Does My Pet Have Allergies?

Does My Pet Have Allergies?

by Petfinder

The following article is courtesy of Purina.

If your pet seems particularly itchy lately, you may wonder whether she’s suffering from allergies. Excessive scratching isn’t the only sign of an allergic condition, but it’s the most common; of course, itching can also indicate any number of other problems, so leave diagnosis to your veterinarian. However, by considering your pet’s signs and symptoms, you can get a good idea whether she has one of the four types of allergies: flea, food, contact or environmental allergies.

Flea Allergy Dermatitis in Cats and Dogs

Flea bite dermatitis is the most common allergy in pets, according to Donna Spector, DVM, DACVIM, writing for Halo. This condition is a hypersensitivity to proteins or antigens in flea saliva. When a flea bites a cat or dog, a small amount of its saliva is released into her skin.

Signs and Symptoms of Flea Allergy Dermatitis in Pets

While non-allergic cats and dogs experience little or no irritation from a flea bite, those that are allergic suffer intense itching and irritation – sometimes for days – at the bite site. This occurs with even a single bite. Bites may become red or inflamed, but the most significant signs and symptoms are usually self-inflicted. Your pet is likely to chew, lick or scratch excessively at bites, often causing localized hair loss, scabbing or sores. The presence of fleas, flea eggs or flea feces along with these symptoms makes this a likely diagnosis.

Food Allergies in Cats and Dogs

Food allergies are caused by the immune system’s hypersensitivity to a protein in a food. They can manifest as either dermatological problems or gastrointestinal problems. They aren’t the same as food intolerances, which result in only as gastrointestinal symptoms/problems. This type of allergy only accounts for about 10 percent of pet allergies, notes Dr. Spector. Beef, dairy, wheat, egg, chicken, lamb and soy are the most common food allergens in dogs, in this order; common culprits in cats include beef, dairy and fish.

Signs and Symptoms of Food Allergies in Pets

Hypersensitivity to a food can develop at any age, even to something your cat or dog has eaten for years. Typical signs and symptoms of a food allergy in pets include rash, hives and itching, especially on the face, limbs, sides of the body and anal region. Respiratory symptoms are sometimes seen, too. Diarrhea, vomiting and other gastrointestinal distress may also occur.

Environmen-tal Allergies in Cats and Dogs

Environmental allergies are also called seasonal allergies, airborne allergies, inhalant allergies, atopy and atopic dermatitis. Exposure to the allergen occurs through inhalation. Common irritants include dust mites, mold, mildew, and pollens from grass, trees and weeds. Pollens cause seasonal allergies, while other environmental allergens are problematic year-round.

Signs and Symptoms of Environmental Allergies in Pets

While humans associate environmental and seasonal allergies with hayfever, companion animals are more likely to develop severe body-wide itching as the primary symptom. Excessive scratching, licking and biting can cause hair loss, injuries and infections. Inflamed ears and ear infections also occur with atopy, especially in dogs. Hayfever symptoms, such as puffy or watery eyes, runny or stuffy nose, sneezing and coughing, are occasionally present, too.

Allergic Contact Dermatitis in Cats and Dogs

Allergic contact dermatitis is the rarest type of allergy in pets, says Dr. Spector. Chemicals that come into contact with your cat or dog’s skin are the problem allergens in these cases. Those found in or on detergents, soaps, shampoos, carpets, synthetic fibers, wool, leather, paint, petrolatum, rubber, plastic and insecticides are common triggers.

Signs and Symptoms of Allergic Contact Dermatitis in Pets

As is typical for allergies in pets, significant itching is the main symptom of contact allergies. Redness and irritation are likely on and around the site of contact with the allergen. Self-inflicted complications such as hair loss, sores, scabbing and hot spot are often seen.

Diagnosing Allergies in Cats and Dogs

The clinical signs observed by your veterinarian provide important clues as to whether your cat or dog is experiencing a flea, food, environmental or contact allergy. Your thorough accounting of symptoms helps, as well. Skin or blood tests that measure the body’s immune response to suspected allergens can confirm the diagnosis of environmental allergies.

Skin and blood testing are unreliable for food allergies, though, according to Dr. Spector. Food allergies are diagnosed with an elimination diet trial. Your veterinarian will advise you on feeding your pet a limited, hypoallergenic diet, usually for two to three months. Then, suspected foods are gradually reintroduced. You monitor your pet closely, watching for the return of allergic symptoms.

Treating Allergies in Pets

Preventing exposure to allergens is key to managing your cat or dog’s allergies. Prescribed antihistamines or corticosteroids often help control symptoms, while specially formulated shampoos or other topical therapies minimize itchiness and reduce excessive scratching. Allergy shots, which aim to desensitize your pet to an allergen with repeated exposure to minute quantities via injection, sometimes reduce or eliminate environmental allergies over time.

References

WebMD: Caring for a Dog with Food Allergies
http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/guide/caring-for-a-dog-that-has-food-allergies

VCA Animal Hospitals: Flea Allergy in Cats
http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pet-health-information/article/animal-health/allergy-flea-allergy-in-cats/112

VCA Animal Hospitals: Flea Allergy Dermatitis in Dogs
http://www.vcahospitals.com/main/pet-health-information/article/animal-health/allergy-flea-allergy-dermatitis-in-dogs/425

WebMD: Dogs with Atopic Dermatitis – Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment
http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/dogs-atopic-dermatitis-causes-diagnosis-treatment

DVM 360: Diagnosis and Treatment of Atopy in Cats
http://veterinarynews.dvm360.com/dvm/Diagnostic+Center/Diagnosis-and-treatment-of-atopy-in-cats/ArticleStandard/Article/detail/581086

WebMD: Contact Dermatitis in Cats
http://pets.webmd.com/cats/contact-dermatitis-cats

WebMD: Irritants and Contact Dermatitis in Dogs
http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/irritants-contact-dermatitis-dogs

Years Past

Years Past

While I coax myself to write a rendition of years past, I sit staring at the blank sheet on my computer. I hit the tab key and start typing.  I turn up the heat of the furnace while reminiscing about the days I spent chopping wood and sawing it into neat woodstove size chunks.  Our faces are rosy. I rub my hip because one of the logs grazed me while my dad was throwing it in the back of the van. The rig had a long trailer attached to it. A trailer designed from the back of an old pick up. The hubs covering the tires were still a part of this splendid contrivance.  Atop of this contraption was a handmade roof shaped like a top of an ark. We worked liked mules as we prepared for winter. 

After these wood gathering ventures I would climb into a tub filled with scents of lavender to sooth my sore muscles.  My skin was still tan from the sun of the summer. I remember reading a story about man who lived in a hut by a subtropical bay.  He rolled the dice with his comrades as he gambled.   He noticed his cat scratching at her ear. Feeling his loses he stumbled, after a night of drinking, to his medicine cabinet to retrieve the cotton swabs. He checked his cat’s ears for mites by digging the tip of a cotton swab into her ear.  The cotton swab was inserted too far, the cat meowed loudly. The man was a sleuth and his cat was his mentor.

My mother returned from a shopping trip that day carrying less money than she departed with to cook up a wonderful stir fry and brown rice.  My dad asked, “Did you buy out the store?”  Mom laughs, waters the fern, and serves dinner.  After eating the fatted calf we would resign to a night of watching jeopardy. 

During the evening hours after a long hardy day of labor we often made a hearty cup of hot chocolate topped off with a sprig of mint to ward off the germs of the season.  We would indulge in chips with French onion dip, our favorite. 

                My father died in January 2005 leaving my mother to spend her time in their home wrestling with loneliness.  I recently visited with her reminiscing of pass remembrances.

By Sharon Brunner

Note:  This story was written by using the words that were derived from playing an UP Words game (a game similar to scrabble).  Play scrabble and use the words to write a short story. I challenge anyone reading this short story to do so.

The Essential Ingredients of Mind-Body Health

The Essential Ingredients of Mind-Body Health

The assumption that healthy people are just lucky, have good genes, or practice preventive medicine is no more than a half-truth. The healthiest people in our society – meaning those who avoid catastrophic disease and live to a happy old age without any major debilitating illnesses – fall into a different profile. According to current medical understanding, here are the essential ingredients of mind-body health:

1)  Emotional adaptability. This is the single most important factor in staying well and living long. It’s the ability to let go and remain open to change. Everyone suffers losses and setbacks, but some get stuck in their pain, storing emotional toxicity or ama that contributes to imbalance and illness. Fortunately, emotional resilience is a quality that we can develop in ourselves. For those struggling with emotional pain, the Healing the Heart and Emotional Freedom programs offer a powerful process for releasing the past and reclaiming emotional balance and wholeness.

2)  Good coping mechanisms. There are two ways to cope with life’s uncertainty: acceptance and resistance. Acceptance is allowing events to unfold around you and reacting to them spontaneously, while resistance is fighting against the natural force of evolution. Nature will ultimately win, and our struggle against the river of life creates a lot of wear and tear on our body and accelerates the aging process. Cultivating acceptance is a powerful coping skill that doesn’t imply being passive or letting go of desire; it is actively practicing the Law of Detachment, which is based on an unwavering belief in the power of your true Self. Learn more about the Seven Spiritual Laws of Success at the Seduction of Spirit retreat.

3) Self-empowerment. Numerous studies show that people who feel victimized or out of control are at higher risk for physical and emotional illness.  Those who constantly feel like a victim of life make the mistake of false identification: They see themselves as limited and isolated, not realizing that our essential nature is pure potentiality.

4) Stress reduction. Stress exacts an enormous toll on our mental and physical health, including high blood pressure, heart disease, stomach ulcers, cancer, insomnia, depression, and autoimmune diseases. While many claim to thrive under pressure, no one maintains health and well-being in the face of constant long-term stress.

One of the most effective stress relief tools we have is meditation. When we meditate, our breathing slows, blood pressure decreases, and stress hormone levels fall. Beyond these significant health benefits, the greatest gift of meditation is the sense of calm and inner peace it brings into your daily life.

5) Feeling loved, wanted, and useful. All three are necessary for optimal health, and the healthiest people make choices to maximize their experience of these positive qualities. In fact, emotional deprivation is as unhealthy as a lack of good food, essential vitamins, and adequate sleep.

If someone were to come to me for a physical exam, I'd certainly comply, but before they left I would do everything possible to put them on the right track to optimal health, which has little to do with doctors and everything to do with self-awareness and balance.

Love,
Deepak Chopra