Content
- Flea Bite Allergy Symptoms
- Diagnosis of Flea Allergic Dermatitis
- Treatment for flea bite allergy in dogs
- Parasite control
When we talk about flea bite allergy in dogs we immediately thought of flea allergy dermatitis. It occurs due to a hypersensitivity reaction in our dog's skin to certain proteins in the flea's saliva.
Although fleas are not seasonal, we can say that this disease is more recurrent in spring/summer, which is logical, as the vast majority of allergies appear at this time.
We also know that it is a disease that affects some breeds more than others, as in the case of the German Shepherd and the Doberman, but no breed is exempt from it. At PeritoAnimal we will help you to detect it and start the treatment as soon as possible to see your pet happy again.
Flea Bite Allergy Symptoms
You symptoms of flea allergy dermatitis are very uncomfortable for our animal. One or more may occur, but there are some more characteristic and it is a matter of time before the disease progresses and the others appear.
- Intense itching.
- Redness, scabs and sores on the groin, face, ears, neck, armpits and genitals.
- Alopecia or moderate hair loss and skin blemishes. Often when hair is lost, the skin thickens and changes color to black. This mainly occurs in the chronic phase, when it takes too long to diagnose it and start with some treatment.
- It is usually associated with other secondary diseases such as otitis, otohematomas, conjunctivitis and bacterial infections in injured areas.
- Emotionally puppies are very stressed, anxious, irritable and in the chronic phases it is common to see weakness and lack of appetite.
Diagnosis of Flea Allergic Dermatitis
If you detect that your dog has fleas and may be experiencing this disease, we advise you to go to the veterinarian in order to perform the differential diagnosis with other possible pathologies such as atopy.
The anamnesis to the owners, together with the seasonal appearance and a distribution of the problem in the loin - sacral that responds sporadically to the treatment against fleas, is usually enough information for the veterinarian.
The presence of fleas in our pet is not usually a topic that owners like to confess and in cases not so advanced it is often difficult to convince the owner that it is not necessary to look further and that the problem is allergic dermatitis to flea bites. For owners it is important that the veterinarian detects that there are fleas with a simple and effective method. It's about taking a filter paper and moistening it with hydrogen peroxide or serum and being able to isolate flea colonies that will appear reddish or effervescent depending on the product used.
There is also a bump test but with a high number of false positives that will not be so useful when helping in the diagnosis.
Treatment for flea bite allergy in dogs
It is essential in these cases to attack the external parasite from all sides. We must control not only the animal, but also disinfect all rooms and utensils such as clothes, brushes, towels, bed, etc.
Environmental control
Environmental control is very important, otherwise the allergy will return every time fleas reproduce in their habitat. There are natural and unnatural products. You should vacuum the areas around your pet, wash your things or get rid of them and replace with new ones.
We have some tips that can help you with environmental control:
- Lavender or Chamomile Plants: Fleas hate their smell and are very good to leave your house smelling, so they are a good option. You can also use a room freshener with lavender drops.
- candles with water: attract the flea in dark environments, as they are attracted to light. You can do it in different rooms in the house.
- scrub the floor: you can add 1 lemon squeezed to your usual product or do it with apple cider vinegar with 40 drops of lavender in a liter of water.
Parasite control
When controlling your dog's parasites, you should consult the veterinarian, as he will tell you the best thing to do according to the seriousness of the case.
- commercial products like pipettes or shampoos, but we won't give you names as they should be given by your veterinarian. This should be used as a means of prevention and treatment.
- To treat the itch steroids are normally used, however they damage the dog internally and only alleviate the problem, not cure it. If you do not want steroids to be administered to your dog, consult a homeopathic veterinarian so that you can treat him more naturally.
- Like home remedies it has eucalyptus or lavender oil to bathe your pet and you can add brewer's yeast to your usual food, it changes the smell of blood and deflects fleas.
It is important that in case of any sign of flea allergy dermatitis, consult your veterinarian so that the treatment is the least harmful for your furry friend, he will thank you.
This article is for information purposes only, at PeritoAnimal.com.br we are not able to prescribe veterinary treatments or perform any type of diagnosis. We suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case it has any type of condition or discomfort.