Weeks, Helma

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ScholarlyCommons@Penn

Bellwether MagazineVolume 1Number 11 Spring 1984 Article 74-1-1984Treating the Skin: Rashes, Itches and AllergiesHelma WeeksUniversity of PennsylvaniaThis paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. http://repository.upenn.edu/bellwether/vol1/iss11/7For more information, please contact libraryrepository@pobox.upenn.edu.nyonc \\ ho ha-. coped with an itchy dog or cat J...no\\� ho\\ e\a-,perating thi!. can be. One cannot explmn to the am mal that scrntchine \\ill on!\ increa"e di-.comfort. and :h mo!oot · owners will not sit and watch their pel mutilate ttself. a quick tnp to the \etcrinarian "'-.cheuuled to seeJ... rcliel "SJ...in disease� reprc�ent a large portion ul ca-.cs st:cn m a "mall animal practice." -.aid Dr. Wi IIi am H. Miller. Jr .. assistant protessor of dermatology. School of Vctennnry Medicine. lJnt\.er-.it} of Penn ... ylvania. ··Man} case" are mmor and can he cured fa1rly quickly.'' But in �ume antmal the �"-in problem i-. seC<lndaf) to underlyin!! disec.N:. or tt ma) be due to allergic-. or autoimmune problems ... The sktn j.., the\\ 111-dow of the bod\." �aid Dr. �Iiller. "It can rcncct change" in the hOd) Or the CO\ ironml'nt ulthe animal.'' \\'hen the cau"e" ot kin dt-.casc are more complex. cxtcmt\C testing may he reqUired. rtw; is nhen bC\ond the '>COpe of a practi­ttuna\ ladlitic ... and tht <.tnimal l!oo referred to the dermatology clinic at VH l P. "We arc one nf the hustc"t clinic'> at VHLI P." e:-:plained Dr. Robert M. Sch\\ arvman. profc�!lor of derma­tnlng) n nd chief ol the Section of Dermatology. "\Vc sec more than 2.000 case!> annuallv nnd our laborato� of eli meal tmmunolog\ handles a multuudc of tests. not only for tbc ho..,pital. hut also for more than 50  practitioner" in the (Heater Dcla\\arc \aile\ area .. In auditiOn to Dr' Schwan7tnan and Miller three resident.. 8 Bellwether !-.Ce patients. They Me Dr. Lind•t Mcdlcau. Dr. Ke' in �hank\, and Dr Richard I nng. c:;J,.in problcnh can run the gnmut from an itch cau.,ed by Ilea bll!;.., to comple\. nutorm­mune dt,ease. "One or the most common rrob­km we '>ee in dog'> j.., Ilea brtc atlerj!\ · said Dr. Miller "It is the primar) c<Htsc of �l�mmcr .;kin cnmplatnt� in dogs." fhe cure appear' to he -.implc. all !leas haw lll be remU\ct.l from the dog and ih em ironment. Thi!oo frequently require.., cxtcn,t\c treatment of the hou.,e and yard and repeated prc\cnti\� treatments ol the dog. The skin is the window of the body. It can reflect changes in the body or the environ­ment of the animal. Dogs and cat... ltke people. ha\c allergic' '' hich cause itche�. "Dogs often ::.uffcr from tnhalant allergic!-.." !.aid Dr. M tiler "Pollen. dust. \\OOI. fcathers. all the -.arne thing\ people .He allcrgu; to. \\hen ;t per.,on has an allcrg�. he or !oohc \\ tll tr\ to rcmO\ e the"c thinl!s from the em ironment: Oog\ cannot do that� 0\\ner­\\ On't take ur the carpet. lhrow out the leather pillow" or remn' e phlllh 10 prevent their d<'g I rom lh.'hing. " �o other '"ay-. haH; t<' he lound w cope with the ailment. 1\n allcrg� il> an ahnormal immune rc,pon-.e nf the bod\ to a particular :.ub:.tancc .. In an allergy the unmunc rc-;poiN!. \\ ht�h normally '"" defcn"c mechanism. hecomc' dc­•Mll�tl\e.'' c\plamctJ Dr. Mtllcr. ''When \\C.: treat thc'e animab. \H.' tl) to get the re-.pon-.c hack on the right track. in essence calm tt dm\n. so 11 "on 't do damage \\.'e h) po-,en-,nuc the animal." This is accompti-.hcd through u '>Crte' of '>pecinll) prepared allerg)' \actincs. "\\hen an ttch� antmal '' brought here and \\e ... u,pect inhalant allergies. tc.,ts arc performed to tden­tif) the offending '>Ubstancc." said Dr. Sch\\arvman ... Once it ha-. heen tdentilicd. \\c prepare the \accine \\hich has to he gl\cn .11 regular intcnals to "eep the immune re..,ponse under control.- The dcrmatologJ'-t" at \Ill P \\ ork cto ... ch with referring practitioner-. to arri\e at a r\_;gimen most comfortable to the am mal and t:om cnicnt tu the O\\ ner. ·•Jt rc4u1re-. understandrng and compa,-.rnnatt: 0\\11Cr'-.'' said Dr. Miller." f hese -.hot!. h;ne w be gl\cn throughout the dot!'s lite -\llc:rgte., cannot be t.•ured. the� can onl� he: contrulkd. \.1u't owner.., are devoted and under'>tandint! and \\Ill do anything the) can ... Both uoctl'\� pointed out that inhalant ullergie!oo appear to lx an Inherited problem. "Tht'> �hould be t..cpt in mind w ben breeding animal!..·· the� satd "Don) breed dogs '' htch hme gcnclicllll� predt,po,t.