Allergies - Atopica, Prednisone, etc

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by SassyAnn101

Trouble has been taking the Atopica for almost a month now along with allergy shots, and he is doing wonderful. He had been having severe issues for almost two years. He would scratch himself until his skin would bleed. His coat was always oily and looked to have flakes all in it, giving a bath only made it worse. I would take him to our vet and he would give a shot each month that would help somewhat for a day or so, but he wasnt interested in looking at the real problem. I requested allergy testing, and he ran the tests but when the results came in he gave my son the book to send to me. We never discussed it after that. I did not realize what a joke he was until I lost Tenci, and decided not to take any of my babies back to him. After two months of not getting the vetalog shot Trouble was in bad shape. His entire body was red and he had stopped eating. I found another vet in town who had experience dealing with allergies and we went there. The improvement was almost overnight. Trouble is allergic to everything! He has food allergies, grass, mold, cotton, and staph. He takes the Atopica each day and a allergy shot every week. He is back to normal, and his coat has improved so much. He doesnt look like the same dog, or act like it either. Good Luck I hope your baby has this good of results too.

Reading this makes me smile . It's so great when you see their allergy symptoms subside! Yay for your kiddo! (and for everyone else's kiddo too!)

[SassyAnn101]

Me Too I am so glad to see him getting back to normal. These are pictures of him (if I can get them to upload) The first is one of him before we
started seeing any skin problems back in 2008, the next is of him in July 10 when things were very bad, the last is of him two weeks ago. I am so proud of him.

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by SassyAnn101

Me Too I am so glad to see him getting back to normal. These are pictures of him (if I can get them to upload) The first is one of him before we
started seeing any skin problems back in 2008, the next is of him in July 10 when things were very bad, the last is of him two weeks ago. I am so proud of him.

Awwww! He looks just fantastic! His coat looks so rich and shiny and lux. So happy for Trouble! {what a great name for a yorkie, btw, Trouble !}

[Tessaroland]

Happy that Trouble is finally feeling better...so cute...

[lillymae]

Just wondering , Have any of you tried Chamomile Tea rinses ? Chamomile deactivates allergens and is safe for both dogs and cats. You can get it in the eyes , ears and mouth as it's not toxic and really works well for allergy eyes too. It will also clear up skin infection from the scratching. I have been using this for many years for my rescues and have never had a bad reaction from it and it stops the itching almost instantly. If they have bad hot spots I apply the wet tea bag directly to the spots after the rinse for a min or two and it takes the inflammation out quickly.
I have been told by the vets I have shared this with that they have shared it with clients and the pets had great relief. It also works great for taking the YaYa out of fire ant bites.

[Tessaroland]

How do you give it to them? Do they drink it or do you put it on the paws (as in my case)? Thanks

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by lillymae

Just wondering , Have any of you tried Chamomile Tea rinses ? Chamomile deactivates allergens and is safe for both dogs and cats. You can get it in the eyes , ears and mouth as it's not toxic and really works well for allergy eyes too. It will also clear up skin infection from the scratching. I have been using this for many years for my rescues and have never had a bad reaction from it and it stops the itching almost instantly. If they have bad hot spots I apply the wet tea bag directly to the spots after the rinse for a min or two and it takes the inflammation out quickly.
I have been told by the vets I have shared this with that they have shared it with clients and the pets had great relief. It also works great for taking the YaYa out of fire ant bites.

While this may work to help symptoms (although I have never heard of it), I have never heard of anything that will clear up a skin infection but medicine. Do you have information to support this?
I have a little guy with allergies and am always looking for information that might help him. I do know that once he gets a staph infection it is treated immediately with antibiotics. I have seen people try topicals and end up with nasty infections on their poor pups' skin. Skin infections can get out of control. I find if I can keep his symptoms down to where he is itching less, then the chance of infection is decreased.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by Tessaroland

How do you give it to them? Do they drink it or do you put it on the paws (as in my case)? Thanks

I believe she is talking about applying it to the skin only.

[107barney]

Originally Posted by lillymae

Just wondering , Have any of you tried Chamomile Tea rinses ? Chamomile deactivates allergens and is safe for both dogs and cats. You can get it in the eyes , ears and mouth as it's not toxic and really works well for allergy eyes too. It will also clear up skin infection from the scratching. I have been using this for many years for my rescues and have never had a bad reaction from it and it stops the itching almost instantly. If they have bad hot spots I apply the wet tea bag directly to the spots after the rinse for a min or two and it takes the inflammation out quickly.
I have been told by the vets I have shared this with that they have shared it with clients and the pets had great relief. It also works great for taking the YaYa out of fire ant bites.

I have seen concoctions containing chamomile and other ingredients for hot spots. As for the miracle properties you cite for chamomile, I have heard similar claims for various other things. Dogs are highly sensitive to essential oils and many of these preparations contain the essential oils and extracts of plants - this concerns me to use them on my dogs. Aside from a safety concern, I just don't think your claims pass my own personal laugh test. But my personal opinion and view aside...

