Snowie has become very itchy in the past two months, day and night. He has been chewing his front paws (the fur/skin behind the pads) and sometimes the back paws and has drawn blood. And his eyes and muzzle are itchy -- he often rubs his face against a rough wall or against our legs, or uses his paws to scratch his eyes. And he also seems itchy inside his mouth, perhaps his gums or the skin inside his muzzle, and often rubs his chin on the floor. He also chews around his tail and backs of his legs and becomes delirious with joy when we scratch his back. So after two months of removing certain foods that seemed to cause an allergic reaction (he is on raw food in any case), washing him (this worked although he does not enjoy being rinsed off with the hosepipe), and applying various lotions and potions, we eventually decided he should suffer no more with all this itchiness an took him to the vet. Her immediate comment as he walked in was: he looks in great condition! Which is part of the problem: because he looks so great you think he should not itch. She was so lovely and discussed all reasons for itchiness and options. She said itchy feet and face are usually connected to a food allergy. That food allergies do not respond well to cortisone treatment. That trying to figure out if it is a food allergy is very difficult and very slow going, and oh the difficulty of preventing him from picking up tasty discarded morsels on our walks! And allergy tests are not always detailed enough -- it might just report that your dog is allergic but not be specific enough to be useful. She said that allergies to airborne substances respond immediately to cortisone. He is also prone to seizures, having had six seizures in two years. He's not on medication because they're not frequent or severe enough. But I am very careful about avoiding things that might bring on a seizure such as antihistamine tablets. The last time I gave him two tablets for itching two months ago, he had a seizure the next day. The vet checked him for fleas and concluded he does not have any fleas (she used a flea comb to check for flea "dirt"). We don't use any anti-flea/tick products on him -- again avoiding any unnecessary chemicals given his sensitivity to chemicals and history of seizure. After a long discussion with the vet we have decided to take the cortisone route -- something I vowed I would never do to my dog given the side effects of cortisone, and hence why I have tried almost everything under the sun to reduce his itchiness. She has prescribed two Prednisone tablets in the morning and two again at night for five days, and then wean him off them over a few days. To keep a diary and see if there is any effect, and if his itchiness reduces then we can be almost certain he is not allergic to what he eats but rather to airborne substances... and then we can decide what route to take. The one advantage of cortisone is that it is anti-inflammatory and a good way to prevent seizures (a silver lining!). She gave him a cortisone tablet in her rooms yesterday just to make sure that he didn't react badly to it -- I was terrified he'd have an anaphylactic shock there and then! And lo and behold a few hours later we observed that he was scratching less (we think!). I am hoping the cortisone does work at least to give his skin a rest and a chance to heal over the next week, and to break the habit of chewing and scratching. Once the week of treatment is up, we will have to figure out what to do next. Has anyone been this route and have any advice or experience to share? I'd be most appreciative! Thank you.
Re: Cortisone tablets for itchy skin I used to be a veterinary nurse and the dogs I saw with itchy skin responded very well to cortisone tablets and would suggest that a short course could be very effective, it breaks the itch cycle. At least you will have tried that avenue, it may not be the answer. However, I am not sure if they go with dogs who have idiopathic epilepsy, I only say this as I had an epileptic dog and had to be aware of some medications.
Re: Cortisone tablets for itchy skin I know how miserable it is to watch a dog being so itchy and uncomfortable. One of mine is a very itchy dog. On this forum Lochan mentioned a drug called Apoquel for very itchy dogs where most other things have failed. I spoke to my vet about it and he put him on a high dose to start with which I have now got down to a fairly low daily dose. It really keeps the itchiness under control. I haven't noticed any side effects at all and I think I read somewhere that in trials there were no more side effects with Apoquel than there were with a placebo. Worth a try?
Re: Cortisone tablets for itchy skin My last Lab had spells of itchy skin, starting when he was about 2 years old and continuing all his life; like Snowie, mostly paws and legs (although he didn't have your additional problem of seizures). He had courses of steroids (prednisolone) on and off and they always helped and never caused any side effects - he lived an otherwise healthy life to 14 1/2 years of age. I found I was able to give him a really low dose to do the trick (if I recall correctly, something like 4mg a day for 3 days and then cutting to every other day for another few days) which would then set him up for another three or four months drug free. During the last 18 months of his life he was on Metacam for arthritis so couldn't also take steroids. Most of that time he was OK but I did go through a period of using Malaseb bath (prescribed by vet) when needed. I also cut out wheat which seemed to help. Hope you can find a way to keep your Lab comfortable.
