Does your pet scratch?

PRURITUS IN PETS
HI steemians, How are you? In my today’s post I’m going to write about a very common symptom in our pets : the pruritus. I will explain what is the pruritus, what you have to know before visiting the veterinarian, what pathologies are itchiness, and What you have to do, and the most important what you don’t have to do. I hope you enjoy reading!

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Lots of pets have dermatologic problems, and in many of them pruritus is present. Pruritus can be an unpleasant symptom for us and our animals.
We can define pruritus such us the sensation that induces the desire to scratch. We have to notice that animals have lots of ways of scratching, not only with its paws. They can rub against objects, lick the pruritic region and even nibble on the area that itches.

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The act of scratching will have consequences in pets´ bodies such as alopecia, dermatitis infection… So pets´ owners should to bring them to the veterinarian to stop that pruritus.
Before going to the vet you have to pay attention in some facts that are important and the doctor will ask for them.

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The main questions that veterinarians usually make are:
• About the intensity of the pruritus. Usually we use a scale from 1 to 10, when 1 is no itching and 10 is an insensitive pruritus, your pet will be scratching all the time. Usually atopy, flea allergy dermatitis and sarcoptic mange, are listed by owners as intensity 10.
• About the seasonality of the pruritus. Some environmental atopies only are presented in spring time or summer time, but others like mite allergy can be presented throughout the year.
• About the habitat of the pet. There are different pathologies if your pet lives in a village (more common ectoparasites and mange) or if it lives in a city (more common the atopy)
• About the feeding of your pet. Usually dogs and cats has food reaction to the chicken meat, nevertheless intolerances to fish meat are strangers.
• About what started first, the lesions or the pruritus. Some diseases cause itchy by it selves but other like pyoderma cause pruritus in a secondary way.

The main diseases that curse with pruritus are in the next photo.

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When you go to the veterinarian, the doctor will make some diagnostic test, such as skin scraping to diagnose mange, microbiological culture, to diagnose bacterial or fungal diseases, blood test to check the correct function of the organism, ig G determination or intradermal allergy test reactions to diagnose atopy, and even an elimination diet for food reactions.

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The treatment of the pruritus is very complex. It is very important that the primary cause of the pruritus will be diagnosed; meanwhile the doctor will prescribe some drugs to calm the itch. The most common drugs used are immunosuppressive drugs such as corticoids and cyclosporine. Actually there are new drugs with less secondary effects in your pets, and the veterinarians, are having very good responses.

Owners never have to medicate his pets, because it could be very dangerous. If you give a bad dose of corticoids to your dog you can cause Cushing or a severe immunosuppression.
If your pet is scratching a lot you can bath them with an oats shampoo until you go to the veterinarian. It will calm your pet’s itchy for a little.

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