We
all know how devastating allergies can be. The runny noses, watering
eyes, sneezing and coughing, all of which can ruin a summer for us.
We are especially blessed in this wonderful Ohio River valley area.
Here we even have tremendous amounts of asthma sufferers (thanks in
a large way to our economic dependency on the local industry). We
pay for the beauty and peacefulness of our surroundings with our health.
Our pets are no different. They can also suffer with allergies. The
difference is in the type of suffering. Most people with allergies
will develop the common "hay-fever" type of symptoms, the
upper-respiratory problems. Most animals will not show the same symptoms.
In cats and dogs especially, most allergies show up as skin problems.
I suppose given the option, people would prefer their lot in life
as opposed to that of their pets'. It would be much better to sneeze
in public than to have your body break out in red lumpy-bumpies that
smell rank. Besides, most public places frown on people that lick
and scratch all day.
Dogs and cats can be allergic to the same things to which we can
be allergic. Things such as pollens, molds, weeds, insect bites, trees
and even foods can trigger allergies in animals. The primary difference,
as we said, is that the animals have skin problems. They will often
break out in small pimples - especially on the back area of the abdomen.
They will chew at their feet and their skin in various areas. They
will lose hair, and sometimes develop large ulcerated sores on various
areas of the body. They will often develop a very unpleasant odor
due to the secondary bacterial infection they will harbor from the
body's reaction to the allergies. Having chronic and recurring ear
infections is also a sign of allergies. Of course, they can have respiratory
signs of allergy also. It just isn't as common.
If your pet or pets is showing signs of allergy, there is help available.
I would strongly recommend that you have your pet/pets evaluated by
a veterinarian. While "mange" is a much less common problem,
your vet would need to rule this out first. The treatments for mange
are completely different than for allergies.
Once your pet is diagnosed as having allergies, there are several
treatment options available. For some of the milder reactions, antihistamines
and/or anti-inflammatories are given. For more involved reactions,
often antibiotics are required in addition to other medications. If
your particular pet has a recurrent seasonal allergy, or if it has
a year-round skin condition, more-than-likely your vet will recommend
allergy testing. This can be done easily with a simple (but usually
expensive) blood test. While nothing can cure allergies, knowledge
of the specific allergens or foods involved will allow many alternatives
to constant and/or dangerous medications.
Avoidance of certain foods and environmental allergens that are specific
to your pet will definitely lessen his/her allergy reactions. Just
as in people, desensitization is also an option. This is where we
would order an injection kit that would be geared to your animal's
specific allergy test results. You would be taught how to administer
injections (much like giving insulin to a diabetic). These injections
would be frequent at first, but would become less frequent as the
desensitization progressed. Like I said, we cannot cure allergies,
but we can make the need for treatment much less frequent, while making
the symptoms much less severe. Hopefully, in doing this, we, and our
pets will have much-needed relief. Not to mention the relief from
the humiliation of licking and chewing in public.