Re: Cortisone tablets for itchy skin Another itchy dog here (airborne allergens) who is helped hugely with Prednil (cortisone) tablets (Obi has the ones that have an antihistamine in them too but there's a version without). These days if he's itchy we usually only have to give him one and he's good again. The vet has given us a stash to use as needed. We do use antihistamines too if he's only mildly itchy (Zyrtec, two a day). Washing him after exposure to major triggers (in his case, swimming in the lake) is helpful too. We wash him in Malaseb (available without prescription in Australia). Obi definitely chews his paws and has an itchy face and is definitely an airborne allergen, not food. I hope the 'roids bring Snowie a lot of relief As the vet probably explained they may make him drink and pee more for a couple of days and maybe seem a bit sleepy, but we find this doesn't last.
Re: Cortisone tablets for itchy skin I'm sorry I haven't got any practical advice but just wanted to drop by and sympathise about how upsetting it must have been to see him so itchy,I hope the pills relieve him ,itchiness is miserable x
Re: Cortisone tablets for itchy skin [quote author=Stacia link=topic=10236.msg150323#msg150323 date=1426672802] I used to be a veterinary nurse and the dogs I saw with itchy skin responded very well to cortisone tablets and would suggest that a short course could be very effective, it breaks the itch cycle. At least you will have tried that avenue, it may not be the answer. However, I am not sure if they go with dogs who have idiopathic epilepsy, I only say this as I had an epileptic dog and had to be aware of some medications. [/quote] Thanks Stacia. I did ask my vet about the risk of seizure and she said that the carrier substance in injections can cause seizures but not the cortisone itself. She felt confident that the tablet form would not cause seizures. I do hope not!! Snowie had his first full course today -- 2 tablets in the morning and 2 this evening and he has very obviously been scratching very little, so it clearly is working. I do hope it does break the itch cycle. He has been itchy all his life -- since he was three months old when he got stung by a bee (we assume this because of the allergic reaction and the vet (not our current vet) was sure she found the sting on him), but at the same visit she injected him with cortisone and phenergan for the sting and then gave him all his puppy vacs, plus kennel cough, plus rabies. I think that was way too much for an immature immune system to handle.
Re: Cortisone tablets for itchy skin [quote author=heidrun link=topic=10236.msg150326#msg150326 date=1426673099] I know how miserable it is to watch a dog being so itchy and uncomfortable. One of mine is a very itchy dog. On this forum Lochan mentioned a drug called Apoquel for very itchy dogs where most other things have failed. I spoke to my vet about it and he put him on a high dose to start with which I have now got down to a fairly low daily dose. It really keeps the itchiness under control. I haven't noticed any side effects at all and I think I read somewhere that in trials there were no more side effects with Apoquel than there were with a placebo. Worth a try? [/quote] It is -- so miserable! I feel too awful for him when he's so itchy! Thanks for reminding me of Apoquel. I forgot all about it. I've made a note of it and will ask my vet about it.
Re: Cortisone tablets for itchy skin [quote author=Joy link=topic=10236.msg150334#msg150334 date=1426674120] My last Lab had spells of itchy skin, starting when he was about 2 years old and continuing all his life; like Snowie, mostly paws and legs (although he didn't have your additional problem of seizures). He had courses of steroids (prednisolone) on and off and they always helped and never caused any side effects - he lived an otherwise healthy life to 14 1/2 years of age. I found I was able to give him a really low dose to do the trick (if I recall correctly, something like 4mg a day for 3 days and then cutting to every other day for another few days) which would then set him up for another three or four months drug free. During the last 18 months of his life he was on Metacam for arthritis so couldn't also take steroids. Most of that time he was OK but I did go through a period of using Malaseb bath (prescribed by vet) when needed. I also cut out wheat which seemed to help. Hope you can find a way to keep your Lab comfortable. [/quote] Thanks Joy. It is so reassuring to read posts like yours because I've always worried that cortisone will shorten his lifespan (and obviously all the health concerns that cause this). But I did hear a vet on the radio say he'd rather see a dog live a short itch-free life than a long one spent scratching, and it resonated with me. I do not intentionally feed him wheat or any other grains -- he's on a raw diet. But we do a lot of off-leash walks and he sniffs out all the discarded crusts of sandwiches and muffins (and of course bones from chicken take-aways), so short of a muzzle, I am not 100% successful at keeping him wheat-free. He once found a bright red cupcake wrapper that was clearly tasty enough to eat. A day later he pooed it out in the exact spot he'd consumed it -- very funny to witness!!
