Itching - need advice before vet
 

I am not going to be able to get to the vet until probably the week after Christmas because of pay being on xmas eve.

Lolli has been itching a little on her paws, and a LOT on her rear end above her tail. Sometimes I come into a room and her whole back area there above her tail is wet and matted from her licking and biting. It's a lot red and a little broken through the skin :(

I checked a million times, even had my mom check, for fleas! There were none BUT when I gave her a BioGroom oatmeal anti-itch bath I thought I saw a little black dot go down the drain but not sure if it was a bug or not. But I checked ALL OVER her skin and I did not see anything while she was wet. Lolli has thin hair so when shes wet she basically looks hairless, seeing her skin is very easy.

So I have read here you can give them benedryl, is it better to give childrens or adult? How much do you give at a time? I need a temporary solution until we get her to the vet.

Also do not have flea meds at this time (we have been researching since we adopted her about 2 months ago which type is better for this area, example being Frontline is basically useless in this area so many have said).

Is there any temporary type of flea med we can give her in case she does have fleas even though we don't find any we want to be safe? Like I know most spot-on stuff is bad, but are there any of those that will be ok to use for a week, or something to kill any fleas and prevent for a week??

Please help! We have her in a onesie so she won't break skin anymore.

Unflavored Children's Benadryll 1 ml per pound of body weight. You can use the tablet form, but it will be harder because I think the lowest dose is 25 mg. We gave this to our Basenji mix during the summer. But your vet can prescribe a short regimen of steroids that may help. I also requested a numbing spray from them to help the area.

I wouldn't use a flea shampoo as these tend to strip the skin of natural oils and dry it out. That might make her itch more. Try the Benadryll and see how she does. Flea Bite Dermatitis will be apparent if she has been bitten. The bite sight will swell up and be enflamed. There are some flea meds that are a pill form and are just as strong as Advantix/Frontline.

I'm sorry this is happening, I definitely know how frustration itchy skin problems can be with our dogs!

Thanks for the reply. It's not inflamed or swollen, just red and raw from her licking/chewing the area. At least not that I could see. I wouldn't use a flea shampoo, I was asking about something temporary to use such as a spot-on type (or collar? dont know if those kill or prevent) by Adams or some other brand I could buy from a store, UNTIL I can get to the vet which won't be until after Christmas. I know that these types of things are not entirely healthy, but I want to take some type of precaution til I get to the vet and not sure what I can use for 1 weeks time. I know a vet can prescribe me something and also be able to tell me what the problem is. But I need to relieve her UNTIL I can get to the vet.

I'll look for childrens benedryl. If the tablet kinds are harder to find, what should I look for? A liquid? She's about 5-7 lbs so maybe 5 or 6mL is what I need?

Yes look for the liquid. Unflavored and clear. Don't use over the counter spot ons, they can poison your pup. The collars are kind of pointless. Try a natural flea shampoo, I know we sell it at PetSmart. It doesn't have as much harsh chemicals and can give relief up to a week. There are also sprays you can put on her.

At work they use Adams spray, I forget the exact type. But the prevention is only temporary, like less than 1 day. It's just an instant kill type of spray. I don't know if I want to use a flea shampoo, I don't really think there are any fleas on her. I just want something to prevent them, as we cannot find a single one on her. Until we can get to the vet. Will probably start her on Comfortis at that time, or something to help. But I just need a temporary relief for the poor girl if there could be more fleas somewhere or if it's just 1 she picked up and we killed.

But I have seen and gotten a PM by Dwerten personally, saying that even 1 flea bite can irritate them up to 3 weeks if they have a flea allergy. Is it always that they get inflamed/swollen if allergic? Is it possible she was bitten just by the one I may or may not have seen go down the drain when I bathed her and is just giving her itching problem? All symptoms other than the inflame/swelling indicate a flea allergy or bite. Although not the paw thing, either.. I don't know!

I would have that area checked for mites, just as precaution...and I agree w/ Dwerten too.

How are the ears?

What are you feeding? When did this start?

The formula for figuring out the dosage for Childrens Liquid Benedry is:

Your dogs body weight times 5 divided by 12.5 = dose in cc/ml

To figure out your dogs body weight you have to convert ounces to pounds...

EX: a dog that weighs 4 pounds 10 ounces would weigh 4.625 pounds

you must take the 10 ounces and divide by 16 then add the 4 pounds...
10 divided by 16 = .625 + 4 =4.625

4.625 X 5 divided by 12.5 =1.85 cc/ml


Benadryl could work if it's environmental allergies (use for "at least" 7-10 days before deciding if it is working. The paw itching could indicate an allergy, but with her back/by her tail bothering her, I'd wonder about some other things too. You might want to have her checked for mites, and that is one of the places that fleas like to hang out. Does Advantage work in your area?

Wylies Mom: She doesn't itch her ears. They are clean and everything. I feed her Natural Balance, she has been on this like 3 weeks or so but I'm still mixing it with her old food, too, for a slow transition. But I haven't increased the new food and decreased the old as I did it too early and the old bag isn't about finished yet.

