When you are facing skin dermatological pathologies of our Friends is often difficult: the clinical signs are evident, often our dog or cat scratches himself and maybe even loses his hair and becomes a little monster. Bad smells and exudations can appear and of course, even this doesn't help. In the case of the dog atopic dermatitis this is doubly true: the itching is often so intense that diagnosis and therapy often take on the character of a real race against time.
But what is canine atopic dermatitis (DA)?
DA is defined as one dermatological disease on an allergic, itchy inflammatory basis, characterized by a reaction to environmental allergens. Although precise data is not available, it is estimated that about 10-20% of dogs with a dermatological disease have AD.
Some dog breeds seem predisposed to AD: Shar pei and French Bulldog are among the most affected, but also Boyer, Labrador, Golden retriever, Westie and Shihtzu. The most commonly encountered allergens are dust mites, molds and pollen.
What does it look like?
Well, a dog with AD can have very varied symptoms, but the most commonly encountered are itching from a young age (most atopic dogs have the first symptoms under 3 years of age); recurrent skin and ear infections; symptoms of rhinitis or conjunctivitis; seasonal dermatitis or in any case with a peak of itching linked to a specific season of the year; bilateral involvement with erythema especially of the snout and auricles.
La diagnosis of atopy it is not particularly easy and is based on steps to exclude other possible causes of itching and similar lesions, first of all parasitic causes (mange mites, fleas). Some parasites can then live with a picture of atopy, complicating everything: for example, malassezia, yeast normally present on the skin. Once we are sure we have ruled out these pathologies (and always "chased" by the itch of this poor creature that puts us "in a hurry" every day), we must be sure that we are not dealing with a picture of food allergy, by carrying out a elimination diet.
I believe it is essential that dog owners understand that only after having carried out all these steps will the administration of cortisone be useful. In fact, AD is ultimately diagnosed with a remission of itching following the administration of cortisone. But why not use it first? Cortisone takes away the itch, couldn't you take a shot? I understand well the haste given by that damn itch, by seeing our friend suffering from such an uncomfortable disease, but the answer is no. Cortisone unfortunately has several side effects and should only be used when needed, that is, to make a diagnosis. In fact, it is not a drug that will cure your Friend, but will simply make the symptoms disappear for a few days, some even for a few weeks, but reappear promptly at the end of the administration. Cortisone can then give a temporary one suppression of the immune system, opening the way to saprophytic yeasts such as the malassezia we were talking about earlier or bacteria, which will further complicate the picture making the diagnosis more difficult.
Then? What therapeutic options do we have?
Of course, when we suspect that our Friend is atopic, the first step to take together with our Veterinarian is to set up a monoprotein diet housewife to see how much of that itch and erythema we can solve only with the diet. Very interesting could be an unexpected role played by food beyond the presence of food allergens. According to some studies conducted for now mainly in children, in fact, the intestinal microbiota, that is the set of bacteria, viruses, protozoa and fungi that normally co-inhabit the intestine and on our and our friends' skin, would have an important role in the triggering of allergies. Repeated antibiotic or cortisone treatments would in fact affect the "healthy" flora of the intestine, causing an overgrowth of microbial populations involved in the production of inflammation mediators. In short, the health of our dog's skin could also pass from health of your gut. Why be surprised? after all, we, like them, are One, not many pieces detached and stuck together!
What can we do, while our vet comes to the diagnosis, or even later, to relieve this annoying itch?
La and gentle cosmetics offers us some help in fact. Ribes nigrum, a small shrub also present on the Italian territory, is certainly one of the most useful plants in the course of DA. In fact, the administration by mouth of a few drops of glycerine macerate of this plant will have an effect similar to that of cortisone, calming itching and erythema, without however having the side effects of the drug. Another good idea is to provide "refreshing baths"With calendula hydrolyte. To prepare it, every time fresh, just prepare an infusion of 1 or 2 grams of dried calendula flowers in 200 cc of hot water, which, once cooled and filtered, can be used with spot applications with the help of cotton wool in the areas. more reddened. Finally, a great idea would be to use soothing sprays or gels, obviously always based on natural ingredients, to prevent our friend from ingesting toxic compounds with licking!
An accurate homeopathic visit then, with a highly individualized prescription, certainly represents an option without any side effects and whose results can be really significant in order to a stable reduction or disappearance of symptoms.
Veterinary doctor Dott.ssa Maria Mayer per Union BIO
Photo: Andrew. , TheGiantVermin,
