I've been struggling with Sugar's allergies since October. His eyes were runny and skin was flaky and inflamed. The vet did a skin scraping- no yeast or infection. Diagnosed him with allergies, most likely airborne and seborrhea. He gave me a medicated shampoo for the seborrhea which worked right away and got that under control. He also prescribed a 2 wk round of prednisone. At the end of the 2 weeks all was well for a while.
To make a long story short it's been an ongoing battle. He ended up on a longer run of pred. but enough was enough and he's been off of it for close to 2 months. Ann gave me a great recommendation for a fish/borage oil and I think that has eliminated his skin issues with the exception of a rare inflammation now and then that is easily treated with benadryl. I no longer have to use the medicated shampoo so it's a huge improvement.
So now we are left with our final issue. His eyes are a little bit swollen and runny. I have yet another appointment with the vet but I already know what he's going to say and I don't like my options. Based on our past million visits my options will be; 1. Atopica (most likely for life) 2. Allergy testing which I'm told by everyone including my vet is a crap shoot and it offers him no immediate relief anyway. If he was in discomfort or his symptoms hadn't improved so much I would be willing to look into the Atopica a bit more but for such a mild symptom I'm really not willing to put him on medication long term if I don't have to.
So does anyone have any ideas? He is on a grain free limited ingredient diet so I don't think it's food related. I've thought about switching to raw but if it's an airborne issue, would that even do anything for his eyes? I'm willing to try anything if I can stay away from medications. I'd honestly prefer his eyes to be runny and a bit puffy (with no discomfort to him) than take the risk of continually pumping him with drugs but there has got to be a solution to this.
The only other things I can think to add is I took him to a vet recommended by my mom's vet from another state and got the same exact diagnosis and path of treatment. I would love to find a holistic vet to get that perspective but the only one in my town moved. The only one within driving distance isn't accepting new patients. If anyone has any ideas I really appreciate it.
Sorry for the novel and thanks if you're still reading.