Hospital

Allergies in animals can be complicated. Let’s break down the components...

The three main underlying allergens are fleas, food, and the environment (atopy).

1) An ounce of prevention...

If you live in Louisiana, you probably have fleas. Oral flea prevention is the way to go, you can’t bathe it off, and our favorite product is only given four times a year.

2) Splish-Splash

Recent studies have found that disruption of the skin barrier can allow for increased environmental allergen exposure. Specific medicated baths can help repair the epidermis to decrease these allergens, provide itch relief, and combat secondary infections like bacteria and yeast from taking advantage.

3) Food for thought

Choosing the proper diet for your itchy pet may impact their skin and GI systems. Talk to your vet before switching the diet several times. A detailed history of what they’ve eaten can dictate what we choose for their future diet. However, when in doubt, keep it simple. Choose one protein source (salmon is always a good start) with one bag of “matching” treats. Be strict and stick with it for at least four weeks!

4) Scratch that itch

Our goal is to provide RELIEF! Thankfully, we have several tools in our toolbox for this.

• Apoquel is an oral pill that relieves itching within four hours.

• Once the intense itching is more controlled, we use Cytopoint, a long-acting and incredibly safe injection, to provide long term itch control. Itch control is essential to treating these dermatology cases because “the more they itch, the faster the secondary infection will spread!”

• Antibiotics and Antifungals may be necessary to control the secondary infections, as well as itching.

5)

Allergy Testing/ Immunotherapy

Once we have exhausted all options for underlying conditions that may affect your pet’s skin (bloodwork, food trial, flea prevention), the next thing out of your vet’s mouth may be about allergy testing. This can be done in two ways- intradermal or blood testing. This will lead to a list of allergens that your pet is sensitive to and then personalized treatment options to help desensitize your pet from these allergens.

Maher Animal Hospital has been serving St Tammany Parish for 41 years!

We take pride in striving to be the “One Day Doctor.” We value our client’s intuition and relationship with their pet. We try to see sick patients immediately. We run comprehensive blood tests in house, with same day results, and use digital radiogrophy and ultrsound to help us reach a fast and accurate diagnosis, allowing us to start treating and relieving symptoms immediately. We are a family owned business and we treat our patients like our own pets.

By Donna

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