Mange

Question
I have a female 5 month old boxer who has been diagnosed with Demodectic Mange.  Her Vet gave us Ivomec to treat it with. I hesitate to use this as she has had a bad reaction to medicines before (the intranasal kennel cough vaccine gave her symptoms of kennel cough and ear drops for yeast infection gave her a bad rash).  I'd like to know if this medicine is safe (my Vet feels it is but I'd like a second opinion). He has her on 0.5ml once a day and she's a little girl, only 23 lbs.

Answer
Ivomec is a common treatment for demodectic mange; it's not without its side-effects (as all medications have), but it's certainly far safer than the dip that many vets prescribe.  If she's only got a few spots, though, even Ivomec might be a bit of overkill; Goodwinol ointment is sometimes prescribed, but many times localized mange will self-resolve (and ideally, you'd want to know if that's the case so that you have some idea if the dog's immune system is functioning properly).  Here's are a couple of articles on demodex and on natural treatments/immune support to help a dog overcome it:

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/demodectic_mange.html
http://www.akitarescue.com/treating%20demodectic.htm

Good luck!!