Dermatology Month At SVC
4 in 10 dogs and 1 in 10 cats will condition(s) that affect the skin, with 90% of those not caused by food allergies. Certain breeds such as West Highland Terrier and Cocker Spaniels are at a higher risk, along with animals with seasonal and/or food allergies.
Some tell tale signs of unhappy skin are:
- Redness and inflammation
- Thickening, scabbing and/or crusting of the skin
- Hair loss
- Excessive scratching, itching, licking and/or rubbing
- Spots and/or pimples
- Bad skin odour
These symptom can be very uncomfortable and even harmful to your pet. Left untreated permanent tissue damage and hair loss is not uncommon. To find out what is causing such a reaction, we have several tools in clinic such as:
- Skin scraping
- Hair plucking
- Ear inspection and swabs
- Tape impressions
- Cytology in house
- Culture and cytology at an external lab (Gribbles)
Once we have determined the cause of your pet’s skin issues we can can move on to treatment and management of said condition. At Sommerville Veterinary Clinic we like to use a multimodal approach to address problems from the inside & outside for a synergistic effect:
- Parasite control e.g. Revolution
- Itch relief e.g Cytopoint
- Antibiotics
- Medicated Shampoos such as Malaseb
- Topical creams
- Supplements and nutrition e.g. Hills Prescription Diet Derm Defence
If you are concerned about your pet’s skin, contact the clinic today to book a consultation with your vet.