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Allergies: What Can You Do?

Your pet has been diagnosed as ATOPIC (chronic allergic dermatitis).  This condition is an inherited inability to respond to challenges from allergens (particles of matter that are foreign to the animal’s body) These particles can be anything from pollen to items in the food, such as gluten, the ingredient in wheat that is common in pet snack foods. When your pet’s immune system does not respond to protect the body, then histamine is released . Histamine attaches to cells at certain sites in the body and causes one or more of the following standard responses that you can see or hear:

1)  itching   2)  coughing   3)  hives or swelling on the skin or redness

The most common allergens for this region in proportion to their intensity and effect on pets  are:

1)  Insect bites; mainly fleas and ticks and mosquitoes. The saliva from the insect is responsible for up to 80% of the reactions seen in pets. Most allergic pets are sensitized by insect  saliva.

2)  Pollens and particles from plants and trees. These items are small enough to be inhaled through the nose or  the mouth. These allergens build up slowly in the system and are generally seasonal. However, there are different allergens in  over the seasons of the year.

3)  Intestinal parasites. Yes , they are foreign protein also and do have a slight contributory effect to the allergic reactions of  your pet. Your pet can have parasites with a negative test.

4)  Food.  Direct food allergies are rare . Most animals are not directly allergic to foods. If  they were truly allergic to certain foods , they would probably have bloody diarrhea within thirty minutes to an hour of ingesting the food to which they are truly allergic. For the most part, some foods are contributory to the other symptoms  in your friend . Some foods simply trigger itching or make it harder to clear up allergy symptoms. The quality of your pets food can be one of the reasons that you are having difficulty in clearing the symptoms. There are no hypoallergenic commercial foods. They simply contain less allergens than other commercial foods. The filler added to commercial foods is generally responsible for the triggering effect.

HISTAMINE:

The cause of the itching response in your pet is a product produced naturally in the body called histamine. The release of  this element into the circulation prepares your pet for an itching , coughing, sneezing, spell. Histamine can last as long as 2-3 weeks in the circulation. An allergic pet is producing histamine constantly. When your pet’s immune system is challenged with a foreign element, generally protein particulate matter (PPM), the immune system will release histamine into the circulation.

REDUCING HISTAMINE:

DIET:  No foods with wheat gluten.  Change fat source about every ninety days (i.e., chicken/rice to lamb/rice); No commercial diets are allergen free!

ANTIHISTAMINE/PREDNISONE : These medications will reduce circulating histamine on a long term basis.

BUG CONTROL: Frontline monthly on your Friend.

HYPOALLERGENIC SHAMPOOS/CRÈME RINSE: Weekly , approved by Dr. Bob.

EXERCISE: Makes the food and medication work better!! Do It Yourself Biting Insect Control, Inside and Out /or "How to live in Arkansas as if you were in Chicago!"

If you have lived in Arkansas for one full set of seasons, you have probably realized that you are; 1) living in a semi-tropical Gulf climate with ten months or more of  warm weather 2) coexisting with insects who also find this weather very pleasant for reproduction 3) understanding that your friends (dogs and cats), and you under certain conditions, are very attractive as snacks for many varieties of insects here.  So with that in mind I am going to give you my personal home routine for coexisting with the various biting hordes of insects in Arkansas. I have lived for the past fifteen years in both North East and South Central Arkansas, in both Delta and Mountain locations. This information works in both areas. I put Frontline on both my dog and cat friends every month of the year. My dog goes in and out and can bring ticks in, so I don’t use Advantage, because it only gets fleas. The months of November through the end of January are not tick months here although you may see an occasional one. So I consider those three months by the label on the Frontline as a time to save a little money or I use Advantage .

During the warm months I spread (broadcast) flea and tick granules in the areas most used by my outside pets every two weeks. I use only dichlorvos as Diazanon doesn’t seem to be as effective in my experience in my locations . These granules come from the same manufacturer under many labels so the cheapest is as good as the most expensive. I do not cover the entire yard. I “band” the yard  for three feet in from the fence around the entire yard and along the foundation of the house .  I always treat all the way around the foundation of my house for about three feet out from the foundation to keep the ants and other critters from entering the house. I also spread some of the granules in front of the doorways to the house to discourage the fleas from jumping into the house when the doors are opened. I treat the inside of the house with a residual spray containing Permethrin or Tetramethrin around the baseboards in each room and the kitchen once a month . Catches the mother fleas before they produce any baby fleas. The permethrin type of  sprays are the best we have at this point, in my opinion.

Remember that these treatments kill all insects that come in contact with them.  If your house becomes infested and you want to do it yourself, the packs of  household foggers work well if you do the following: 1) open all of the doors in your house to every closet, room and cabinet. 2) Tilt the couch pillows down and pull back or strip your bedspreads. 3) Set the foggers on chairs in open areas, such as a hallway, so that the fog will reach into all of the rooms. 4) Remember that fleas don’t obey your house rules about which rooms they will enter. So treat them all. 5) turn up your thermostat or turn off your air conditioner so that it will not come on during the fogging period and pull all of the fog out of your house. 6) Change vacuum bags monthly to prevent flea larva that you vacuum from hatching. This is not as frequent as their hatching period but will do if you fog , treat your house, and use Frontline on your friends. Some friendly hints: flea dips only last three days at full strength in Arkansas on the dog or cat no matter who says what about that. Flea sprays only last three days maximum, in my experience . Flea collars are for a high rise apartment in Chicago! Yeast is for baking bread!

Remember that we spend all of our lives seeking friends, spouses, family for unconditional love, when they have been sitting on our laps or at our feet all the time! Give your pets a hug for me!

DR. BOB

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