March 01, 2001
Groomers are in a unique position to assist the public in recognition of
proper skin care of animals. Because they are frequently
asked their opinion about general care of the coat and skin, as well as
specific questions about skin disease (dermatopathy),
groomers can help assure that pets get proper attention and relief from
most common skin problems.
By being able to recognize
signs of different dermatopathies, and by referring owners to veterinarians
for diagnosis and treatment, groomers can be an
important link for healthier pets and happy owners. The most important
tenets of dermatology, the study of skin disease, are the
typical signs of disease, the distribution or location of lesions and the
incidence of various types of skin problems. Since itchiness
is the primary reason dogs are taken to see a veterinarian, I would like to
focus on the various common causes of itchiness in
canines.
FLEAS
Fleas will always be with us! Groomers are excellent at recognizing fleas,
flea droppings (flea feces) and flea eggs. We should
never miss fleas as a possible component of itchy skin disease. But an
even more troublesome skin problem associated with
fleas is flea allergy dermatitis or FAD.
FAD is an extremely itchy
condition caused by an allergy to proteins in fleas' saliva.
Fleas inject these proteins into the skin of animals to reduce blood
clotting so they can ingest a bigger blood meal. These bites
are like tiny hypodermic injections of foreign proteins and animals may
become afflicted with a severe hypersensitivity reaction to
them.
It's like the difference between a bee sting and being allergic to a
bee sting! The itchiness compares to the discomfort one
feels when having an allergic reaction to poison oak or ivy.
Interestingly, many animals with FAD do not have many, if any, fleas
visible on them! This is simply due to the nature of allergies.
It doesn't take much to get a bad reaction going. The most
important thing to recognize in FAD is the distribution of lesions, that
is, the area of skin usually affected. Dogs and cats with
FAD are most itchy and usually have significant hair loss over the top of
their hindquarters, the rump region. If an animal has a
triangular area of hairloss extending forward from the base of the tail,
flea allergy is usually involved. Cats will get tiny bumps on
the skin over the rump and also around the neck. Any animal with an itchy
skin problem should be receiving meticulous flea
care.
Flea control is mandatory in these pets! We don't want to add to
any potential underlying allergy or other skin problem.
Several effective topical medications are now on the market to control
fleas.
INHALANT ALLERGY
Inhalant allergy is called atopy or atopic dermatitis in veterinary
medicine. These allergies are commonly seasonal in nature,
occurring at a given time of year, year after year. It is not uncommon for
them to become year round problems as the animal
matures.
Typically, the young animal is first affected at about one to
three years of age and gets worse each successive year until
signs start becoming a little more mild later in life. The dogs will often
scratch at their ears or shake their heads as well as chew
or lick their paws. One can easily see inflamed ear flaps and redness of
the bottom of the paw or between the toes. Most ear
infections are actually secondary to an allergic reaction. If there is a
musty smell to the ear canal and a brown to black creamy or
waxy discharge, a yeast infection may exist.
A veterinarian can take a
swab of the material and determine the nature of the
problem. A trip to the veterinarian is always indicated, in any case,
because other common diseases may affect the same areas.
The paws and ears are also target organs for itchy sensation in food
allergy (discussed next). Demodectic mange may also
cause an inflammation between the toes of any age animal.
Inhalant allergies are complex and sometimes frustrating diseases to treat.
A lot of patience is required! Unfortunately, they are
very common, especially among purebred animals. All itchy dogs with
inflamed ears or paws need an immediate trip to the vet!
FOOD ALLERGY
One of the most common misconceptions I hear as a veterinarian is people
blaming an itchy skin condition on the food a pet is
fed. Food allergies do exist, but they cause only about five percent of
all allergic skin disease.
Just as in people, the incidence of
inhalant allergy (hay fever) is far higher than food allergy. Just
think, how many people do you know with hay fever? Probably
quite a few. Now, how many people do you know who have a confirmed food
allergy? The number is probably a lot smaller.
There is no good test for food allergy. If you think an animal has a
potential food allergy, a veterinarian can recommend a select
protein diet. This should be something the animal has never been fed
before. At our clinic we usually feed a fish and potato diet
for two months without any other supplements, chew toys, milkbones, treats
or the like.
There is no cure for allergies. They can only be managed. An owner must
work very closely with his or her veterinarian to
work out a treatment regimen specifically tailored to that pet's individual
needs.
Groomers can be a great help to veterinarians
by letting people know what they observe in the process of grooming and by
encouraging them to get the problem diagnosed as
quickly as possible by referring them to the pet's veterinarian.
SKIN INFECTION
Skin infection, or pyoderma, is another very common cause of itchiness in
dogs. They can have a different appearance in
different dogs depending on the location and duration of the problem.
The easiest ones to recognize are the little pimples, or
pustules. They are raised, reddened lesions with a white to yellow cap. People usually refer
to them as whiteheads. Sometimes one can see a
hairshaft coming out of the center of the pustule. This is because the
typical pyoderma consists of infected hair follicles. It is not
uncommon to see skin infections develop secondary to allergies.
For some reason, dogs are rather prone to getting skin
infections, especially in areas already inflamed due to allergies. Despite
being very itchy, proper treatment for pyoderma is a
fairly long course of antibiotics. Cortisone is not going to relieve this
itchiness! Veterinarians are familiar with the different looks
of skin infection and can prescribe the proper drug to eliminate this
troublesome, but completely reversible, skin disease.
OTHER SKIN PROBLEMS
Groomers will often see other, less common, skin disease in pets. Fungal
infections (ringworm), mites, hormonal imbalances,
immune disorders and tumors can all cause skin disease that will routinely
be seen by groomers. Most of these problems can be
diagnosed with simple tests (such as skin scrapings or fungal cultures) or
biopsy done by the animal's regular veterinarian.
After referral of an interesting case, it will help one's recognition skills to
call the vet to find out what the final diagnosis was. Skin
disease can be tricky, we never jump to any conclusions until a thorough
examination is performed and any necessary tests are
done!
St. Francis Pet Clinic
Ron Faoro, DVM
138 W. Ortega
Santa Barbara, Ca 93101
805-963-0577
info@sainttfrancispetclinic.com
http://www.saintfrancispetclinic.com
