Summer is when many pets suffer from itchy and irritable skin but more often are becoming an all year round problem. There are a number of causes for this to occur:
- Parasites: Most common cause eg. fleas, dust mite, mange, demodex
- Plants: includes contact with the plant or pollens. Very difficult to define exact cause without extensive testing
- Food: most likely to occur with food that is fed regurlarly
- Certain breeds are prone to skin problems and are genetic
How do we tell what is causing the problem?
Some of the causes of skin allergies are obvious. Fleas for example commonly cause itchiness down near the tail base and between the back leg. Fleas cause animals discomfort, spread tapeworm and flea bites are the main cause of itchy skin and allergies in pets. Even though you can’t see them on your pet, they will be hiding in your carpet, garden, car, furniture and your animals bedding. They spend most of their life “off” your pet and in the environment laying 1000’s of tiny eggs – up to 50 a day.
When the cause is not obvious, then a plan needs to be formulated bearing in mind 2 important points:
- We need to settle down the inflammation to give your pet relief
- We need to establish the cause to remove the problem
There are a variety of tests that are available and these may include different medications in individual pets, food trials, blood test and referrals to dermatologist specialists.
What can be done at home?
As the most common problem is fleas, monthly treatments of veterinary topical or oral prevention is necessary for all dogs and cats. Products that kill or disable eggs should be used such as; Frontline, Advantage or Comfortis – please speak to us about this. Flea collars and powders do not help elimate fleas in any way. All fleas need is a warm environment and a dog or cat to breed. Most houses are kept warm all year, so fleas find it easy to breed all year on pets that spend a lot of time indoors. Every dog and cat within a household needs to be treated monthly to be sure that fleas are not contributing to the problem, even in cases where a flea is not actually seen.
Food trials require specific instructions that will require an intensive consultation.
Bathing with an appropriate shampoo can help relieve mild allergies but unfortunately many causes of allergies are unavoidable and require various medications to control. Some skin allergies can cause a lot of suffering and pain to animals which will mean they need to be on a low dose of medications indefinitely to keep them from flaring up and to keep them comfortable.