EllieMay: I don't know about Advantage. I know Frontline doesn't, many people have said the fleas are basically immune to it here.

Is there any way I personally could find out if it is mites? It's still about a week or so until I can get her to a vet so anything I can do myself UNTIL then would be good.

She didn't itch yesterday or last night, and not most of today although a few minutes ago I caught her doing it again. Her back end had scabbed over from the plasma leaking from her licking/itching it so I thought maybe that would be a good sign that she's not itching it anymore. But then she did it again for a few minutes but I made her stop.

Should I give her the benadryl anyway? Is it ok if there is flavors and dye-free? The store didn't have flavor-less of any kind for childrens benadryl liquid.

She seems alert and happy and playful but at the same time just seems tireder than normal. But maybe that's just because I've been in my room a lot today doing various things.

Anyone? I need answer for my benadryl questions so I can know if the kind I got is ok to give her or not. And if there is a way I could personally know if she has mites or not? Pretty please?

Well, since you asked so nice, okay. :)
Actually, I forgot to answer the other day. lol.

Whatever it is, Benadryl shouldn't hurt. It may not help either though.
I've heard of the dye free, whatever flavor something or other, etc., etc., etc., but I just use the red (cherry I think). As long as it doesn't contain xylitol (and it hasn't so far that I have noticed), then it should be fine.

Mites are detected by a skin scraping and if they are suspected, but the test is negative, sometimes treatment is done anyway. You can't diagnose or treat them without the vet. There are many other things it could be though.

Crystal is right. My vet just tells me to get the flavorless just in case the pups don't like it. The cherry is fine though. You may want to put an e-collar or doughnut pillow around her until you can get her to your vet. She may not like it, but it can prevent her from scarring herself and sometimes the hair doesn't grow back fully :(

I've seen a lot of Yorkies with bad skin problems. I remember Bailey pretty vividly. Poor guy was just a sheet of scabbed skin and nearly bald from itching himself raw. So sad...

Daisy was itching like crazy too. The vet thought it was seasonal allergies and recommended Benadryl. I couldn't find anything flavorless at Walgreens and she hated taking the liquid. So I ground up half of a tablet (she weighs 14 lbs) and sprinkled it on some boiled chicken. This is the only way I could get her to take it. It is working wonders for her and she isn't itching anymore. I hope you find something to help. I know watching them scratching like that is terrible.

Yeah we have the onesie on her we used when she was spay, which was only a couple weeks ago. She is 7 years old and doesn't seem to have had any skin problems before. Her skin was very nice, not even discolored spots that I see on a lot of other dogs at work. No scars, nothin.

I'll start her on the benadryl, would it be ok to maybe put some apple cider vinegar in her water to try if that might help/if she'd drink it (even when shes on benadryl)? I've read this helping with a LOT of issues, like minor allergies to things..

Just a little update.

I still haven't tried the benadryl yet although I did buy it. She hasn't had any more of those crazy spells although I have been keeping her in a onesie so that may be the reason, I am not sure. I'm going to do some testing with taking it off tomorrow to see if she's going to start itching again if it's off.

Anyway so with the FEET.. I noticed she is moreso BITING HER NAILS than itching the feet which is what I originally thought she was doing. But then I was actually sitting near her with QUIET and I hear this crunching noise and I realize she is chewing on her NAILS. Why would she do this? They are not super long or anything.

Also my trainer at pet grooming place gave me a spray they use on dogs with itchy spots called DERMACOOL. It has lidocaine, a local anesthetic. Other ingredients include Hamamelis extract, colloidal oatmeal and 1.5% lidocaine HCI, propylene glycol, glycerin, lactic acid, parachloro-metaxylenol, and menthol.

Is this safe?? She said to use it on the spots shes opened from itching, like the sores she created from licking and chewing her skin above her tail. I am not very knowledged on what is safe for dogs, this says it comes from a vet but what I want to know is if she licks or chew when this spray is on for any reason could it make her SICK if ingested? That's all I want to know. Well, that and why shes chewing her nails..

I don't want to answer the "safe" part definitively for you, bc I don't think I'm really able to. I can tell you for fact, however, that lidocaine can be toxic at a certain level in the blood stream - even as a topical *cream*. So....

Was the vet clear on the fact that you'd be applying to areas that were going to be licked?

As for the claw question - when dogs have an allergy, they will lick/chew their paws/leg/pads/legs/claws - that whole general area is irritated.

That said...if there is any chance you're still thinking mites...mites can actually "burrow" and one of their favorite areas to do that would be the paw. I really kinda doubt that...but it's something to keep in the back your mind, I guess.

No it wasn't given by a vet, I guess I should have phrased it better. My trainer was given it by the vet they associate with but also on the bottle it says about a vet on it. Not like a prescription or anything. I don't think it's a prescription type of spray, I think just mostly vets only carry the product itself.

