Atopic Dermatitis Disease In Pets – what you need to know

What is atopy?

Atopy or atopic dermatitis is allergic skin disease in the dogs. Nobody knows why but dogs react to allergens differently to people. The human response to allergies is Hay fever and asthma, dogs get skin disease instead. Dogs are commonly allergic to pollen, house dust and mites, insects and moulds. Any breed of dog can suffer from atopy and symptoms start from about 1 year of age and gradually get more severe as the dog gets older.

What are the symptoms?

The symptoms are itching, chewing and licking leading redness and secondary infection. The distribution of lesions is distinctive and affects the face and ears, paws, groin and axilla (under arms). Often the first symptoms are licking or chewing at the paws and redness or itching of the ear flaps. One of the early signs of atopic dermatitis is recurring ear infections. Over time secondary bacterial dermatitis develops because the licking, chewing and scratching damages the surface of the skin.

Can it be cured?

There is no cure for atopy, symptoms can be managed and reduced but it is a life long condition. Allergy testing is required to find out what is causing the allergy in order to develop a treatment plan. Allergies are often multiple and their effect is additive. For example, your dog may be mildly allergic to grass pollen and mildly allergic to chicken. Alone neither allergy causes noticeable problems but together their effects are very obvious. 

Treating atopic dermatitis is about managing the symptoms and minimising their effect on your pet, every dog responds differently to therapy and treatments will be adjusted based on the response to therapy.

 

What is the treatment?

At Veterinary Hospital League City, We have three treatment strategies and a combination of these will be used for all dogs with atopic dermatitis.

 

1. Avoidance of allergens

• Food allergens – these can be avoided by feeding hypoallergenic diets such as Hills prescription z/d diets.
  
  
• Pollen – avoid walking your dog through fields with high grass or weeds, avoid lawns that have just been cut and avoid dusk and dawn if possible. 
   
• Fungi/mould – do not keep dogs in rooms with high moisture levels e.g. laundry room or in areas with increased dust.
  
  
• House dust mites – minimising soft furnishings and carpets, regular vacuuming and washing of bedding reduces the amount of house dust and house dust mites.
  
  

2. Desensitization

• After allergy testing has been carried out desensitization vaccines can be manufactured for your pet. The vaccine is initially given at very small doses on a frequent basis which is gradually changed to large doses given once a month for life. This acclimatizes the dog to the allergens and over time they stop showing signs of allergy. This cure is successful in 60% of cases, partially successful in 20 % and unsuccessful in about 20% of dogs.

3. Suppress the allergic reaction and minimize secondary infection

• Atopica (cyclosporine) is a relatively new drug. It acts to suppress the body’s immune response without the unpleasant side effects of steroids.

• Steroids (cortisone, prednisone) suppress the body’s reaction to allergy. They are very effective at suppressing the itch associated with atopic dermatitis but if used long-term can have serious side effects. Long-term therapy every second or third day prevents most side-effects of steroids.

• Antihistamine can be effective in controlling mild forms of atopic dermatitis. The response to antihistamines in dogs is very varied and often several have to be tried before a response is noted. There are safe to use long term.

• Essential fatty acids are beneficial in reducing inflammation and promoting healthy skin growth.

• Antibiotics reduce the secondary infection in the skin. Bacterial dermatitis is a common consequence of allergic skin disease and can be very itchy. By reducing secondary infection your dog’s skin will be more comfortable and look better.

• Topical preparations can be used for localised lesions e.g. genesis, dermacool or betagen sprays; shampoos can soothe and clean the skin while crème rinses are used to re-hydrate the skin. Oatmeal shampoos and rinses act as moisturizers and can have anti-bacterial, anti-histamine or anti-inflammatory added to help alleviate the symptoms of atopy. These are used daily or weekly depending on the severity of the itch.