allergic reaction

Question
QUESTION: I have a bully pit and she is 14 weeks old and she weights about 22-25 pounds. She is up to date on her shots. She is broke out with hive's around her ears and Big lumps/knots under her neck and bumps all over u her body. The bumps make the hair stick up and there isn't anything coming out of them. I have been unable to get to the vet and I really need help. I have given her benadryl for the first two days and that wasn't working, so I started giving her predisone for the last 2 days. Some of the bumps have went away but have reappeared somewhere else. I have quit giving her everything except dog food (even baths). Also she is an inside dog. I know she can't keep taking predisone. What else can I do ???

ANSWER: Hi there,
It does sound like an allergic reaction. If the bumps are quite red and haven't gone away with the prednisone, I would use a medicated shampoo with chlorhexidine (like Malaseb or Pyohex), allowing 5 minutes contact time and do this every second day. Quite possibly she has a secondary infection. Is she itchy?
Hope that helps.
Eloise

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QUESTION: Yes, she is very,very itchy. What do you mean by a secondary infection. Is it like a allergic reaction and another kind of infection. She is slowly preceding to get worse. She has bumps around her private parts and she keeps licking herself down there.should I quit giving her the medicine? I have claritin and benadryl and the prednisone which one would be best, if I should keep giving it to her??

ANSWER: If the medications are not working, it is quite likely that the scratching and inflammation in her skin has led to a secondary bacterial infection, which then means the scratching won't resolve without antibiotics. In some cases topical antibiotic shampoo that contains chlorhexidine helps, but in some cases there is a fungal component.
What does she sleep on usually? I would get her to the vet for treatment and wash her bedding on a hot washing cycle weekly.
Eloise

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QUESTION: She sleeps on our couch and she has a cage in our house with blankets inside of it. I have quit the meds. Cause I was unsure of which medicine to give her. At first the steroids were working but it seems to have quit working. I have ordered the pyohex shampoo and I'm going to try to get her to the vet's office this weekend.

Answer
Wash the blankets in her bed in a hot cycle in the washing machine, in case there are any flea eggs or dust mites in there. This will kill both of them. Hope she is better soon. I would suggest the vet visit to rule out other mites like demodex and scabies (these can be dependent on the area you live in).

Eloise