Limerick’s Dr Doolittle, Donal Ryan of CityVet on Lord Edward Street, knows a thing or two about caring for animals. He’s taken the time out to give some sterling advice on how to best take care of our furry family members.
Beware seasonal skin diseases
Itchy skin can be common in pets over the summer months. Some dog breeds, such as West Highland terriers, many terrier breeds, bulldogs, and especially French bulldogs, are quite prone to developing an inherited allergic skin disease called atopy – a little like hay fever in humans.
Dogs and cats can have year-round allergies to food, house dust mites, or anything else in their environment. Flea allergy dermatitis (FAD), an allergy to flea saliva, is also very common.
Atopy causes inflammation of the skin and repeated skin and ear infections. The face, ear flaps, abdomen, and underarms areas are often affected. Advanced cases see skin changes from self-inflicted damage, including red-brown saliva staining on light-coloured hair, hair loss, and black mottled discolouration of the skin.
Other breeds, such as greyhounds, almost never get atopy. Affected pets develop symptoms when they have an abnormal immune response to allergens, which include plant pollens, house dust mites, or mould spores.
Skin parasites, like fleas and ticks, are also common causes of skin irritation in pets and are more common during the summer. Other parasites – such as ear mites, lice, and mange – are highly contagious all year round.
Harvest mite infestation is a very painful skin condition caused by the larval stage of the red spider mite or chigger. Multiple outdoor larvae can swarm onto the skin of any animal and cause a very painful skin condition between July and October.
Most people will recognise the tiny red mite, sometimes called ‘blood suckers’, often found on concrete or window sills. Harvest mites are very small and often licked, scratched, or chewed of by the affected pets, making diagnosis difficult.
Skin disease caused by parasites can be more easily identified but in cases of FAD, evidence of fleas can be hard to find, for the same reason as instances of Harvest mites.
Laboratory tests, including bloods tests, skin scrapings, skin swabs, and skin biopsies very often prove helpful in diagnosis. A history of previous episodes of a similar skin disease may indicate atopy.
How does treatment work?
The aim of treatment is to reduce inflammation and itchiness and treat secondary skin infections. Treatments may include parasite treatments, anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, medicated shampoos, or a hypo-allergic diet.
In some cases, a long-term treatment may be necessary, and some pets may need life-long treatment.
