Home Sweet Home…
…where we can scratch where it itches. Nothing feels better than being relaxed, at home, cuddled up with your favorite furry friend. Inevitably they’ll want a back or belly scratch. It’s quite picturesque and pleasant for those who are animal lovers. Just about perfect, except when your pet’s own scratches become frenzied instead of just satisfying the occasional itch.
Perfectly Pernicious Pruritus
In other words, very harmful itching. While a good back scratch is one thing, if your pet is extremely itchy, they can have other underlying medical conditions that affect their well-being. When your pet is scratching themselves frequently or even seemingly non-stop, they can irritate their skin badly. As a result, your pet may develop:
- Acute skin inflammation
- Loss of fur
- Strong body odor
- Frequent or recurrent ear infections
- Open wounds that are susceptible to infection
All of these conditions are uncomfortable for your pet, and some may be serious. Skin infections, for example, require antibiotic therapy. As in humans, repeated antibiotic use in pets can cause the development of antibiotic resistance, which can cause other serious medical complications. Overuse of antibiotics can also cause stress on your pet’s kidneys.
While an occasional itch is innocuous, excessive itching can be indicative of medical conditions like:
- An infection
- Fleas
- Food allergies
- Allergies to bathing or grooming products
- Environment and/or seasonal allergies
An infection needs to be treated as soon as possible. Fleas are avoidable by using appropriate preventive medications. Allergies can cause atopic dermatitis, which, in turn, causes your pet to become very itchy. Your vet can help determine whether your pet is experiencing one or more of these conditions that either cause or result from itchiness.
Diagnosis and Treatment
A skin infection may or may not be very obvious. A flea infestation may present the same way so it’s a good idea to call your vet to help you determine the cause of your pet’s extreme itchiness. To figure it out, your vet may suggest a series of diagnostic tests including blood or other tests. To help unravel the mystery of potential allergies, your vet may ask you a variety of questions, including.
- Whether your pet has been in a new outdoor space
- If you’ve started using new grooming products on them
- Whether you’ve started using a new laundry detergent to launder their blanket
- If they’ve eaten a new brand of food or anything unusual
- Whether there are any other pets in the house
- How long your pet has been symptomatic
- If the symptoms have changed since they initially developed
Magnolia Springs Veterinary Clinic
Magnolia Springs Veterinary Clinic in Mount Pleasant, WI can help you determine the cause of your pet’s itchiness. We incorporate traditional and integrative practices in our veterinary practice, so, like Hippocrates (the father of modern people medicine), we believe that food can be your medicine and medicine can be your food. If your pet doesn’t have an infection or other obvious cause for their excessive skin irritation, we’re very likely to suggest dietary changes as a first line of treatment. There are a myriad of other options to treat your pet’s itchy skin, too. Contact us so we can help your pet life the good life.