Skin Care/Allergies
Itching of the skin is the most common symptom of a dog allergy. The respiratory tract can be affected causing coughing, sneezing, and/or wheezing. At times, the eyes and nose may develop a discharge. Also the digestive system may be affected causing vomiting or diarrhea.
About 20 percent of the dogs in the United States suffers from some type of allergy, whether it be atopic dermatitis, flea allergy, food allergy, inhalant allergy, contact allergy, or bacterial allergy.
The signs of atopic dermatitis usually appear within the first two years of a dog's life. If the dog begins to groom excessively, with licking or chewing of the paws, abdomen, and hind quarters, then it may suffer from atopic dermatitis. Also check to see if the ears are reddened and hot to the touch.
A hidden sign that a dog is atopic is in armpits, groin, or between the toes of the paws. Check to see if there is saliva staining. In light colored dogs it appears as a red-brown staining. In chronic cases the skin, mostly in the abdomen, may change color from a pinkish, to angry red, to black mottling.
Flea allergy, food allergy, and parasitic infestations may mimic the symptoms of atopic dermatitis making it difficult to diagnose. Once fleas, foods, and parasitic infestations are eliminated as being the offending culprits, then allergy skin testing for dust mites, pollens, and molds may be done to determine what causes the dog's atopic dermatitis.
A skin allergy test can be preformed to determine if a dog is allergic to flea saliva. If it is, then a strict flea control regimen is required to reduce symptoms. Caution must be used however to make sure the chemicals in the flea preparations are not harmful to the dog.
Although any pure bred or mutt can acquire inhalant allergies, the most common breeds that are affected include terriers (especially the West Highland white terrier, Skye terrier, Scottish terrier and Boston terrier), golden retrievers, poodles, dalmatians, German shepherds, Chinese Shar-peis, shih tzus, lhasa apsos, pugs, Irish setters, and miniature schnauzers.
The symptoms of an inhalant allergy include scratching, biting, chewing at feet and constant licking. The itching may be most severe on feet, flanks, groin, and armpits.
Inhalant allergies are often the reason for recurrent ear infections in your dog.
Food allergies only account for 10 percent of allergy problems in dogs. Dogs often can not tolerate soy products, wheat, corn, beef, pork, chicken, milk, whey, eggs, fish, chemical preservatives, or artificial sugars in their food.
Determining the food allergen can be time consuming. First, eliminate all the possible allergens from the diet, by using a home made diet consisting of a protein and a starch the dog has not eaten before. Gradually add back, one at a time for a week, the ingredients of the dog food. If symptoms return, then the offending food allergen should be easily determined. Commercial dog foods can be found that do not contain the offending allergen.
Food sensitivities in a dog may manifest as itchy skin, scratching at ears, shaking of the head, licking and biting at the hind quarters or feet, rubbing faces on carpeting, ear inflammations, coughing, and rarely vomiting, diarrhea, flatulence, sneezing, asthma like symptoms, behavioral changes, seizures, gagging, and vomiting.
With this type of allergy the dog develops areas of hair loss that look much like ring worm. These areas become infected and need to be treated with antibiotics. The Staph allergic dog usually has recurrent Staph infections.
Diagnosis is made by a deep skin scratch under the microscope. Eggs, larvae, nymphae or adult forms prove the problem of demodicosis.
There are of two kinds:
 | local demodicosis: with lesions on the head and legs, with few
prurit, and
| generalized form: with prurit and bacterial surinfections (head, legs, and
body, and often illness.) | |
Recovery depends on tenaciously bathing until disappearance of eggs, larvae, nymphae or adult forms.
Cat Allergies
Here are some highlights from the article in CATS Magazine, April 1992, pertaining to cats with allergies.
| Cats can suffer from a wide range of allergies.
| A cat with one allergy often has others.
| 15% of all cats in the U.S. suffer from one or more
allergies.
| Cats' allergies fall into several categories, each with a
parallel complaint among human allergy sufferers. Inhalant allergies are
caused by airborne articles, such as pollen, that irritate the nasal
passages and lungs. Contact alllergies manifest themselves when the cat has
prolonged contact with a substance that it just cannot tolerate. Cats have
allergies to foods as well -- not so much to the chemical preservatives but
to the grains, meats and dairy products used. Some cats react badly to
certain drugs, such as antibiotics or anesthesia.
| Flea allergy is the most common of all allergies. As cats
age, their sensitivity to flea bites increases. Prednisone (oral or
injection) is commonly used for a bad reaction.
| Between 5 & 10 percent of allergy cases are caused by
food. Like contact allergies, food allergies will show up as dermatitis and
severe itching but in some cases will also cause vomiting and diarrhea.
Also, the cat may have excessively oily skin, ear inflammation, or hair loss
(which can also be a sign of hormone imbalance).
| A food allergy doesn't show up overnight. It can take from
a week to 10 years of exposure to show itself; more than 80 percent of cats
with food allergies have been eating the allergen-containing food for more
than two years. | |
Studies are being done to determine possible connections between food allergies and FUS, with some success in eliminating foods and cutting down on FUS symptoms. Results are still experimental.
Food allergies are treated with a bland, hypoallergenic diet -- rice with boiled chicken or lamb, and distilled water is commonly used. Two weeks is the longest it usually takes for the bland diet to work.
Causes, symptoms, and treatments of some types of allergies:
| Plants, especially oily-leafed ones, such as rubber plants,
that might be brushed against. Other contact allergens include: carpet
fresheners, wool, house dust, newsprint, cleansers and topical medications.
Even the carpet itself.
Signs of contact allergens: dermatitis, pigmentary changes or skin eruptions. Most noticable on the chin, ears, inner thighs, abdomen, underside of the tail, armpits and around the anus. Skin patch tests are used to determine cause of contact allergies.
Medications that commonly cause skin eruptions: penicillin,
tetracycline, neomycin and panleukopenia vaccine.
| Each drug causes different symptoms, but the symptoms differ from cat to cat. There is no way to predict how a cat will react. Antihistamines or steroids may be used to eliminate symptoms (after ceasing administration of the drug)
Kitty litter - when new brands of litter come out, vets
frequently see a number of cats that have reactions to it. Other inhalant
allergies can include: dust from the furnace esp. when it is first turned
on; cigarette smoke; perfumes; household sprays and air freshners; pollen.
| Inhalent allergies can also result in skin loss, scabbing pustules, or ulcerated areas on the skin. This in addition to the asthmatic symptoms. Treatment uses...antihistamines, such as chlortrimetron.. More severe cases are treated with systemic steroids, which can have drawbacks. |