-d '>ktn disea<,co; " Inhalant aller�ie ... in cah are not a-. com­mon. •\nd that"' good. Cats do not like: injcc· tion'> "The) \Cr) 4UlcJ,.J� figure OUI that it j., time for the needle.'' �aid Dr. Miller. "1 he) h1de and become �h) and other methods of treatment have to be found." Substance.s in the em ironmem are not the only ones causing allergies. Food can also be the cause of allergies. This il> not as common in dogs as it is in cats. "Cats ha\e fewer inhalant allergies. but more food allergies." �aid Or. \1edleau. Food allergies usually first manifest themselves 10 a ral>h. "Howe,•er. it is a rash that Itches." said Dr. Schwartl!nan. "nm an itch that rashes as occurs in inhalam allergies." To Jetermine \\ hether one is dealing with a food allerg� and which ingredient cau es the discom­fort. a hit of patience and testing are required. The animal is placed on a diet it never had before. such as lamb and rice. If the rash and itching stop, one is dealing with a food allergy. The second step is to find the food which causes the reaction. "Owners have to add one ingre­dient at a time for a period of three days.'' said Dr. Miller. "They may have to go through a host of different foods before the offender is found." Once this is discovered. the cure is fairly simple. the offending food is withdrawn. \lkrgies are IUM one cause of l>kin disease. Often a dull coat or bald spots signif:r more �erious problem!> ... The owner may not have noticed an� signs of endocrine disease until the pet\ appearance changed.'" said Dr. Miller. To lind the underlymg cause. tests are required and once the dtagnosi. has been made. treatment mu't be Instituted to correct the disease. '·Liver and k1dne� problems can manifest them�elves through changes in the skin. as can hormone tmbalances. We u. ... uall) handle the treatment after consultations with other specialists. It is easier for practitioner and client to deaJ with one department rather than with three or four." Dr. Schwartzman and Dr. Miller are very interested m skin problems caused b) autoim­mune disease. ''Fortunately these are not too common in dogs.'' said o; Schwart7man. "They are rare. but can be fatal if left untreated." Autoimmune skin diseases such as pemphigus also occur in people. usually in middle-aged person.s. Both doctors would like to see more cases in dog:� in the hope of estab­lishing a model to help de\ elop treatment plans for humanl> affected by this disea!>e. They are conducting their research in cooperation with the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. Research is an important pan of the department. Drs. Schwartzman and Miller are engaged in a project in cooperation with the Medical School to find a better treatment for acne. Dr. Medleau has just begun to project, also in conjunction with the Medical School to examine the normal bacterial flora of the skin of dogs and cats and its relationship to skin dis­ease. The study may yield some important basic data which may be helpful in the treatment of skin disease for animals and humans. The clinic sees a lot more dogs than cats. "We really would like to see more cats with skin problems." c;aid Or. Medleau. "We have seen quite a few cats with psychogenic alopecia."' In this disorder the -;kin changes are cau·ed by beha\ ior. not disease. Cats lick and lick a part of the body and pretty soon their hair falls out and the skin becomes irritated. "Usually the cat is upset at something." said Or. Medteau. ''We try to figure out what bothers the animal and then try to eliminate the problem. We may have to use tranquilizers to break the habit." A sim­iJar problem exists in dogs. They can de\ clop a lick graunuloma and treatment is often very difficult. Other skin problems presented to the clini­cians can be caused by mites. One of the most severe of these diseases is demodectic mange in dogs. "We will not treat breeding stock with the disease unless the animals will never be used for breeding," said Dr. Schwart7man. "There is a hereditary component to this disease." He explained that treatment for demodectic mange has improved in recent years and is no longer as noxious to O\\-ners as it once was. Animals still need special shampoos at regular intervals but these are not as offensive as they once were. Skin problems range from minor nuisances to major disease. Many cannot be prevented and require dedicated. de\-oted and conscien­tious owners to carry out tbe home treatments of baths. ointments. pilb and allergy shots. But pet owners can minimi1e the chance of skin dis­ease in their pets some"' hat. ··Animals need proper nutrition. care. and regular grooming ... said Or. Miller. "Their em ironment has to be kept clean and free from parasites. Breeders should a\ oid breeding closely related animals to minimize the concentration of traits for inhal­ant allergies." The dermatology clinic sees patients Tues­day through Friday and appointments can he made by calling 898-4680. Helma Weeks Spring 1984 9 

Treating the Skin: Rashes, Itches and Allergies

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Treating the Skin: Rashes, Itches and Allergies

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