Scabies?!

[ramanth]

I first got Kia in late summer and when Fall rolled around she began to itch a little. When winter set in it got worse and to the point where she had scabs on the tips of her ears, had scratched one ear bloody, and her tummy and armpits were red with a rash and scabs.

Other vets wrote it off as food allergies or seasonal allergies but nothing worked to treat it.

Summer time came and the itching slowed down a bit...and now that winter is back, so is the rash.

So her new vet said it might be seasonal allergies or scabies *my skin crawls at that notion*. She gives her a shot of steriods in mid December and Kia stops scratching for about a week and now she's itching all over again.

So the vet is treating her for scabies. On the way out, I asked about getting a health certificate to send my membership in for the Ohio Dogpark. She won't give me one right now because scabies is an infectious disease.

Now... if she does have scabies, wouldn't that mean they would be on me and the cat too? I don't itch and the cat doesn't itch.

I'm very confused.

[Cincy'sMom]

Hmm...? I don't really know anything about scabies, but I have wondered if Cincy has something similar. She didn't do it last winter, but this year she has been scratching a lot and licked some of the fur off her back leg. She was in to the vet for her vaccinations last week and the vet also thought it was allergies. If things aren't cleared up by the time she goes back Monday to have her staples out, then they may do a skin test to see if it is something more.

[lizbud]

Sorry to hear about Kia's itching problem. Buddy had an allergie
to flea bites. He was on Advantage year round, but it did not
prevent a flea hopping on & getting a bite before it died. Once
the itching starts & the skin gets irritated enough, it becomes
a vicious cycle. Itch, scratch, irritation & even bleeding. The
steriod shot does stop the cycle. Did your vet say for sure that
this is scabies? That too can be treated & cured using a stronger
antibiotic. (Invirmectin) I think. Have kia's food been changed?

There are Pet sprays you might try to help with the dry skin
dogs(and people) get in the indoor furnace heat in winter. I
hope you find something to help Kia. She must be miserable
with all the itching.

[KYS]

Poor baby, Sending good thougths that Kia's itching get
better.
I'm curious to see what the Vet's final diagnosis is, since
this seems to flare up in the winter season.

Rocky spits up a lot and the first year I had
him. I even had him exray'd to make sure he
did not have a blockage etc.
After the 3rd year, I finally figured out he pretty much
only spits up during the winter season, thus
he must be eating something that fruits in the Winter time.
He even reverse sneezes more in the winter.

[ownerof3dogs]

At work a cocker had scabies and the whole family got it. I have heard it is very contagious. So if you don't have it. it might be she doesn't have scabies...

[ramanth]

Kia recieved a steriod shot late December but she only stopped itching for about a week.

That's what makes the doctor think it's scabies and not an allergy. She gave her a shot of something that I can't pronounce and she's getting a second dose on February 6th.

She's been really chewing and itching up a storm. I feel so bad for her because she looks so miserable.

I'll keep you updated.

[DoggiesAreTheBest]

Poor Kia! I don't know much about scabies. But if it is contagious, I would think you and Zam would have it!

[Dixieland Dancer]

Just curious.... What do you feed her? How often do you bath her and what kind of shampoo do you use? Do you use a conditioner?

[ramanth]

I used to bathe her at least once a month and the vet told me that if you bathe them too much you could actually do more harm than good, so I cut back.

I use a hypo allergenic shampoo that the vet gave me. I also have the Sulfodine shampoo and just the liquid itself. (My grandpa used it on his Spring Spaniels when they had hot spots)

I've never used a conditioner on her.

I feed her Nature's Recipe Venison and Rice dry food and sometimes mix in Pedigree Lamb and Vegetable wet food.

[Dixieland Dancer]

Kimmy,
Your post has me wondering why the vet is taking such a mild approach to something so contagious. By this I mean, why are you getting only corizone shots to stop the itch instead of doing something to actually stop the spread of the Scabies mite? If this is indeed Scabies then it can be spread to humans as well as other dogs although it is more common from pet to pet than from pet to human. Since you or anyone else who has contact with Kia doesn't seem to be having a problem, it may be possible this is not what Kia's problem is.

