Breathing Difficulty Bronchitis
 

My little Lacey was playing with the puppy late Saturday night. She came running to me panting heavily, her little chest heaving so fast. She continued breathing like this and 15 minutes later was still struggling. She would not lay down or sit still. She was pacing back and forth. I picked her up and looked inside her mouth worried that something might be blocking her airway. Her gums were dark purple. I was so scared and was off to the emergency vet 30 minutes away. The vet listened to her chest and said there was abnormal noise coming from her lungs. He did X-rays which showed diffused bronchial pattern and said she had bronchitis. Said her gums were cyanotic due to low oxygen. He put her on a nebulizer to ease her breathing. He said he believed it was allergic bronchitis, but did not completely rule out infection. She received an antihistamine injection, a steroid injection, and an antibiotic injection that was good for 10 days. She also was given a prescription of Temaril P (antihistamine/steroid) to take for the next 10 days. Her gums were normal when we left and she slept all day yesterday. She was panting again yesterday evening but stopped after about 5 minutes.

Vet said to limit her playing with the puppy for the next week. Not easy to keep Pepper Jack away from her. He also said to run a humidifier, so I purchased one. I also am running an air purifier. Can't hurt.

If this is caused by allergens (I'm surrounded by dog wood trees), is there anything else I can do to prevent another flair up? I must have spent two hours running the vacuum and dusting yesterday and I change the air filter.

And that was some bill. They kept putting papers in front of me to sign and I just kept on signing and was just thankful she was being looked after.

Given the severity of the reaction and the effect it has on breathing, I'd be entertaining the idea of Atopica for this kiddo, esp if you think her allergies could be all year round. Otherwise if seasonal, perhaps Apoquel...?

ER Vet feels it is due to the time of year and that she will not require continuous meds. I will be taking her to her regular vet to check her lung sounds at the end of the week. If they are still abnormal, I will request a prescription to keep it under control. She is not coughing or itching. I am racking my brain to figure out what has changed in her environment other than the stuff floating around in the air from the trees. I did change cat litter type this week and will change back to what I was using just in case.