Skin allergies and your pet
One of the main conditions I see during my online appointments are skin allergies.
Your pet has been diagnosed as having allergic skin disease. Skin allergies can affect both cats and dogs, and there can be many different causes for the allergy. We will be happy to discuss allergies and any concerns you have about its treatment. I also encourage you to continue reading below you so you have an idea of what is involved.
Six common skin allergy indicators in pets
If your pet is displaying any of the following symptoms, they may be suffering from an allergy.
- Excessive itching and scratching
- Excessive grooming like the cat in the video below
- Dry and flaking skin
- Redness and inflammation of the skin
- Thin or balding patches of hair
- Dull or greasy coat
If you recognise any of the indicators or behaviours above, then please book an appointment where I can take a closer look at your pet and suggest next steps to treat the conditions and help your pet feel more comfortable.
The main skin allergies we see are flea allergy and atopic dermatitis. Dogs and cats can also be allergic to certain proteins in the food (food allergy) and this type of allergy can co-exist with atopic dermatitis.
Your pet may need to receive treatment for atopic dermatitis (an environmental allergy). This is a genetic tendency to over-react to allergens from the environment. There can be many allergens in the environment. These can include pollens, grasses, weeds and plants as well as various mites (dust mites, food storage mites) that can be found in the surrounding environment.
Your pet does not need to be in the near vicinity of the allergens, in order to be allergic to them. Some allergens, for example, pollens can travel long distances in the air and cause symptoms.
A veterinary dermatologist can only make a diagnosis of atopy once other conditions have been ruled out. These are parasites such as fleas or fox mange, infections and food allergy (the latter looks almost identical to atopic dermatitis).
Some pets can have both a food allergy and atopy and so this is why it is better to investigate for food first as this might help to settle down the symptoms without using many medications in the long term.
It’s definitely not the food…. well, it may be….read on…..
A food allergy is when the immune system in the animal’s intestines and stomach is over-reacting to the food that your pet eats. This then can contribute to the itching and redness to the skin in some pets. A food allergy does not mean that the food you are feeding is a bad quality diet or a poorly reputable one. It is more so that everyone’s bodies will react to foods differently, and we will not know if this is the case unless it is investigated.
The way to investigate this is to feed your pet a food protein that he/ she has never come across before. It is usually in the form of a prescription diet and can be bought from the vet and online pharmacies. Food trials are usually for 4-8 weeks and during that time, your pet must not receive any other food or treats as this will invalidate the trial.
If a food trial is not feasible for whatever reason, then let your veterinary dermatologist know. We can still work towards controlling the itch.
A flea allergy occurs when a flea can jump on and off your pet and the saliva that they inject causes an allergic reaction. This does not necessarily mean that there is a big flea problem, but we do have to consider that there may be a few that we cannot see (even if your pet is regularly treated with a flea treatment product).
Some pets may suffer from other parasites which we can’t see with the naked eye such as scabies or demodex mites and your dermatologist will discuss this with you if necessary.
There is no cure for environmental allergies (atopy), there is only
treatment to help manage and control the condition long term.
Despite making time and financial commitments with treatment, some owners still find that their pet will remain to have flare ups / continuing discomfort in the future and there can be a long time before finding the right balance with the right medications.
In dogs, there are different treatments available for atopic dermatitis. Some work very quickly to reduce your pet’s discomfort, some more slowly. Some have more side effects than others, some have less. Most pets will need a combination of therapies to help control their symptoms.
Click here to find out about the various treatment options for allergic skin disease
Skin Allergy – Case Studies
 This dog was itching at all hours of the day. This dog received a diagnosis of Atopic Dermatitis, meaning an allergy to environmental allergens such as pollens, grasses, weeds and dust mites to mention but a few.
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 This dog was allergic to grass pollen, and each time she ventured out, her owner would state that she would come back biting and licking her paws. |
There are many ways in how skin allergies can be treated. If you have any questions, then please book an appointment.