Check her closely with a magnifying glass to see if you can see any infestation of the Scabies mite on her. I would think a dip of some sort would be in order if she is infested as well as the cortizone to relieve the itching. The dip would need to be readministered in bi-weekly does for about 3 rounds to kill larvae and adults. The whole life cycle is about 25 days in total. The condition needs treated at the base level though which is to kill the mites and I have not heard of any other way to do it except for dips.

First let me say.... I am not a vet. This is only my guestimate having been around dogs for many years. But you said she gets it in fall and it gets worse in winter. So it is a seasonal thing. Scabies (other wise known as sarcoptic mange in dogs) is not a seasonal thing and usually is not prominant in winter. However, there is another thing that closely relates to scabies that is very seasonal and that is CHIGGERS. They are more commonly seen in the ear, armpit and abdomen. Sounds more like Kia's symptoms than the mange mite.

Chiggers are also treated with dips but do not infect humans like they do animals. My suggestion is to request the vet get a scraping to identify what type of parasite you are dealing with or just treat poor Kia with steps to kill the parasite instead of just relieving the itch.

All that being said, I hope there is some useful information you can use out of it. My last bit of info might be to eliminate the entire possibility of a food allergy. The dry food you are feeding is an ok food but consists of many different ingredients. Try California Natural made by the Natura company. It is made with only a couple ingredients and has been know to eliminate many food related allergies in many dogs. Because of it simple formula there is less to deal with in determining what is going on and if allergies are responsible for some of the things we see commonly in dogs such as excessive scratching. My opinion is... it can't hurt!

One last thing.... moist food isn't necessary and many kinds are made with preservatives that only complicate the matter more. Uuntil you determine if the itching is food allergy related stick with the dry California Natural only. You can check out Natura's site at www.naturapet.com.

[ramanth]

Thanks for all the input Candy. I'll have questions for the vet when I go back on Feb. 6th.

I'll answer this though:

Originally posted by Dixieland Dancer
Kimmy,
Your post has me wondering why the vet is taking such a mild approach to something so contagious. By this I mean, why are you getting only corizone shots to stop the itch instead of doing something to actually stop the spread of the Scabies mite?

The vet gave Kia a cortizone/steriod shot in December to see if that would ease the itching. Her reasoning was that if the itching didn't ease or stop with a cortizone shot then it is not a seasonal allergy but something else.

Her symptoms did not ease so last week the vet gave her a shot of something that I can't pronounce that is supposed to kill scabies. If after the second dose on Feb. 6th her symptoms do not go away, I expect the vet will say it was not scabies.

Zam, my cat has no rash and does not itch or chew at the frequency that Kia does. Kia will sometimes itch for 3 to 4 minutes straight.

Can I buy a dip to kill scabies or chiggers from the store?

[Dixieland Dancer]

There are dips you can buy over the counter but I am not familiar with what the vet is giving Kia now so you might not want to do that. Usually this is treated topically but it sounds like she is doing something internally so I am confused.

I personally would not wait until Feb 6th but would try to get more information now and talk to the vet about her method of treatment. She shouldn't mind that you are concerned about your pet and should be more than willing to help you find out what is going on.

Do a search on the net for either of these parasite problems. I believe you will find more information than you need. Another good source and one I check when my dogs have problems is Dr. Foster and Smith's Pet education section online. It is very helpful.

My first Golden suffered from Sarcoptic mange and was treated with dips.

[Cincy'sMom]

I took Cincy in to the vet today and since the Benydryll did not seem to be helping her all the time, they did a skin scraping to check for parasites...it only took a few minutes and was cheap. I guess I don't understand why your vet is treating for scabies if it is easily checked for. Cincy doesn't have any mites or anything, so for now we are treating it will Vitamin E for dry skin and Benydryll. If it doesn't clear up in a month or so, or gets worse, then they are going to do a bioposy and see if they can find out more.

Hope Kia is feeling better soon!

[sammi]

Dry itchy skin - I can relate to that! I have been treating Buddy with cortisone and Benadryl. He has bad hot spots this winter and won't leave them alone.
I have only heard of the human type of scabies - that can really spread if untreated. All bedding etc. would have to be washed down as part of the treatment. Do what Dixie suggested and do a web search.