Re: Cortisone tablets for itchy skin [quote author=Oberon link=topic=10236.msg150346#msg150346 date=1426679575] Another itchy dog here (airborne allergens) who is helped hugely with Prednil (cortisone) tablets (Obi has the ones that have an antihistamine in them too but there's a version without). These days if he's itchy we usually only have to give him one and he's good again. The vet has given us a stash to use as needed. We do use antihistamines too if he's only mildly itchy (Zyrtec, two a day). Washing him after exposure to major triggers (in his case, swimming in the lake) is helpful too. We wash him in Malaseb (available without prescription in Australia). Obi definitely chews his paws and has an itchy face and is definitely an airborne allergen, not food. I hope the 'roids bring Snowie a lot of relief As the vet probably explained they may make him drink and pee more for a couple of days and maybe seem a bit sleepy, but we find this doesn't last. [/quote] Thanks Rachael, I did not know cortisone tablets might contain antihistamine. I will check the contents of the Prednisone I was given although my vet was hopefully aware of this because she agreed that I should not be giving Snowie Allergex (the antihistamine tablets) because they can trigger a seizure in a susceptible dog. Yes, the vet did mention the drinking and peeing. Difficult to notice in him because he marks every lamppost we walk past! And he does his drinking in the swimming pool. He is sleeping very soundly now and I'm wondering if some part of that has to do with simply not being itchy. He would sometimes wake up to scratch, poor boy!
Re: Cortisone tablets for itchy skin [quote author=Dexter link=topic=10236.msg150389#msg150389 date=1426693391] I'm sorry I haven't got any practical advice but just wanted to drop by and sympathise about how upsetting it must have been to see him so itchy,I hope the pills relieve him ,itchiness is miserable x [/quote] Thank you!! This is such a wonderful forum!!
Re: Cortisone tablets for itchy skin It might be totally different in the UK but here in Aust the green coloured tablets have antihistamine added and the white ones do not. But it might not be like that where you are, so don't worry if you have green ones! Checking with the vet is a good plan.
Re: Cortisone tablets for itchy skin I will keep my fingers crossed that you have an itch free dog soon
Re: Cortisone tablets for itchy skin I too had a lab who suffered itchiness in the summer months. Cortisone helped clear it up very quickly each time. He lived a long and happy life until just after his 14 birthday.
Re: Cortisone tablets for itchy skin I am happy to announce that Snowie has not scratched or chewed himself at all!!! It is remarkable! This is after one Prednisone (5mg) on Tuesday, 2 tablets (10mg) yesterday morning and 2 tabs again last night, and again 2 tabs this morning. Last night I slept through the entire night because he did not wake me up scratching or licking although my husband says he heard him licking in the night although he thinks it wasn't connected to itching but just cleaning/grooming. He is very sleepy though and I will call the vet to discuss reducing the dose earlier than planned -- the plan is to go to 2 tablets on Sunday and wean him off them. He did have a very soft poo last night and this morning there was a lot of mucus that came out covering one of the droppings. Not sure if this is related to the cortisone. I just can't believe he is not scratching and rubbing his face and chewing his feet! It is totally weird!! And wonderful! I'm in South Africa btw, not the UK. I am not familiar with the various cortisone tablets so I don't know if they come in different colours here depending on the contents, but next vet's visit I'll ask her. My vet did mention that house mites cause allergic reactions in allergic dogs and people (they are inhaled; they don't actually bite the skin -- I need to read up on them as I don't know much more). She mentioned a spray designed for baby cots that is safe and will kill house mites. She sprayed it in her house and her husband's allergies improved. So I think that is our next step.
Re: Cortisone tablets for itchy skin Glad to hear it worked. Obviously talk to your vet, but you may find, if you need another course in the future, that a much lower dose will be as effective - it was with my boy.
Re: Cortisone tablets for itchy skin We love those tablets too.....it's like a miracle cure. Sorry for wrongly thinking you were in the UK
Re: Cortisone tablets for itchy skin Thank you everyone for your support! [quote author=Oberon link=topic=10236.msg150564#msg150564 date=1426759082] Sorry for wrongly thinking you were in the UK [/quote] Actually, I'm sorry we're not in the UK! Snowie's dad was imported from the UK and I do believe that he is far better suited to colder weather than what our southern weather serves up. Next time round (if we ever do get a dog again, oh boy it is such a responsibility and I find it very stressful ensuring our boy is happy and enjoying life -- I probably worry more than most!) I will look for genes that are suited to hot weather so that our next dog doesn't suffer so much in the heat. Anyway, back to the treatment -- it gets more and more fascinating. I just got off the phone to the vet who said that I can reduce Snowie's dose since it is being so effective. Reduced to 2 tablets in the morning only. I asked why not 1 tablet in the morning, 1 at night. The response: better to time the cortisone with the dog's normal cortisone production, which is mornings. A dose at night would be interfering with his natural production cycle (well, the last two day's then interfered!). One difference I have noted -- aside from no more itching -- is that he is asking for his dinner an hour earlier (cortisone makes them hungrier). Taking all my resolve not to give in because, given his seizures, the vet said he mustn't have a too big a drop of sugar early mornings, low blood sugar could be a seizure trigger and all his seizures have been early morning. I did give in kind of and gave him a few pieces of apple. And I confess to feeding him his dinner half an hour earlier than usual, although slightly smaller and I'll give him a snack before bed (probably a raw egg) to keep him going through the night.
