Unfotunately I a am a seasoned veteran with dog allergies. I have a westie that has food/airborne allergies as well as a genetic skin disease called Epidermal Dysplasia (ED). If we dont keep the allergies under control, the ED flares up and vice versa. Heres how we managed him:
1. Had him allergy tested! We did this at the clinic I work at and sent it to BioMedical Services, I doubt any vets do this kind of testing "in house"
2. Made food adjustments and ordered antigen (allergy shots) when the results came in.
3. Medicated baths, we use Sulfoxydex to flush the hair follicles and Ketochlor to control the yeast from his ED
4. Hydroxyzine (Atarax) tablets as an antihistamine, these are prescription only, one step up from benadryl.
5. Antibiotics and Ketoconazole to control any skin infections that manage to pop-up (need to do skin and ear cytologies to know which meds are appropriate)
5. Steroid injections a couple of times per year to help smack down flare ups before they get ugly.
We are in control of his allergies right now and the difference between his comfort 2yrs ago and today is amazing! In addition, we have not had to resort to using long term steroids like prednisone, he just gets a simple Dexamethasone injection a couple times a year when his allergies are at their worst. We never once went to the Dermatology specialist, they are $$$ since you cant see the specialist without a referral. We are planning on makin the 5hr drive to Houston, TX to consult with a westie breeder/vet friend of mine about his Epidermal Dysplasia and talk about long term management as it is getting more and more difficult to manage.
Allergies are initially pricy to start management but once they are under control, its easy! Our RAST (allergy) testing was about $350 but we also added on a few test with it. His antigen was about $250 for induction phase and is now $123 for maintenence. Antigen lasts us about 7-8 months. A 100 count bottle of Atarax is about $30 and lasts us several months. Dexamethasone injections cost us nothing, I own a bottle cause of this bugger, but they are fairly inexpensive. Rowdy's other expenses included a Bilateral TECA (total ear canal ablation) due to chronic ear infections: approx $2000, skin biopsy to diagnose the ED: approx. $500 (we had to amputate a dewclaw at the same time too) and countless visits to try and get his ears under control before we did the TECA. A visit to the derm specialist would have broken the budget!
Hope this was helpful! Feel free to pick my brain more if needed.
