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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Allergy testing?
| We took Ethel in to her internal med specialist today for a checkup, and she has a skin yeast infection again. She is also doing a lot of itching. We still have snow on the ground, but she's already showing allergy symptoms. The vet recommended taking her to Cornell for aalergy testing. Does anyone out there have experience or knowledge about allergy testing for IMHA dogs? Is it a good idea? Did it help? We don't really want to put her (or us) through the stress of travel. Just when things were looking better... |
| Brian Vermont |
| Brian, We had Chance tested when he was around 2 for serious allergies. We put him on a regimen of allergy shots which significantly improved him for many years. We cannot do that now because of his AIHA history. There is a board certified vet spec for dermatology near Buffalo and may not cost you as much. If this were me, I would not do this right now. You aren't going to be able to do much in treatment now except treat the symptoms. Clean. That is what the house needs to be. Fur, keep it clean, esp after walking outside. Use ac if you have it. Look at diet, eliminate grains. Try eliminating certain trigger foods like chicken, eggs, beef and see if this improves the situation. I can recommend these things to keep it under control: Malaseb shampoo. Follow instructions carefully and use frequently. This will resolve the skin issues immediately. We still use this to this day with Chance about every 10 days. OTC benadryl. Start with a half or 1/4 tab about every 3-6 hours to see if this stops some of the symptoms. Too much will make Ethel groggy. Make sure you run all this by your vet. These are recommendations I am passing on to you from my consultations with a board certified vet dermatologist. my best patrice |
| Patrice NYS |
| Thank you so much, Patrice. We already have Malaseb, as we used that during her IMHA crisis to deal with the massive skin yeast infection she had. Currently we're looking to get a scrip filled for a topical anti-yeast for her ears, will probably get that taken care of through one of the online pharmacies. We already have her on a diet with no wheat and no corn, though we may need to consider a new food to eliminate the brown rice. We definitely think it is something environmental, as her allergies developed nearly instantly after moving to Vermont from Connecticut. We also have her on two different EFA supplements morning and evening with her meals. We'll definitely take your advice on cleanliness and double our efforts there. We have safely given her benadryl before, so that's a plus, at least. Thanks again! |
| Brian Vermont |
This thread was discussed on 18/03/2009
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