Canine Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia (AIHA & IMHA) - Need advice/Fleas

My beloved Shih Tzu had a hemolytic event in early July; he is doing well, thank goodness. For a couple of weeks, the website for AIHA was a lifeline for me. I have a question about flea treatment, (his illness was preceded by Frontline, 2 days before he passed red urine, but ingestion of onions one day prior---my vet thinks it was the onions as he recovered so rapidly, but I'm really afraid of Frontline now, but found a couple of fleas on him and don't know what to do, can anyone offer advice on how they treat fleas for an AIHA dog? Thanks Ann

Ann CT

Ann, that is a super hard question. Hopefully someone with more experience than me will give you some insight. My dog was diagnosed after getting her vaccinations and being on sulfa meds, but during that time she also had a dose of frontline for flea and ticks. Since she became sick in June of this year, I have given her one does of frontline because the ticks were so bad and she did not have any reaction to it. I got approval by both of my vets, but I know many on here do not use it.

Wendi Ohio

Ann, do a search on homeopathic flea control products. Personally I use (people) Avon Skin-so-soft spray and I have been giving my pets a teaspoon full of apple cider vingear per day in food, (used all year round). Frontline is a product that has an unregulated toxic pesticide called fipronil as the primary ingredient and a result can cause catastrophic adverse reactions. The EPA has warned the public of the definite problems of spot-on flea control products. http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/health/flea-tick-control.html I don't think vets should be recommending these products at this juncture. However, the pharmaceutical industry is still very powerful and they provide vets a lot of incentives to use them. Until the EPA stands up and makes a powerful statement you will continue to see them hawked. You have to be your own educator in this subject. Like your situation, my pet showed a reaction 2 days after the Frontline application. He was not as lucky as your pet. It took four blood transfusions, three years of therapeutic medical treatment and over $10,000 in vet bills (that I am still paying on) for him to recover. I've learned a lot since that time and it has been very disappointing to learn that our regulatory agencies are not properly holding product manufactures responsibile for dangerous products. Best of luck. Jan

Jan PA

Jan, does the skin so soft work against fleas, and do you rub it in or just spray it on? I am going to buy some asap!!.... and what does the apple cider vineger do? thank you for the new info.. carol

carol

I gently rub the Skin So Soft into the fur... a few squirts a day, usually before going outside. ACV is suposed to be a good tonic for varied ailments. It is supposed to help change the ph in the dog's system when given continuously. http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/acvfordogs.html Please spread the word...commercial flea control products are very DANGEROUS. You are taking a big risk in using. Ya couldn't pay me a million bucks!! I have learned the truth. Jan

Jan PA

Do you feel like the skin so soft helps with fleas?

carol

bump for Terry

Wendi Ohio

With great trepidation, I followed my vet's advice. He said that he thought Capstar and the over the counter topical flea medicine (it has the word spot in it) were more dangerous than Frontline. Toby had had a flea bath, Capstar, and Frontline prior to developing hemolysis in July, but he had also ingested onions, so it's been difficult to sort. In the last week, Toby was miserably infested, yet once more, with fleas, and scratching himself raw. So, I applied Frontline a week ago. No red urine, still dark pink gums. My fingers are crossed; he has a checkup tomorrow. All fleas are gone, but poor guy, he's still scratching like crazy. I have shaved around his hot spots, and am applying Bactroban. I plan to ask whether any of the antihistamines, such as benadryl, claritin, or zyrtec are safe for dogs. If he could just stop feeling itchy he would leave his skin alone and let it heal.

Ann CT

Ann, my vet okayed giving my non AIHA dog benedryl so ask your vet. he also gets bad hot spots and my vet prescribed a powder that I think had some kind of prednizone built into it, it helped dry up the hot spot and stop the itching. here is a good article on skin allergies http://us.mc810.mail.yahoo.com/mc/welcome?.partner=sbc&.gx=0&.tm=1253209694&.rand=fbc6eqdgi8p3e#_pg=showMessage&sMid=2&fid=%2540B%2540Bulk&filterBy=&.rand=1921386025&midIndex=2&mid=1_159_27082_AFbHjkQAAND3SqnLBwL30nED2K8&m=1_2108_27204_AFTHjkQAALaqSrE6Egx7tE03us8,1_1606_27180_AFTHjkQAAFBpSrD0GQmVh3DBAtI,1_159_27082_AFbHjkQAAND3SqnLBwL30nED2K8,&sort=date&order=down&startMid=0&pSize=25&hash=3f6fe9f9b77bb8e0bda745254e2d2ef9&.jsrand=7485085

Laurie CA

Laurie - I wasn't able to open the link. I'm interested in reading the information. Jan - You might want to test the Skin So Soft on a small area of your dog's fur. Skin So Soft is oily - I dilute it with water. Avon as different formulas of Skin So Soft - the one that's supposed to work for fleas is the orignal formula. I've bathed my dogs with regular Dawn dishwashing liquid when I've noticed a few fleas on them. Dawn is supposed to be great for fleas. I've also diluted vinegar with water and used it as a final rinse after bathing. But make sure there are no open sores on the dogs's skin, because the vinegar will burn. Sue

Sue PA

Oop, here is the correct link shttp://www.b-naturals.com/newsletter/allergies-itching-eye-staining-yeast-and-antibiotic-resistance/ Laurie

Laurie CA

Sue, I've been using Skin So Sft without diluting for a long time. The 'oil' evaporates and I don't find my dog's skin with an oily glaze. I don't 'bathe' them it it...I light spray in the am and pm. Ann I wish you the best with Frontline. I realize it is a dilemma to know how to 'cure' the flea problem. But I would never use it on my pets after learning what it is made from (toxic pesticide fipronil) and Choe's near fatal reaction and my $10,000 spent on vet fees to save him. Jan

Jan PA

I think the most important thing to share is that Toby has not hemolyzed after application of Frontline. All of us with vulnerable dogs have to worry about dealing with fleas---don't want to precipitate another event, but can't leave the dog to suffer with fleas. Well, Toby from the hemolytic standpoint is just fine. Fleas are gone, urine is clear, tongue is bright pink, but bless his heart, he is itching like crazy. The vet said either benadryl, or chlortrimaton were ok antihistamines for dogs. I tried topical mupricin (Bactroban) for his hot spots, but there are so many popping up that he needs systemic antibiotics. Hope this passes soon, as this dear little fellow has been through a lot in the last few months. But I'm definitely counting our blessings, in light of what others are facing. Courage to all! Toby and Ann

Ann CT

Ann: Just make sure you do sufficient research and read the pros and cons before continuing use of these commercial spot-on treatments. The EPA has just this spring after many years of hundreds of thousands of reported adverse reactions provided consumer warning and are in the process of deciding how to proceed with mandates for product manufacturers and that is pretty significant. Jan http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/health/flea-tick-control.html http://www.biospotvictims.org/articles.html http://www.apnm.org/publications/resources/fleachemfin.pdf

Jan Phila

This thread was discussed between 10/09/2009 and 18/09/2009

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