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Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Holly has dry skin on belly
| We just noticed today that Holly on her belly her skin is very dry, like almost flaking, other then this her coat is very soft and silky and don't see any other sign of flaking anywhere else. Any suggestions of what might be good to treat this? Thanks, Linda |
| Linda Sapphire |
| Linda -- topical stuff like creams won't really work, since Holly will just lick it off and it's just addressing the symptom of something. I wonder about some kind of food supplement, like something with fish oil or even oily fish like salmon. You might want to check with Dr. Dodd's diet to see if she addresses this. |
| Brenda VA |
| I made a similar post about Bella having flaky skin now... not sure what is causing this but it sure would be nice to be able to address it. I wondered about a medicated shampoo, like Nizoral which I have used and it works wonderfully. Just not sure what the possible side effects for Bella would be. |
| Jason Black Myrtle Beach SC |
| Linda, What dose of prednisone is Holly on now? It will cause changes in the moisture of the skin. You can figure out how dehydrated her skin is by taking the nape of her neck and holding it up. Let go and see how long it takes to return to normal. At one point, Chance's neck stayed like that for at least 10 sec. It was like a piece of wet cardboard. Another thought is perhaps she had a fever at one point. This can sometimes cause the skin to flush and then later flake. In any case, good to check with the vet so they can take a sample. You would be looking for something like a staph infection or fungal infection. Make sure she gets plenty of water to drink, even if she is peeing a lot. I have always given Chance and Cassie fish BODY oil capsules and vit e each day for their skin. Or alternatively, canned salmon or sardines. This will help with the skin. Quercitin is a relative of vitamin c that is excellent for skin and allergies. It is very safe in low doses and may ease any itching. If you look at supplements in the health food store, you can find vit c complexes that will list bioflavinoids (like quercitin) in a buffered base that is easy on the stomach. I give one to Chance each day. Health food stores, esp. those with someone trained on staff, are a good source of advice for supplements for dogs. Dose according to weight of a child. patrice |
| Patrice NYS |
| Linda, Here is the one that I get from vitacost. I do not benefit from this mention of this product. http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-Advan-C-with-Quercetin-and-Citrus-Bioflavonoids-1000-mg-100-Vegetarian-Tablets |
| Patrice NYS |
| Patrice, Holly is only on 3mg of prednisone a day now, we have been reducing 1 mg each month. Currently she gets 2 1/2 mg in the morning and 1/2mg in the evening. I am wondering if the sucralafate is causing this, because she was started on this only about 3 months ago after her little ordeal of vomiting for 4 days and her numbers going way out of wack, kind of like a setback she actually had. I will check the nape of her neck later. One thing she always does is drink lots of water all the time, I fill her bowl twice a day and she pees alot also. I will also check into the vit e & fish oil Thanks, Linda |
| Linda Sapphire |
| Linda, If I remember, Holly is pretty small, so it's possible she is still bothered by the dose of prednisone. Your vet would be able to evaluate this. Sucralfate works by coating the esophagus and stomach to protect it from stomach acid and thus reduces the chances of an ulcer developing. It's also possible that it can interfere with absorption of drugs, vitamins and minerals etc. It's possible that it is preventing her from absorbing some nutrients that help the skin stay healthy. Make sure that sucralfate is given with at least 2 hours on either side of any meals or medications. We gave it early in the morning, 2 hours after the Denamarin for liver protection and then waited 2 or more hours before dosing the cyclosporine. Waited 1-2 hours to dose with pepcid and then another hour before the meal with prednisone. Patrice |
| Patrice NYS |
| Patrice, Well Holly used to be small at about 12lbs, but since last year she is holding steady at 15lbs. The sucralfate is given to her at 6am, and then my husband feeds her just a tiny bit of dry kibble right after that. Her next round of pills is not given until around 9am, which is the prednisone and Imuran, and pepcid. But we have always given the prednisone and Imuran at the same time and never a problem. Yes, the main reason we had started her on the sucralfate, because like I said about 3 months ago, she was vomiting for like 4 days and saw just a tiny bit of blood in stool, and her numbers went off the charts, retic's soared and her PCV dropped, wbc went up, so we thought maybe a bleeding ulcer, but ended up just being a touch of flu or at least that is all the internist and vet could explain, as she had not eaten anything strange. But just thought maybe it was that, the sucralfate, as that is about when the dry flakey skin started on her belly. She has a blood draw scheduled for May 12th and I can check with vet at that time, but he is old school and don't know if he will really have any answers. The only other thing we have done differently in the last 3 months is to switch her dog food. SHe is on Natural Balance chicken & rice low calorie and gets one scoop of fish canned dog food (Natural Balance) in her dry kibble only at night. Also she gets a teaspoon of Milk Thistle split twice a day in her kibble, but has been on that for a long time. So really only the sucralfate and dog food switch since the dry skin. Thanks, Linda |
| Linda Sapphire |
This thread was discussed between 22/04/2008 and 03/05/2008
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