting scraped - are all possibilities.  For this reason, for me, it is worth a vet visit.  They may be prepared to triage the problem over the phone, in order to help in the meantime.