A vaccine is an introduction of minute preparations of weak foreign substances into the body to introduce resistance antibodies. Unfortunately, for an allergic pet, a vaccine can cause a reaction or outbreak of allergies that lead to scratching.
There is a tendency to over dose pets, so be careful that your veterinarian isn't over prescribing vaccines.
Over time, strong monthly injections or oral treatments can lead to a loss of hair, greasy skin and immeasurable internal effects.
Steroidal medications can cause intestinal ulcers, kidney disease, increased susceptibility to infections, osteoporosis, and liver disease. Pets that must use these products on a long-term basis need also to have blood and urine tests every 2 to 3 months to allow early detection of potentially fatal complications from medical therapy.
When vaccines are to be administered, vaccine titers (blood tests which show a pet’s antibody level to a specific disease) are helpful in determining whic vaccines might be needed.
If you are planning to administer vaccines, nutritional supplements that strengthen the liver, detoxify the system, and strenghten the immune system are recommended.
Effects of Corticosteroids
When the dog receives corticosteroids as treatment, his pituitary gland senses this and effectively shuts down the body’s normal production of vitally important hormones. This won’t hurt the pet if a low dose of steroid is administered for a short period of time, say 7 to 10 days.
More potent steroids provided for longer periods of time, such as once monthly shots so often given to allergic pets, represent a far more dangerous situation. Weaning the pet off the steroids after chronic use can cause serious withdrawal problems because the dog’s body cannot adapt quickly to pick up the production of its own steroids again, leading to serious side effects.
Corticosteroids are anti-inflammatory, analgesic (pain-relieving), and antipruritic (itch-relieving). They decrease inflammation, swelling, pain cause by inflammation, and itching.
At a high dose, corticosteroids suppress the body’s immune system.
There are many short- and long-term side effects of steroids and before consenting to use these medications on your allergic pet.
Corticosteroids cause increase in appetite, water intake, and urine output. Even those pets taking the medications for a short time and at a very low dose can exhibit these side effects. The higher the dose and the longer the therapy, the worse the problems.
The side effects of long term use are a totally different story. Long term corticosteroids treatment affects nearly every organ of a dog’s body, leading to serious damage to your pet’s quality of life.
Since the side effects of long term corticosteroids therapy areserious, we strongly recommend not to use steroids any more than absolutely necessary.
SIDE EFFECTS OF LONG TERM CORTICOSTEROIDS USE IN DOGS
The following are some of the side effects long term corticosteroid therapy can be have on your dog:
- Acne, infections, excessive bruising, degeneration or thinning of the skin, and hair loss
- Heart and cardiovascular system problems causing hypertension
- Neurologic disease such as seizures, paralysis, and unsteadiness
- Immune system suppression, decreased ability to resist infections, anemia, and low blood platelet counts
- Kidney and liver disease
- Respiratory issues including blood clots in the lungs
- Musculoskeletal weakness, osteoporosis
- Hormonal and reproductive failure, adrenal gland disease, birth defects, and spontaneous abortion
- Gastrointestinal bleeding, ulcer, pancreatitis, and perforation
- Behavioral problems such as aggression, depression hyperactivity
- Glaucoma and cataracts
COMMON ANTIHISTAMINES
Benadryl (diphenhydramine)
Chlortrimeton (chlorpheniramine)
Atarax /Vistaryl (hydroxyzine)
Tavist (clemastine)
Seldane (terfenadine)
Periactin (cyproheptadine)
Temaril (trimeprazine)
Hismanal (astemizole)
Claritine (lotaradine)
Terfenadine
Astemizole
Loratadine
Response to antihistamines varies in pets. Only trial and error can determine whether an antihistamine will help reduce the pet’s need for corticosteroids.
The major side effect in dogs taking antihistamine is sedation (sleepiness). In some cases, the sedation wears off in a few days. There is no data on the long term safety of antihistamines, but experience seems to indicate they are relatively safe and much more so than corticosteroids.
