Severe Seasonal Allergies & Treatment

[denice]

I would not be trying other meds mixed with the pred. I would stick with the vet Rx till you have gotten over this initially stage and then visit with her again. I do think you could call and ask about backing down on the benadryl since she is getting the pred. The pred has a rather wide dose range and it needs a loading to be most effective hence starting with more and backing off. Also as others have suggested rinsing off her paws and frying them will help remove the pollens, molds from the grass, leaves ect that may be causing the problem

 

Seasonal allergies are just that, very seasonal - usually worse spring and fall. If she does not have a problem in winter then you can be rather sure it is not food related ( at least in the areas of the country with snow) It sill take about 3 months switching to a food with different proteins before you would see much difference if it is food related. Then she gets no treats ect that would have common proteins in them. That is why the duck and venison diets work because they have not been exposed to them in the past. With "odd" food mixtures readily available it is tougher to treat food allergies.

[juliepoudrier]

FWIW, pred short term may well be worth whatever risks you worry about. I had a bad reaction to doxycycline/sun exposure (hives, facial swelling, painful breathing) and was put on a short course of prednisone and it made a tremendous difference. Sometimes just breaking the whole allergic reaction cycle can bring a great deal of relief. Prednisone long-term is a whole 'nother story though.

 

J.

[GentleLake]

I would not be trying other meds mixed with the pred. I would stick with the vet Rx till you have gotten over this initially stage and then visit with her again.

 

You definitely shouldn't change up the meds without discussing it with your vets first. I do hope no one thought I was suggesting that. But I do think it's worth a phone call to the vet to ask if another of the allergy meds might be worth a try instead of Benadryl since there are more effective alternatives that don't have the sedating effects.

 

If she does not have a problem in winter then you can be rather sure it is not food related ( at least in the areas of the country with snow)

 

It's actually not dependent on snow, but rather temperatures that interrupt pollen production. Not meaning to pick nits, but just point out that, especially in western areas where there's so much less snow than in previous years, the cycle will still end even without snow as long as it gets cold enough.

 

And Julie's absolutely right that short term pred can be a life saver. My concern with severe allergies is that even though it's seasonal, the cumulative effect of using pred repeatedly could still have detrimental effects so it's in your best interest to find other ways to treat it over time (which, of course, Julie's also saying, I think. )

[moosikins]

Small update: We decided last night that because we hadn't seen her scratch much at all during the day (and her paws are looking less red) and she was so miserable that we would skip the Benydryl with Cal's dinner. She got 1/2 of a pred pill, but nothing else. I didn't see all of the comments regarding the kibble until this morning, but Cal ate a bowl of HSD kibble last night (with some chicken) and seems to be doing fine with it. No vomiting or upset tummy over night or today. I'm definitely leaning towards inhalant allergies from outside (the weather alerts have been identifying really high values of the pollen counts in the last few weeks). We're still going to switch her food once she's better so she has a healthier diet though (and I'll continue doing research about Blue Buffalo and deciding which brand is healthiest for her).

 

It's SUCH a difference in her behavior without the Benydryl. She was alert, happy (tail wagging, nose poking us, etc.) and she wanted to play last night! She spent a few hours playing on her own with her toys after she pulled them ALL out of the toy box and made a mess in the living room!

 

ETA: We called the vet to make sure it was okay to stop the Benydryl and they said that as long as she doesn't start tearing up her feet again, it's fine! The prednisone is the one that we shouldn't stop without completing the full course, especially because we've lowered her dosage from the originally instructed amount (because I didn't want her to be miserable holding her bladder all day).

[GentleLake]

Did you ask about an alternative to Benadryl? She could still be getting antihistamine relief with another med like Claratin that might not have the same sedating effects and may even be more effective.

[moosikins]

They said that if it seems like she's doing fine without it, we don't need an alternative right now but to call again if we want one (they're great about calling back quickly).

 

She also gets hydrocortisone lotion on her paws and that really soothes the itching too. So much so that she doesn't even try to lick the lotion off, she just completely forget about her paws and just enjoyed her toys.

 

It was so nice to see her personality again. She's been a furry lump on the couch for days now and it was so sad to see my happy dog behaving like that. I love having a messy living room again!!!

[RemsMom]

I'm glad Callie is feeling better. Did I read correctly that she received a steroid shot Saturday night? From my experience with steroid shots (on both human and canine) the shot gives some relief within a couple hours of receiving it and the patient continues to feel better over the next few days.