I also think you should note that the ASPCA Animal Poison control in NYC disagrees with you that chamomile is not toxic -- here is a link where they have it on the list of being a toxic plant to dogs and cats and being a CAUSE not a cure of dermatitis and lists various other clinical problems including bleeding that could occur etc.

ASPCA | Chamomile

[lillymae]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

While this may work to help symptoms (although I have never heard of it), I have never heard of anything that will clear up a skin infection but medicine. Do you have information to support this?
I have a little guy with allergies and am always looking for information that might help him. I do know that once he gets a staph infection it is treated immediately with antibiotics. I have seen people try topicals and end up with nasty infections on their poor pups' skin. Skin infections can get out of control. I find if I can keep his symptoms down to where he is itching less, then the chance of infection is decreased.

Yes, I have a book called ( The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care ) By CJ Puotinen , Forwarded by Beverly Cappel-King, DVM. I call it my Doggy Bible as I have saved many of my rescues that vet treatments did not work for. I believe every dog owner should own this book to fall back on when nothing else works. You are correct , the Chamomile is not a cure but a treatment and works far better then anything else I have found. I have found that oatmeal often makes allergy skin even worse. I asked my vet about this as I was thinking maybe it's my imagination and something else is causing the skin to get worse and he told me that many allergy dogs have a reaction to oatmeal. A warning to all who use Tea Tree oil shampoos, it is highly toxic to dogs if ingested. My Mom had a yorkie who spent several days in hospital from just licking a tiny bit of the bath water while she was bathing her so be very careful when using this shampoo. I have cured Staph with the tea as well.

[lillymae]

Originally Posted by 107barney

I have seen concoctions containing chamomile and other ingredients for hot spots. As for the miracle properties you cite for chamomile, I have heard similar claims for various other things. Dogs are highly sensitive to essential oils and many of these preparations contain the essential oils and extracts of plants - this concerns me to use them on my dogs. Aside from a safety concern, I just don't think your claims pass my own personal laugh test. But my personal opinion and view aside...

I also think you should note that the ASPCA Animal Poison control in NYC disagrees with you that chamomile is not toxic -- here is a link where they have it on the list of being a toxic plant to dogs and cats and being a CAUSE not a cure of dermatitis and lists various other clinical problems including bleeding that could occur etc.

ASPCA | Chamomile

Not all parts of the plant are toxic. The tea is not made with the whole plant, just the flower and this is not toxic to pets. Dogs can drink the tea for intestinal irritation as well.

[lillymae]

Originally Posted by Tessaroland

How do you give it to them? Do they drink it or do you put it on the paws (as in my case)? Thanks

Steep 2 or 3 bags and mix with a gallon of water. After you bath your baby rinse well and pour the tea over the body. Do not rinse of just dry as usual. You can steep a bag and spot treat if needed between baths. If for feet just stick eack foot in the cup for a couple of seconds and towel dry. It works like a Miracle for Frost Bite as well.

[lillymae]

FYI, for those of you with babies with yeasty skin , Olive Leaf Extract works great for a rinse after bathing.

[ladyjane]

I just do not understand how people read things and believe them in spite of a lack of real scientific research.
My ex husband's father once told me that I should drink bleach every day to prevent cancer. He insisted that the AMA was doing everything it could to prevent a man from promoting his cancer treatment that he supposedly researched. I asked for the name of the book and located a copy. I wish I remembered the name of it. It was one of the most outlandish things I had ever read. He advocated drinking bleach! I told my ex husband to never leave my son with him unattended!
I just now did a google search to try to find this guy and was not successful, but I did find this:
Science-Based Medicine Can it get any worse?: industrial bleach as cancer and HIV cure
Everyone please remember that just because a person says so does not mean it is. Remember we are dealing with small animals...don't believe everything that people tell you. Take the information to your vet and discuss it.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by lillymae

Yes, I have a book called ( The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care ) By CJ Puotinen , Forwarded by Beverly Cappel-King, DVM. I call it my Doggy Bible as I have saved many of my rescues that vet treatments did not work for. I believe every dog owner should own this book to fall back on when nothing else works. You are correct , the Chamomile is not a cure but a treatment and works far better then anything else I have found. I have found that oatmeal often makes allergy skin even worse. I asked my vet about this as I was thinking maybe it's my imagination and something else is causing the skin to get worse and he told me that many allergy dogs have a reaction to oatmeal. A warning to all who use Tea Tree oil shampoos, it is highly toxic to dogs if ingested. My Mom had a yorkie who spent several days in hospital from just licking a tiny bit of the bath water while she was bathing her so be very careful when using this shampoo. I have cured Staph with the tea as well.

No disrespect, but I hope no one on here believes that statement. That is just not possible. Staph needs to be treated with medicine. One spot on a dog and a topical antibacterial will work....more than a couple will require antibiotics.