itchy skin

[Heartdog]

Somebody (I think it was Melissa?) mentioned an antihistamine for allergies, and I can't remember the name. It's prescription. Benadryl doesn't work on my dog at all. Flea topical isn't either. I'm putting apple cider vinegar on him now, which helps quiet down the hot redness. With the heat, this just gets so bad, and I feel so bad. I'm trying so many things, trying to make him comfortable this summer. Any suggestions? And what's a good antihistamine?
Thanks!

Tami and Borias
http://heartdogblog.blogspot.com

[SkyyLab]

You might try a product called Nyzmes. Their website is nzymes.com. It is an antioxidant treat that is made out of Soy protien. I have a golden retriever that had really bad skin allergies. She was constantly chewing her stomach/groin area. I was always taking her to the vet and was given pred and an ointment to put on the hot spots. This would help for awhile, but I didn't like her to be on Pred all the time. I found Nzymes while searching the web for something different to try. I gave her 2-3 nzyme tablets a day in the beginning and within a month or so her skin started to clear up. I also changed her dog food that didn't contain corn or wheat. She has been on Nzymes now for almost 3 years and has been doing well. No more scratching or itching. You should check out their website. Also first check with your vet before trying something new.

I have extensive experience with allergies with my dog Zack... We got to the point where the dermatologist was recommending prednisone for life and have investigated all kinds of other alternatives. Currently we're at the following:

- Monthly allergy shots (used to be more frequent)
- regular baths with medicated shampoo
- temaril (not temaril-p) for an antihistamine
- acupuncture - we got off of this, but things have gotten worse so I need to get back to it
- herbs and supplements
- salmon oil
- food without corn, etc - we've done tons of food experimenting and this doesn't seem to affect zack much.
- Antibiotics and anti-fungals for bad flare ups (we're down to 1-2x/year vs 5-6x/year on this) - have to do this as he gets really infected and oozy.

If you want more info, feel free to ask!

[Heartdog]

Originally Posted by renegade

I have extensive experience with allergies with my dog Zack... We got to the point where the dermatologist was recommending prednisone for life and have investigated all kinds of other alternatives.
If you want more info, feel free to ask!

Thank you sooo much! I wondered about acupuncture. I should look into that, definitely. I want to do allergy shots but I took him to dr. Stokking at the Veterinary Specialty Hospital, and she just said to put him on kibble, and to do antibiotics and flea control. Do you have to go through a whole bunch of tests to be able to get an allergy shot?

I got the name of a new dermatologist that I might try. I'll look into the stuff you've tried with success. Hopefully I'll get it figured out, too. It just gets worse every year

I started the whole process with a food allergy elimination test (I home cooked Pork and potatoes for 6 weeks - novel foods for Zack). After that didn't help, we ran a blood test for allergies and started him on allergy shots. It took 12-18 months to see any change with those shots.

I'm still playing with food to see if diet change helps, but so far not help on that. I am trying to avoid the antibiotics as I was originally needing to do it 6-7 times/year. Now I'm down to 2-3/year, although I've slacked off on the acupuncture and had to do antibiotics twice in the past 2 months.

I definitely notice if I cut out one of his herbs/supplements that he almost always has a flare up. We're still trying to find the perfect combo though...

[Labpaw]

Only about 5-15% of allergies are food related. The rest are environmental/inhalent. Because the hyposensitization (where dogs are exposed to the allergens in small amounts in hopes that the body starts to see them as less allergenic) process can take up to a year to see the full response, many patients have to go through several techniques and trial and error steps to manage the symptoms. I have tested several of my patients. Allregies and itchy skin are not fun to deal with.

And, as I am sure you have already done, make sure that you have your pet examined thoroughly. Although itching absolutely brings to mind allergies, it could also be a fungal infection, a bacterial infection, a mite infestation, or many other causes. Antihistamines are generally very safe, but there are certain conditions (such as heart disease), and other medications that can cause side effects that you should be aware of before starting them (I am being overly cautious here, but no medication is without potential side effects ).

If you have any questions or concerns, I am happy to help with what I can! I hope things go better for you and your poochie soon!