 

The Chlor-tab that Maralynn mentioned is "Chlorpheniramine Maleate" also called Chlor-Trimeton. I have never given it to my dogs but I find in humans it does not seem to make anyone drowsy. You may want to ask your vet about giving something like the Chlor-tabs during the day and Benadryl at night. That way Callie could get the benefit of round the clock antihistamines but possibly avoid feeling drowsy during the day. Also, I would ask the vet about only giving one or even a half of a Benadryl since Callie is only 43lbs.

 

As far as diet goes when my allergies are acting up my stomach gets really sensitive and foods that don't normally bother me can make me feel ill. When my GSD was having seasonal allergy issues a few years ago I decided to try changing his food and it seemed to make a huge difference. Three years ago antihistamines and steroids together just barely controlled his allergies, now his symptoms are much milder and I only need antihistamines.

[GentleLake]

I don't understand their reluctance to try another antihistamine. If an antihistamine can reduce the need for pred or even reduce the amount of pred that's necessary, it seems that would be a good thing. And even though hydrocortisone is much milder and as a topical would have less absorption through the skin, it's still a steroid.

 

I'm not going to keep harping about it, but if it were me I'd be asking some very pointed questions about the thought process here.

[moosikins]

I don't understand their reluctance to try another antihistamine. If an antihistamine can reduce the need for pred or even reduce the amount of pred that's necessary, it seems that would be a good thing. And even though hydrocortisone is much milder and as a topical would have less absorption through the skin, it's still a steroid.

 

I'm not going to keep harping about it, but if it were me I'd be asking some very pointed questions about the thought process here.

 

I will give them a call back...I am not well versed in these medications since I've never dealt with most of them before. The extent of my knowledge is popping a Zyrtec for a few months out of a year and the research I've done on dogs and these meds. You bring up good points and I'm going to make a list of all my questions for the vet when I call them back tonight after work...

 

This is so frustrating, I just want her to be healthy! I have a lot of anxiety surrounding her not being well right now and it's hard to focus on all of the details, so it's really, really helpful that you all are contributing so many experiences and opinions. Thank you!!

[RemsMom]

Antihistamines are tricky, you have to keep trying different ones until you find the one that works. I went through just about every antihistamine on the market, both prescription and over the counter looking for something I could take during the day. I had a pharmacist recommend the Chlor-tab and it has been the most effective. I would think it would be the same for dogs.

 

It took me about a year to get my GSDs allergies under control and it was so frustrating at times.

[Maralynn]

The effectiveness of antihistamines varies for different dogs. And honestly, they tend not to be highly effective in dogs in general.

 

I've tried about four different ones with Kenzi. They help a bit, but she still has break through scratching when the pollen count is high. I think she's about to go on pred for the third time this year. Each time it's been about 2.5 weeks. And then she's over the hump and the chlortabs or benedryl keep the symptoms to a min until the pollen gets bad again.

 

Sometimes takes a few days to see what antihistamine is really going to help. So it's really something to talk to your vet about and figure out a game plan. Find out what you can try, at what dose and how long you should try it to see if its helping. If you just get very basic generic answers then I'd want to make an appointment with a dermatologist. It will cost more up front but it can quite possibly save money and frustration in the long run.

[geonni banner]

My Sugarfoot has seasonal allergies. Because of the constant foot-licking, I suspected it was either contact or inhalant allergies. Two things I did seemed to take care of 98% of it. I washed her feet with plain, warm water when she came home from a run - taught her to stand with a foot in a bucket, and brushed her all over with a damp brush, or rubbed her down with a wet terrycloth rag. The other thing I did was irrigate her sinuses with saline nasal spray - Arm & Hammer Simply Saline - the same kind I use. It just tastes like salty water, so she doesn't mind it. She was a bit startled at first, but seemed to catch on that it made her feel better, so she quickly stopped pulling away at all. A good squirt up each nostril, and she's good to go.

 

If I got sloppy about the above, washing her feet and putting aloe vera gel on seemed to help with the itching, and if it's pure aloe vera, it doesn't matter if she licks it off.

 

We went from bald feet from chewing to fuzzy feet and no licking or scratching with this treatment. It's a little bit of trouble, but it works for us. No vet or drugs needed.