[Dailydrool] Allergies

[Elizabeth Lindsey]

We went through the whole allergy work-up with our late Jane Basset,  
who developed chronic ear infections soon after we moved from the  
suburbs of New Jersey to the soybean fields of northwest Indiana.  
After allowing the regular vet to try to treat Jane's infections for  
much too long, we finally took Jane to Purdue University's vet  
school. The infection was so bad by that point that the insides of  
one of Jane's ears had to be surgically removed before anything else  
could be done.

The infection had been caused by undiagnosed and untreated allergies.  
As Jane's Purdue dermatologist told us, allergies make a dog itch,  
and a dog will scratch that itch with its feet or by licking the  
itchy spot. When it scratches, it creates openings in its skin, and  
the bacteria in its toenails and/or tongue is transferred into these  
spots and infections happen. The only way to keep these secondary  
infections from recurring is to treat the underlying cause--the  
allergies.

First Jane's dermatologist guided us through a four-week food trial.  
She had to eat a highly restricted diet, and we learned that she had  
no food allergies whatsoever. None at all. Not even to wheat, corn,  
or other foods that generally get the blame for dog allergies.

Then the dermatologist did a skin test and discovered Jane was  
extremely allergic to trees, weeds, dust, molds, feathers, and cats.  
Because she had such a huge reaction to the dirt molds and pollens of  
the fields around us, we had to greatly limit the amount of time she  
spent outdoors during planting and harvest times when so much stuff  
got stirred up in the air. We also quickly found a new home for the  
budgie and got rid of all our feather pillows.

Under the dermatologist's guidance, we started Jane on a regimen of  
two fatty-acid supplements a day (to keep her skin from getting dry  
and itchy), two Tavist-1s a day (we later switched to two Benedryls),  
an ear wash once a week, prednisone and oatmeal baths as needed, and  
allergy shots twice a week.

The allergy shots made all the difference. We know this because  
within six months of getting her adjusted to them, Jane's ear  
infections stopped. They returned when we grew lax in giving her the  
shots, giving them only once a week or every two weeks, and with  
serum that was past its expiration date and no longer at full  
strength. Even though we continued to keep her on the antihistimines  
and fatty-acid supplements, without the twice-weekly allergy shots,  
Jane went back to being itchy and having ear infections.

We found the shots were easy to give, and we figured that, in the  
long run, they cost less in vet fees than the continual ear  
infections did. The shots were also a lot easier on Jane than ear  
infections and constantly taking antibiotics of questionable  
effectiveness.

After our experience with Jane, I strongly recommend taking any dog  
suspected of allergies to a veterinary dermatologist or allergist,  
not a regular vet, for full allergy testing -- environmental as well  
as food. Untreated allergies and the infections they cause can be  
extremely costly to a dog, and regular vets don't have the advanced  
training, diagnostic equipment, or subject knowledge in this  
specialized area of medicine to properly diagnose and treat  
allergies. To put it another way, humans with debilitating allergies  
tend to prefer to be treated by an allergist and not their general  
practitioner. Your regular vet should be able to refer you to a  
specialist.

Elizabeth
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