Allergies

[Katy's Mum]

Hi there everyone, this is my very first post

Katy, my Welsh Terrier has had a skin allergy for a quite a few years now, she was on a monthly injection but after helping for about a year was not making any difference. Now she gets a cortozone injection when she gets itchy, but I was wondering if you know of anything else I could be giving her.

For example can I give her anti-histamine (the people kind), or put omega oils in her food, give her fish (how would I cook that or would a tin of tuna work?).

I have found that aloe vera gel works on her itchy ears but other than covering her whole body in a tube of the stuff, what can I do?

I would appreciate all your advice.

[Moesha]

Do you know what causes the allergy? Many allergies are caused by diet. Have you tried changing her food to alleviate the reaction?

[Karen]

The key will be finding the source of the allergy. Do you know if it is an environmental allergy, or her food? Try an "elimination diet" - start with a simple food - the fewer the ingredients the better - like a good "lamb and rice" food. See if her allergies lessen on that ... be vigilant about treats as well. Is there any pattern - like are her allergies worse in the fall or spring or anything?

[chocolatepuppy]

My Lacey takes an antihistamine prescribed by our vet. I give her Omega 3 & 6 pills daily. Her's started as a summer allergy and the next year, well, never quit. It varies day to week how much she chews at herself. Talk to your vet as to what else you could be doing. Oh and welcome to Pet Talk!

[Katy's Mum]

Thanks for your replies - Katy is allergic to dust mites according to the vet. Not an easy thing to get rid off, she is not allowed upstairs in the house where all the carpets and places that dust mites can hide are. We have leather sofas and wooden floors downstairs with only one set of curtains in the living room. I damp dust just about every day and vacuum the furniture and curtains. My vacuum has a filter in it too.

She is on a hypoallergenic diet and DOES NOT get people food at all and she can go for weeks without any sign at all and then - bam - big nasty crusty scabs and bald patches, also it appears to affect her front end more than the rest of her body, usually her chest, ears and head, sometimes her front leg-pits. Also she gets greasy skin when she has an outbreak and smells like old coconut

I wash her in aloe vera shampoo which does seem to help as does the aloe vera gell in her ears, I was wondering if I gave it to her orally if that would help at all?

Looking forward to hearing from you soon.

[dragonfly713]

My boxer is the same way. Major problem is that I AM ALLERGIC TO HIM!!!
My allergies are horrible to where I'm constantly on medication for sinus infections/bronchittis, I have asthma. My husband thinks I need to rehome him. I don't know how much longer I can handle MY allergies before I end up hospitalized! I know HIS allergies make mine worse as he is always scratching, smells oily, and therefore spreading more allergens. My husband bought him for me on our honeymoon so he's even more special to me. I am new here, and just posted in General, but I think I should've posted under Health. If anyone has any ideas, opinions see my post in General. dragonfly 713

[Katy's Mum]

Dragonfly

I had to take Katy for a steroid injection in the end, I hate to do it but she was so distracted with all the scratching, and her skin was so oily and flaky, she smelt like really old coconut, not nice at all.

The aloe vera shampoo works nicely though without drying out her skin, I have also been putting omega 3 on her food, when I wash her bedding I wash it at 90 but I dont put fabric conditioner or softener in, just the mildest of detergents. She is also on hyperalergenic foods, no people food allowed. She does get fish as a treat, usually steamed.

My husband has asthma too its when she is at her worst so is he, but as he is out most of the day and she is not allowed in the bedrooms its not too bad for him. He is worse with cats or hamsters because they are very fluffy.

I hope you can find a solution, there does'nt seem to be any one thing that can help them, though I must say she is now nearly 7 and appears (fingers crossed) to get her bouts of the itchies every 4 months or so, mostly we have it under control.

[mruffruff]

Welcome to Pet Talk!

I don't have any solution for you, but maybe it would help to put a T-shirt on her. It would keep the dust mites down to a minimum.

Good luck.

[Katy's Mum]

Thanks for the tip, I will try it

[micki76]

Oh goodness, do I ever know about dogs with allergies!

I would try to avoid the steroids. It generally is only going to make her immune system weaker and therefore, can actually BRING ON more reactions and allow bacteria to cause skin infections for which you'll need several weeks of antibiotics. You say she was on monthly injections and they suddenly stopped working? Oh yes, been through that several times with Chester. Actually going through it right now. He's been tested multiple times and each time he has NEW things that he's allergic to and they have to adjust his 'shots'. He's going in this month for testing yet again since the last month has been horrible. Hopefully they'll find something new and we'll just change his antigens again.

As far as antihistamines, OTC you can always give Benadryl, chlorpheniramine maleate (brand name Chlortrimeton) and for prescription there's clemastine (brand name is Tavist, but you CANNOT give Tavist D which has a decongestant, thus the 'D'), and hydroxyzine (I THINK the brand name on this one is Atarax or something close to that). You would need to get with your vet for dosage before giving any of these because it's dependent upon their size.

You say she's on a hypoallergenic food, but which one? Chester can't eat any of the traditionally hypoallergenic foods. He's allergic to lamb, chicken, turkey, beef, etc. No allergies to the usual suspect, corn and wheat, though. He's been on Solid Gold Holistique Blendz for several years with good results, before that we were on Wellness and did good allergy wise, but had loose stools.

Anyway, I wish you luck and feel free to PM me if I can help in any way!

[Katy's Mum]

Thanks for the reply hun. Unfortunatly the steroids are the only thing that works for her so I think we have to put up with it. Everything has been tried and along with the Aloe Vera shampoo, hypoalergenic food and the steroid spray she is doing OK and is a much happier dog.

Unfortunately I think we have to rely on these things sometimes and as much as I would like to use natural remedies they are just not strong enough.

Trish xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx