Are There Any Holistic Options For Dog Allergies
Holistic, for me, means more natural. What’s more natural than just bathing your pet and using shampoo therapy to get off allergens. That’s a very holistic approach. There are some topical treatments that can be used. You can find anti-itch sprays over the counter and herbal products. Shampooing can often be helpful. Some of the topical treatments, like topical antihistamines, a low corticosteroid, or even some tea tree, can help, but they aren’t really that effective. It often takes your veterinarian to help get rid of that allergic itch and help them feel a lot better, faster.
Dog Allergies: When Do They Need Emergency Care
Although it may be hard to imagine, dogs can suffer from allergies in the same way that humans do. There are many different factors that can cause your dog to experience this condition, and they tend to fall in one or more of these three categories: fleas, food and the environmental.
But how can you tell when your dog needs to see an emergency vet for their allergy symptoms? Below are some causes of dog allergies and when you should take your pet for immediate emergency care.
What Are The Worst Dog Breeds For Allergies
If you want a dog but have allergies, you need to avoid several breeds that are worse for allergy sufferers. Avoid basset hounds, dachshund, siberian husky, springer spaniel, boxer, akita, labrador, pomeranian, saint bernard, german shepherd, doberman, and boston terriers. Look instead for dogs with hair instead of fur to reduce but not eliminate allergens.
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Causes Of Dog Allergies
You may have heard that some dog breeds trigger allergy symptoms while others don’t, or that short-haired dogs are safe while long-haired dogs prone to shedding are not. But on the whole, experts say that isn’t the case. In fact, two dogs of the same breed can each give off very different levels of allergen.
It’s not the dog’s hair or fur that’s the real problem. Instead, people are usually allergic to the dander — flakes of dead skin — as well as the saliva and urine. So, no matter how long or short the hair, any dog can potentially cause an allergic reaction.
You might wonder why dog dander has such an effect on you. People with allergies have oversensitive immune systems. Their bodies overreact to harmless substances — like dog dander — and attack it as they would bacteria or viruses. The sneezing and watery eyes are just the side effects of the body’s attempt to destroy or flush out the allergen.
Home Remedies For Dog Allergies Start With Change
If your dog suffers from allergies, your first port of call should always be to eliminate the allergens as much as possible. This could mean keeping an extra clean house to avoid house dust mites or switching to a hypoallergenic dog food diet.
Sometimes relatively small lifestyle changes can make a big difference to you and your dog.
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How Can I Help My Dog With Allergies
Dog allergies can be quite debilitating for your pet, but fortunately, there are many ways you can help them. If your dog suffers from a food allergy, change their diet to eliminate the troublesome ingredient. If your dog suffers from a flea allergy, apply a flea-repellent on them year-round. You can also give your dog allergy medication to temporarily reduce their urge to itch. To reduce pet allergens at home, make sure to keep your house clean and free of dust, bathe them often, and keep their crates clean. Having a clean living space is ideal for a dog who is prone to allergies.
How Are Allergies In Dogs Different From Allergies In Humans
People with allergies typically get upper respiratory symptoms and ocular issues, like itchy, watery eyes, runny noses, congestion, coughing, sneezing, and maybe some asthma in the lungs. Those are common areas of allergies in people. Dogs can also have respiratory and ocular allergies, but they more often get dermatologic or skin presentations, like itchiness, licking their feet, licking their bottoms, itchy armpits, and rubbing their faces. But feet licking is one of the more common areas of allergy presentation in dogs.
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Allergic Reactions To Dogs:
- Red, watery, and itchy eyes
- Runny, itchy, congested nose
- Red, watery, and itchy eyes
- Rashes on the chest or face
- Redness on the skin where a cat has had contact
Symptoms of pet allergic reactions can develop in a matter of minutes or as much as a few hours from exposure. Immune reactions can also last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours depending on how long you were around allergens and what contact you had with a pet.
Allergy Medicine For Dogs
Other allergy medications for dogs include Chlortrimeton and Atarax , both of which are antihistamines.
Another popular way to treat dog allergies is to give supplements of EPA , which is an Omega-3 Fatty Acid and can work in synergy with an antihistamine to reduce allergic reaction symptoms in dogs.
Atopica for dogs is definitely well worth asking your vet about!
It takes on the most chronic of allergies!
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How Are Pet Allergies Treated
The best way to avoid pet allergies is to avoid animals that trigger allergic reactions. These animals may include cats, dogs and small mammals, like rabbits.
If avoiding animals is not possible, you can take steps to prevent or reduce the severity of your symptoms by:
- Avoiding hugging, petting or kissing animals
- Having someone with no pet allergies brush the pet outdoors frequently
- Using a microfilter vacuum bag and HEPA air filters to remove as many pet allergens as possible from the home
- Removing rugs and carpets that can trap pet allergens
- Keeping pets out of your bedroom and off upholstered furniture
Your doctor may recommend certain medications, like nasal steroids and antihistamines, to help control pet allergy symptoms and lessen your allergic reaction.
In severe cases, it may be necessary to rehome an animal.
How Pet Allergies Affect Health
People suffering from pet allergies will have symptoms consistent with swollen nasal passages. This includes a runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, itchy or watery eyes, and shortness of breath. Coming into physical contact with pet dander can cause contact dermatitis, or a skin rash, hives or triggers a persons asthma.
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Symptoms Of Allergies In Dogs
The symptoms of allergies in dogs may vary depending on the cause. A dog that goes into anaphylactic shock, for instance, will have a drop in blood pressure followed by shock, which is very different from a skin condition.
In general, however, the following symptoms could be a sign of an allergic reaction.
- Swelling of the face, ears, lips, eyelids, or earflaps
- Red, inflamed skin
Our Pets Are Our Best Friends But Are They Causing You To Feel Miserable Were Covering The Ways Your Pet Could Be The Source Of Your Allergies
Its a dreaded piece of news: youre allergic to cats and dogs. If youve ever been told you have pet allergies, youre most likely not actually allergic to your furry friend, but to the allergens, it carries around with it. In any case, there are ways to keep your pal on four legs around even if they make you feel miserable, some of the time.
Having allergic reactions is the result of having an over-sensitive immune system. If you notice yourself getting itchy and watery eyes around your pet, you are most likely having a reaction to harmless proteins found in an animals urine, saliva, or dander.
Often considered as the source for allergic reactions, pet hair is not an allergen. Pet hair, however, collects dander , urine, and saliva and carries other allergens like dust, mold, and pollen. This is why youll feel allergy symptoms when you enter someones home and there is pet hair on furniture. Its the allergens carried by the pet hair which is affecting you, not the actual animal hair.
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How Are Allergies In Dogs Treated
In order to treat your dogs allergies, your vet will first need to find and treat the cause. Once your dog is no longer exposed to their allergen, their symptoms should stop. That said, if the cause cant be identified or avoided, your vet may turn to a number of treatments. A few of the most common include over-the-counter medications, steroids, supplements, and allergy serums.
How Are Pet Allergies Diagnosed
Doctors diagnose pet allergies with a simple skin or blood test. In some cases, doctors use self-reported evidence as proof of pet allergies. For example, your doctor may diagnose pet allergies if you get hives after being around a certain type of animal.
During skin testing, a doctor:
Your skin reacts only to the specific allergens that affect your body. Skin reactions to allergens usually occur within 15 minutes of exposure.
Your doctor may recommend a blood test if you are taking certain medications or if a skin prick test would be unsafe.
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What Are Some Signs And Symptoms Of Allergies And Dogs
The most common signs and symptoms of dog allergies are just itchiness in general. Itchy feet, bellies, armpits, and booties. They can also have some GI symptoms, like vomiting and diarrhea. We also see upper respiratory symptoms, like itchy and watery eyes, mucoid drainage, sneezing, and sometimes coughing. If they have an insect bite, they might get swelling of the face, the muzzle, and the site that is bitten, like swelling of the feet around the skin.
What Is An Allergy
An allergy is a state of over-reactivity or hypersensitivity of the immune system to a particular substance called an allergen. Most allergens are proteins from plants, insects, animals, or foods.
“With allergies, the immune response can actually be harmful to the body.”
Exposure to the allergen, usually on multiple occasions spanning months to years, sensitizes the immune system, and a subsequent exposure to the same or related allergen causes an over-reaction. Normally the immune system protects the dog against infection and disease, but with allergies, the immune response can actually be harmful to the body. Allergies may be thought of as an unnecessary normal immune response to a benign foreign substance.
The immune reactions involved in allergies are quite complex. Most reactions involve allergen protein molecules combining with antibodies in the blood, then attaching to a type of cell called a mast cell. Mast cells are found in many tissues throughout the body. When the antigen and antibody react with mast cells, the mast cells release potent chemicals, such as histamines, that cause local inflammation such as redness, swelling, and itching. This inflammation causes the various signs associated with an allergic reaction.
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Can You Build Up An Immunity To Dog Allergies
With allergy shots, you can safely build up immunity to dog allergies. However, simply having dogs and dander around will not improve immunity over time. Being miserable is not a solution to hopefully improve immunity. Over time, you may find yourself getting sick often and harm your health. However, working with an allergist, they can help you to improve your immunity over time with allergy shots.
What Can I Give My Dog For Seasonal Allergies
Dogs can take over-the-counter medications like Zyrtec and Benadryl. Your pup may also benefit from an allergy supplement that can help treat and soothe their itchy skin. If youre looking for a more natural solution, coconut oil can sometimes be applied topically to a dogs hot spots. As with any treatment, its best to always check with your vet to determine what might work best for your pup.
