Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Dry Nose

Has anybody ever had a problem with their dog getting a very dry, chapped/cracked nose? Tessy is experiencing this now and I was just wondering if anyone has any opinions. Thanks, Johnny & Tessy

Johnny

Johnny, I think what is happening, the prednisone is messing with Tessie's metabolism, so she is hot. Kahlu can comfortably lie outside on the porch when it is very cold. He does not have the dry nose though. Bring it up with your vet next time. Best wishes, Brigitte

Brigitte BC Canada

Yes, Lucy has a very dry, chapped nose - we asked about it when we went to get her pcv test and they didn't seem very concerned...but didn't really have an explanation, either. We aren't scheduled to go for another week - if you find out anything, let me know. Lee and Lucy

Lee Florida

The dry nose was brought up at our last visit (Monday). The doctor said that since it wasn't cracked or bleeding I shouldn't worry about it. I just think it would be nice to do something before it got to that stage (if it even does get there). Too bad there wasn't something like chapstick for dogs that I could put on it. If anybody else has any suggestions they would be appreciated. If I find anything else out I will keep you all posted. Johnny & Tessy

Johnny

We started putting Derma Dream on Lucy's nose yesterday and it seems better already. It is a salve made by the Halo pets company. They offer many other natural products, as well. Hope this helps...Lee and Lucy

Lee Florida

Johnny, I am experienced with the dry nose. If you let it go long enough it will eventually crack and bleed which is what happened to my dog Cyclops. I was worried about using Chemicals because dogs immediately lick their nose. The BEST thing ever is Vitamin E gel caps. You just take a needle and poke a hole in the cap and squeeze the liquid vitamin E on the dog's nose and rub it in. I started doing it once per day, then once every other day and now I do it once a week and even then its not really necessary.. it is amazing how well it works and brought her nose back to normal. When I first started I put some on a Q-Tip and swiped just on the inside of her nose too. But now everything is so nice and moist and healthy that I have just been doing the outside as a preventative. I never knew about the healing properties of Vitamin E but turns out that a lot of people do the same thing for their elbows and things like that.

Michael Arkansas

Johnny, you might want to try Lanolin cream in it. You can find it, of all places, in the baby section of stores like Target under the brand name Lansinoh. I've never used it on one of the dogs (never needed to), but we've used it on everything from really chapped lips to horrible diaper rash and it works like a DREAM. Might be worth trying out. Good luck. Elizabeth

Elizabeth Baltimore

Johnny, My dog had a dry cracked nose from the prednisone all last summer. I tried numerous things and nothing seemed to work. The vet had no real suggestions and said that just happens. I was in the vet office waiting room one day and talking to a man that had a daschund that was getting chemo. He recommended liquid vitamin E oil from Walmart - it was like $3. Turned out it worked great for us. I put it on his nose several times a day and in a couple days saw marked improvment. Within a week it was totally gone. My dog suffered all last summer with it to the point that it would bleed in his water bowl and it was something that simple that helped him. If the lanolin cream doesn't work for you give it a try - I think it was in the Walmart vitamin section, called skin oil Vitamin E 12,000 i.u. in a 2 oz bottle. Chris & Alex

Chris Pa

Thanks for all the suggestions everybody. I'm going to give the Vitamin E a try. I'll let you all know how it turns out. Thanks again from Johnny & Tessy

Jonathan

Jonathon, High doses of prednisone creates a condition called Iatrogenic Cushing's Disease. One of the side effects is a redistribution and change in the way the body handles fat and fluids. In addition it will alter muscle, "wasting" it for body metabolism. I guess I would think of these dogs (and people too!) as being very ill. You might remember seeing someone who seems to have a "moon" face. This person is usually taking high doses of prednisone for some disease. This is redistribution of fat. So Tessy is probably drinking and peeing up a storm right now because her fluid balance is all screwed up. Her fat reservoirs are being shifted around and her metabolism is on high speed. I'll bet she is really dry because she 1. actually has a hard time keeping fluid in her tissues 2. there isn't enough fat getting to her skin to lubricate it. This situation has an extra side effect for dogs who are getting blood tests done every week. The skin becomes so dehydrated that you can actually pull the neck skin up and it will stay pulled up for a really long time! This makes getting a good blood draw really tricky. I remember when Chance was at his worst on 80mg of pred a day and it took us several tries to get the syringe into the vein. Totally because of dehydration from prednisone... Eventually all the hair fell off of his elbows and they were cracked and bleeding all the time. He lost a good portion of his hair as well. All that is now back to normal. Be patient, it will go away as the pred dosage is dropped. Also you can add fish oil capsules to Tessy's diet in an effort to rehydrate her skin a little. Try starting with one 1000mg 2 times a day and see what happens. my best patrice

Patrice NYS

Hello everyone, I just wanted to give a quick update on Tessy's dry nose. I took the advise of several people on here and tried the Vitamin E gel caps. I started a couple days ago an dhave been putting it on daily since. Today I am noticing a HUGE difference in her nose. I also think that she 'nose' it feels better on her cause now when I get the caps out she runs right to me! Vitamin E gel caps work wonders. Thanks for the advise. Johnny & Tessy

Jonathan Nova Scotia

This thread was discussed between 10/03/2009 and 14/03/2009

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