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Allergies and Skin Disease

Allergies and skin disease in dogs are very common. They can affect your dog due to a number of reasons. It is very important to be watchful of them and have the right treatment at the right time. Read on here to know about the causes, symptoms and treatment of allergies and skin disease.

Causes of allergies and skin disease

• Due to some culprits, the dog may have a state of a weak immune system. In this case, the dog may have allergic reactions to the things that may not usually irritate a healthy and strong dog. Your dog may also develop a grave autoimmune problem such as, hyperthyroidism or inflammatory bowel disease.
• Allergy is caused by allergy causing substances called 'antigens' or 'allergens'. Your dog can be allergic to-
• Chlorine or other domestic chemical agents
• Cleaning chemicals in house or yard
• Gases coming from chemicals
• Synthetic carpets
• Artificial food bowls
• Grass or plants
• Steady dog care products such as heartworm or flea products
• Flea bites
• The most usual allergy dogs suffer from is flea saliva. The existence of flea on allergic dogs induces strong itching problems. The allergies are recurring in the climate zones where the fleas are sent off by the chill of winter months. They are an all year round problem in the warm climates.

Signs and symbols of allergies and skin disease

• Itching skin
• Red skin and moist in patches known as 'hot spots'
• Pus and dried crusts (in case of bacterial infection)
• Constant scratching and licking affected skin
• Skin eruptions (at the base of tail and on low part of back)
• Heated ears
• Problems in digestive tract such as gas, loose stools, gurgling stomach or diarrhea
• Excitation of toes
• Irritated rear end
• Licking and carting the rear end on floor
• In case of flea allergies, they are evident over dog's back and near tail.
• The pollen and dust type allergies strike your dog's face, chest, feet and abdomen
• Contact allergies affect hairless areas of abdomen and bottoms of feet.

Diagnosis of allergies and skin disease

• Locating the cause and area of intense itching and location of lesions is very important and helpful.
• Trials of particular hypo-allergenic diets are employed to diagnose the food allergy. Testing of allergy is used to select immunotherapy.
• Blood tests are used to diagnose allergies but should be done with great care.
• Ask veterinarian for recommendations about allergies and skin disease.

Treatment of allergies and skin disease

• Antihistamines and corticosteroids are used by veterinarian to give relief to your dog from strong itching to stop the self-mutilation.
• Owner is taught to provide corticosteroid tablets to the dog in gradually decreasing dosages for some months. They are strong and effective drugs must not be used carelessly for long time.
• Control flea allergies in dogs by killing the fleas in the dog's body or around it.
• Allergy control with hyposensitization or immunotherapy is another approach effective treatment.

Copyright, 2006 animalhealthline.com