Symptoms And Ways To Stop Flea Dermatitis In Dogs

 

Flea allergy, commonly referred to as flea dermatitis, is the most frequently encountered type of allergy diagnosed in dogs and is caused by the bite of a flea. It is the major cause of scratching in dogs, and it merely takes the bite of one flea to bring on an allergy on a pet's skin. Flea dermatitis might leave your pet itching and scratching for anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days and might take as long as 3 to 7 days to surface after the first bite from a flea.

What Causes Flea Dermatitis?

Fleas are only seen on an animal while they feed. Just like the mosquito, a flea will bite a canine and suck up blood for nourishment. While the flea does this, they inject a trace measure of saliva into the animal's skin that might have around 15 individual allergy inducing substances. If your pet is allergic to one of the allergens that were injected by the flea, it will incite an allergic response that results in the dog scratching. About one half of all canines will have to endure flea dermatitis, and though it's more frequently seen in mature canines, pups could also become afflicted with flea dermatitis.

Diagnosing Flea Allergies and Recognizing Its Symptoms

Dog owners typically do not realize that their pet has fleas because of their relatively minute size and because of how hard fleas can be to control. Making the task of diagnosing flea dermatitis a lot more difficult is the fact that it merely takes one solitary flea to bring on a flea allergy and symptoms might not be evident for close to a week later than when the flea bite happened. It doesn't take an infestation to bring on dermatitis. Warning signs of allergies in dogs ordinarily include uncontrollable itching and scratching or biting of the skin and fur, inflammation of the skin, roseolas, and skin reddening. As a result of the frequent itching, hair loss across your pet's entire body, especially in the area commencing in the center of the back to the stem of their tail and in the back legs region, may also be a very sound indicator of flea dermatitis in dogs. The vet can also find flea allergies in dogs utilizing innovative blood and skin screens to locate specific allergy inducing substances and to eliminate other conditions such as fungal, yeast and bacterial infections.

Flea Treatment Should Begin With a Solid Flea Extermination Plan

The initial step of a proposed type of flea treatment will involve exterminating of fleas on your dog as well as in your dog's local surroundings. Even if you've got an immaculate flea eradication program installed, it's not out of the ordinary for canine's to still encounter an occasional bite from a flea. Pets that are often outdoors will be a more arduous challenge.

Desensitization and Conventional Medicines as Flea Allergy Treatments

A vet may often try the use of desensitization as a technique of flea dermatitis treatment. It necessitates giving the animal a shot with limited amounts of flea antigen over an extended amount of time, perhaps for the remainder of the dog's lifetime. This type of treatment is normally a success in approximately 50% of the patients, and could get rather expensive in the end. Antihistamines and conventional drugs, like steroids, are also generally suggested by vets to address dermatitis. These drugs can ordinarily grant relief for flea allergies; however, it's been shown that there are harmful side effects attached to taking steroids. Ultimately, this variety of treatment could be more harmful than beneficial.

Holistic Relief for Flea Dermatitis

Because of the side effects connected to using steroids, a growing number of dog owners are now trying holistic treatments when trying to combat flea allergies. There are a number of natural ingredients found in these herbal formulas that are both effective and safe. German Chamomile has been utilized to clean and soothe the skin for many centuries. Some other herbs have also been proven to aid in enhancing total skin health and provide soothing and restoration benefits to the skin, and include Cleavers, Witchhazel and Marigold.