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Dog Allergy Management And Treatment
Avoidance is the best way to manage a dog allergy. If you have a dog and are allergic to dogs, consider removing the dog from the home.
If you have a dog but dont want to find it a new home, or if your family wants a dog even though someone in the household is allergic, here are some strategies that may help keep symptoms at bay:
- Keep the dog out of your bedroom and restrict it to only a few rooms. Be advised that keeping the dog in only one room will not limit the allergens to that room.
- Dont pet, hug or kiss the dog if you do, wash your hands with soap and water.
- High-efficiency particulate air cleaners run continuously in a bedroom or living room can reduce allergen levels over time.
- Regular use of a high-efficiency vacuum cleaner or a central vacuum can reduce allergen levels.
- Giving your dog a bath at least once a week can reduce airborne dog allergen.
Treatments for dog allergy vary, depending on the symptoms.
Your allergist can help determine what treatment would be best to treat your dog allergy. Nasal symptoms are often treated with steroid nasal sprays, oral antihistamines or other oral medications. Eye symptoms are often treated with antihistamine eyedrops. Respiratory or asthma symptoms can be treated with inhaled corticosteroids or bronchodilators to either prevent or relieve respiratory symptoms.
Allergy shots are an effective treatment of allergies by building tolerance over time through gradually injecting increasing doses of an allergen.
Why Did My Dog Develop Atopy
Genetics, environmental exposures, and certain breeds are more predisposed. Dogs that live in cities are more likely to develop atopy. Dogs that are exposed to smoke frequently are also at higher risk for allergies.
Breeds, including West Highland White Terriers, Boxers, Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Shiba Inu, Pit Bulls, Rhodesian ridgeback, Bull Terrier, Shar Pei, Vizsla, Cairn Terrier, French Bulldog, Chows, Cocker Spaniel, Irish Setter, and Shih Tzus are more likely to develop allergies. However, any breed or mix-breed can be affected.
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Your Dog Has Red Eyes
Its less common for dog allergies to manifest in their eyes, but it is possible.
When certain parts of the eye become red and inflamed, especially if both eyes are affected, an allergy may be at play. The term for this condition is allergic conjunctivitis.
The redness may be accompanied by squinting or pawing at the face.
Pet Allergies: Symptoms And Prevention
Did you know that in the United States alone, as many as three in ten people have allergic reactions to cats and dogs? Pet allergies can cause a range of symptoms from mild sneezing and a runny nose to more severe reactions like rashes and difficulty breathing.
Understanding what causes dog and cat allergies can better help you understand how to prevent and manage them better. Aside from removing pets completely from your home, there are many strategies one can take to reduce exposure to pet dander and better prevent allergic reactions.
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Environmental & Seasonal Allergies In Dogs
Dogs with environmental allergies are affected by inhaled allergens in the home and outdoors. This includes dust, dust mites, pollens from trees, grasses, weeds, molds, and more. The list of potential allergens is very long, and may vary depending on which plants are found in your climate.
Usually, symptoms occur due to inhaling these allergens, but direct skin contact with allergens can also cause symptoms. Just like environmental allergies in humans, symptoms tend to be seasonal. But symptoms may worsen and become year-round over time.
Commonly environmental or seasonal allergies are inherited, in which case its known as atopy.
When To See A Vet
If your dog has an allergic reaction, you need to take them to the vet. Your veterinarian is the only person who can diagnose your dog and get them the help they need. Its always best to check in with your vet so they can help your canine companion feel their best.
A vet will be able to identify the underlying cause of your pets symptoms. Seasonal allergies may be to blame, but general dog allergies can also be caused by food, fleas, and more.
Always see your veterinarian if youre concerned about your dogs health.
If you notice that your pup is extra itchy or has dry skin or open wounds, take them to the vet as soon as possible.
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What Are The Common Allergy
A very large number of substances can act as allergens. Most are proteins of insect, plant, or animal origin, but small chemical molecules can also cause allergy. Examples of common allergens are pollens, mold spores, dust mites, shed skin cells , insect proteins such as flea saliva, and some medications.
Pet Allergies: Symptoms Causes And What To Do
You love your pet like a member of the family, but what happens when your pet triggers your allergy symptoms? You want to keep living with your pet, but not if that means an itchy, runny nose, congestion, coughing and sneezing all the time. What do you do?
The good news is that its possible to get some relief from your pet allergy without giving up your beloved dog or cat. Its important to understand the causes and symptoms of pet allergies so you can work with an experienced allergist to develop a customized treatment plan.
If you believe you have a pet allergy, this is the article for you. In it, well go over the causes of pet allergies, as well as whether these can just appear one day out of the blue. Well also talk about symptoms and ways you can manage your pet allergies with the help of an allergist.
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