Allergy patients.
You gotta love ‘em.
Why? Because if you didn’t love them they would drive you completely up the wall.
Take Mojo for example. I saw him just a week ago for a routine examination, heartworm test, fecal flotation and vaccination visit and he was the picture of health. This, despite having chronically being afflicted with
Flea Bite Allergy and Atopy (Allergic Inhalant Dermatitis).
Mojo, like all allergy patients, is subject to relapses. Relapses simply go along with being an allergy patient. There is no way around it. Your pet’s doctor probably has your allergic dog or cat on maintenance allergy medications, and these are crucial for extending the time between relapses, but sooner or later something is going to bloom, some insect is going to bite your pet, or some stress factor will cause a dip in his immune system that will allow secondary bacteria to invade the skin, cause an infection and result in a flareup.
Take a close look at the skin of Mojo’s tummy and you will see that some areas are a different shade of red than others. Mojo has bacterial infection, an invasion of his own normal bacteria into the skin instead of staying on the outside surface of the skin, where they belong. When skin becomes infected it becomes very itchy and poor Mojo has been keeping his owners awake with his miserable scratching.
It got so bad last night that his Mom and Dad took turns getting up to rub and comfort him. A medicated bath in shampoo we had dispensed helped for a couple of hours and, at the same time, allowed them to get a little much-needed sleep.
Today we gave him two allergy-blocking injections and an injection of Convenia long-acting antibiotic to control the infection component. As these infections are typically deep in the pores and hair follicles of the skin we will reevaluate him in two weeks and likely repeat the Convenia injection for a total of four weeks of antibiotic therapy. Doing so allows us to really hit the infection hard where it lives at its deepest, so that he won’t have an immediate relapse caused by surviving bacteria.
A phone call just a few hours after his visit confirmed that Mojo was already sleeping and catching up on the rest he has lost to itchiness.
Allergy patients. When things go well with them, the results are so rewarding.
See you tomorrow, Dr. Randolph.
