Anxious about Tasha: severe allergies (update post 16 with pic)

[cassiesmom]

Dear Tasha, how is your skin today? I hope you are feeling better and not as itchy. Thinking of you! -- elyse

[anna_66]

Poor Tasha, and Poor You!

I'm just now seeing this so it's nice to hear that she's feeling at least a little better. I hope this moring she's doing fine.
Just breaks your heart to see them not feeling good doesn't it?

Lots of hugs and prayers headed your way Jess.

[K9soul]

I meant to update this last night but ended up having to get my car to the shop ... yes when it rains it pours and I'm tired of it pouring on me.

Anyway, the rash/hives are really fading now. I did take her for a recheck yesterday morning and the vet said they would probably be gone in a couple more days. She still likes to rub her face more than usual but it could be the healing whisker area is itchy or just the healing rash. Her ears are still a bit red and moist but the vet said they don't seem to be infected right now. He did give me some medicine for them to stop a yeast infection since that is somewhat common with an allergy flare. She seems a bit mellow and subdued but I guess that could be the prednisone.

I am not too worried about her being on the prednisone temporarily. She has never been treated with it in her life and this is only a short burst treatment to get her over her reaction. I just didn't have time or inclination to look into alternatives because she was at the point of just writhing and moaning in misery, trembling so hard her teeth were chattering, her skin hot and swollen. I think she really needed the steroid to stop the acute progression of the reaction. If this is to be a more chronic situation with her (I'm praying with all my heart it is not) I will be looking into more holistic and alternative measures. I just have never seen such a quickly progressing and intense reaction.

Thank you so much for all your support and words of advice and insight. It has really helped me a great deal.

ETA: I have never heard of diphenhydramine being a derivative of heroin. Heroin is an opiate and diphenhydramine is an antihistamine. The most common trade name for it is Benadryl, but it is also in Unasom and Nytol (sleeping pills). They would not sell an opiate over the counter and in Children's form I don't believe. I have given her Benadryl too but it was ineffective. The shampoo was mostly to help give some topical relief for the rash/hives.

[pitc9]

I'm SO glad to hear she's doing better!!

[chocolatepuppy]

Glad to hear Tasha is doing better.

[dukedogsmom]

I'm so glad she's improving! I hope she'll be back to her old self in no time. I'm sorry about your car. You are right about the rain. I hope my surprise will bring you a little sunshine and I hope your rain goes away.

[dragondawg]

I meant to update this last night but ended up having to get my car to the shop ... yes when it rains it pours and I'm tired of it pouring on me.

Anyway, the rash/hives are really fading now. I did take her for a recheck yesterday morning and the vet said they would probably be gone in a couple more days. She still likes to rub her face more than usual but it could be the healing whisker area is itchy or just the healing rash. Her ears are still a bit red and moist but the vet said they don't seem to be infected right now. He did give me some medicine for them to stop a yeast infection since that is somewhat common with an allergy flare. She seems a bit mellow and subdued but I guess that could be the prednisone.

I am not too worried about her being on the prednisone temporarily. She has never been treated with it in her life and this is only a short burst treatment to get her over her reaction. I just didn't have time or inclination to look into alternatives because she was at the point of just writhing and moaning in misery, trembling so hard her teeth were chattering, her skin hot and swollen. I think she really needed the steroid to stop the acute progression of the reaction. If this is to be a more chronic situation with her (I'm praying with all my heart it is not) I will be looking into more holistic and alternative measures. I just have never seen such a quickly progressing and intense reaction.

Thank you so much for all your support and words of advice and insight. It has really helped me a great deal.

ETA: I have never heard of diphenhydramine being a derivative of heroin. Heroin is an opiate and diphenhydramine is an antihistamine. The most common trade name for it is Benadryl, but it is also in Unasom and Nytol (sleeping pills). They would not sell an opiate over the counter and in Children's form I don't believe. I have given her Benadryl too but it was ineffective. The shampoo was mostly to help give some topical relief for the rash/hives.

You are correct when you say diphenhydramine has no chemical relationship to herioin. If you do a search on a combination of the two words you'll come up with Cheese - latest fad in the illicit drug market is to apparently mix the two.

There is no need to worry about short term Prednisone treatment. If the dog has been on Prednisone for a week or more then it should be gradually withdrawn to give the dog's body a chance to crank up its own corticosteroid production again. Ask your Vet for a withdrawal schedule. Usually it's just a simple step down in dosage by 50% every few days.

Presumably your Vet gave you an antibiotic such as Cephalexin or Clavamox to eliminate the skin infection associated with the allergy.

Hydroxyzine prescribed by a Vet is usually more effective than Benedryl for suppressing the anti-histamine. Although continued need for an anti-histamine to keep the symptoms under control usually indicates exposure is continuous. Histamine release is about the first event in an allergic reaction. If after you stop giving an anti-histamine the allergy comes back, you'll know the environmental antigen causing the allergy is still present.

It's not uncommon for puppies to have allergic reations to leaf mold this time of year. My previous dog always had paw chewing this time of year, but nothing as severe as your dog experienced. If your dog is primarly an indoor puppy, then you need to think if you recently bought a different room refreshener, or started using a new cleaner in the bathroom or kitchen. Simple compounds like formaldehyde in Lysol can cause allergic reactions. Think of anything that might be new in the dog's environment. You might want to take advantage of this opportunity to shampoo your carpets to cut down on dust mites, or some other item in the carpet that the dog may be reacting to.

If all else fails ask for a referral to a doggy dermatologist. Besides allergies there are other skin disorders such as Pemphigus which is an autoimmune disease. If after withdrawing from all medications it immediately flairs back up, then you'll need a specialist.

[shais_mom]

I'm not a fan of steroids either but sometimes there is no other 'help' left. A short burst like Tasha got - should be fine, she's otherwise healthy...