It says there is only 1.5% lidocaine. The directions say you spray right onto the area of focused itching or sores from itching. It has some kind of oatmeal ingredient to soothe itching but also the lidocaine is an anesthetic so they would be numbed, is that correct?? So maybe they wouldn't be inclined to ever lick the spot? I'm so confused!

As far as the feet, they lick the feet if they have allergies in general? Because she is having allergy on the skin above her tail. Not her feet that I can tell unless biting nails means an allergy, I don't know.

Yeah, colloidal oatmeal is in a lot of allergy products. Yes, lidocaine is an anesthetic...and yes, it is meant to cause numbing. I guess my point really was, lidocaine, at some point, is toxic at a certain level in the bloodstream. Since I don't know how effective the spray will be for your kiddo (:confused:), or at what point it would be "unsafe" - I can't really answer that for you, ya know? Personally...I haven't found or heard those sprays to be very effective....but they probably work for some dogs out there. I wish I could answer that better for ya :)...

As for your 2nd question - yes - they may lick/chew the feet/paws/lower legs/claws with *ANY* allergy - whether that allergy is from food, pollen, dust, a flea bite, a detergent, a perfume you use -- no matter. An allergic response (even if it "happens" locally, say, above the tail -- it turns into a systemic, histamine response).

When humans have allergies, signs = sneezing, nasal drip, itchy eyes, itchy throat, watery eyes, sore throat from nasal drip....when dogs have allergies --> irritated paws, desire to lick/chew paws/legs/claws, itchy ears, may have watery eyes/discharge (and/or recurrent eye infections), itchy body/neck/face/etc. (allllll that said....real big "red flag" signs of any allergy in dogs, regardless of type, is the paw/leg/claw licking/chewing).

I am only assuming on the label when it says 1.5% that it means for the whole volume. That's not much at all in just one spray so I'm also assuming that if any is ingested it would not be enough to cause any harm. Just an assumption, as this product seems to mostly only be given or prescribed by a vet according to google. Although some people sell it on eBay and other pet medication type sites.

So if she has a flea allergy and had been bitten once and is just having a reaction, this would still cause her to bite her nails?

Yes. A local allergen, turns into a systemic, histamine response. This is why a bee bite can *kill* some people, bc of the systemic response to it.

The 1.5% is the concentration, not the "volume" of the lidocaine.

For comparison, Humans usually use lidocaine products of only 2%-5% concentrations, for the most part.

Lidocaine was in the media quite a bit recently as people were using it incorrectly before getting laser hair removal done - young women were collapsing, going into comas, and then died bc too much lidocaine got into their bloodstream - here is a CNN article on that tragic subject.

I'm not trying to tell you not to use it...it's up to you and you seem to really want to use it. I'm just saying that since you're putting it areas that your dog is LICKING, I dunno...I personally wouldn't do it, but it's up to you.

Another thing you might do is call the ASPCA poison line and run this by them; they may have more info about licking/ingesting these chemicals.

I just think it's better to err on the side of prevention when it comes to chemicals...esp. things like anesthetics and such. :)

I don't really want to use anything. I don't really trust anything, I don't even trust giving her benadryl. Someone tells me all this math on how to figure out how much to give her, well I'm math stupid. So how am I supposed to know how much to give her if I cant even figure out the equation? lol

As far as this product, I'm just asking questions. I don't need to use it as she hasn't been itching that area since she's been in a onesie. But I like to know all the information about it.

I mean a lot of people say apple cider vinegar can help with small allergies, but no one has suggested it for this so I mean everything is just confusing. So I ask lots of questions lol.

:D We all ask a lot of questions -- the fact you're so interested in trying to understand this product...well...let's just say ya pretty much fit in here :p! We all ask a whoooooole lotta questions about products, esp. in this section, all the time! :)

Allergies are, I think, incredibly confusing. I've been to a Vet Dermatologist and *wow* - they are incredible! I learned a lot from them...and believe me, what I learned was really only a teensy bit of what there is to know. Allergies are a tough thing to figure out, in most cases.

Anyway, I can help you w/ dosages of anti-histamines as I have a chart given to me by our Vet Derm. - if you need help, just PM me w/ your pup's weight and I'll help ya out. :)

Wow, this is very intresting information. My Rosie has been itching on and off since we got her, back then we thought it was because she was so scurfy. But she still scratches, particularly around her nose and ears, and chewing her feet. Going to try and get some benadryl on Thursday, she weighs roughly 4.5lb, could you please let me know what dosage your chart suggests? I've also read on the net today alovera is supposed to help and was thinking of getting a bottle and making an after bath wash with it, would this help do you think? It also suggests adding fatty acids particularly omega3 to the diet, gave her a small dose today and a bath in an anti-bacterial shampoo which seams to have helped a little. I've never delt with such an itchy little dog before except for a flea allergy which was quickly remedied. They're checked for fleas regularly and Alfie doesn't seam bothered, anything else you could suggest would be much appreaciated.

How often do you give the Benadryl? The cold weather here is driving Cosmo crazy.