Bulldogs are notorious for having skin issues including interdigital cysts, hot spots and general skin irritations. Before popping prednisone or putting on steroid cream, try mixing activated charcoal, betonite clay and filtered water together to make a paste and apply liberally to the afflicted areas, let sit for 20 minutes and clean up. Both activated charcoal and betonite clay are super cheap and available on amazon or at Whole Foods.
While this is messy, it works. This remedy will naturally draw heat out of the body and have a cooling effect, which will alleviate discomfort. Keep repeating this as often as necessary. Also, if your dog licks it, no big deal because this stuff is natural.
This also does not address the root cause, but does provide relief without having to take a trip to the vet and using aggressive medication. In order to find the root cause, think back to when you first noticed the symptoms in the first place and then take a look at their medical history to figure out if they had received any vaccines within 6 months of the symptoms. In our experience with bulldogs, most chronic and acute issues stem from over-vaccination and poor quality food.
In addition to using topically, charcoal can be ingested and used if your dog eats something they shouldn't, like onions or grapes (Read more on that here).