Your Dog's Allergies

A pet suffering from allergy can be treated by medications and indeed there are many allergy medicines. Some of them are: Antihistamines – that block the effects of that particular chemical (allergen). They are available over the counter and include Claritin or Benadryl. And with a vet’s prescription you can treat with Allegro as well. Some antihistamines such as Astelin are available as nasal drops.

There are some decongestants – that reduce swelling in nose and relieve congestion. Some examples of these are the over-the-counter Sudafed and Allegra-D.

Some other medications that affect the allergy in different ways are prescription steroids such as Flonase or Nasonex sprays. Another option for persons with dog allergies is allergy shots. Your doctor can help you to know the pros and cons of these.

Removing the dog from the concerned environment and avoiding his contact with the environment is one common management advocated by vets for allergies. If the dog is not removed from the environment, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America suggests the following actions to perform:

• Adding an air cleaner, for instance, HEPA i.e. high-efficiency particulate air filter or electrostatic filter to the central heating and air conditioning can be a good practice. The filter should be used for at least 4 hours each day.
• Bare floors including hardwood, tiles and walls are best for this purpose. Since carpeting is necessary, try to opt for low pile and steam cleaning.
• Bedroom vents should be covered with any good filtering material such as cheesecloth.
• Brush your dog’s body thoroughly regularly to remove dander. Try to keep the dog out of the bedroom of an allergic person and always clean the bedroom thoroughly.
• Using a vacuum with a HEPA (as a precaution, always wear a dust mask to vacuum).

All the aforementioned recommendations may not always produce significant relief for the symptoms and are not always as effective as removal of the pet from indoor environment, but still they are good practices.

Treatment of dogs and other animals for allergies may include prescription medications such as antihistamines and decongestants. Antihistamines including Benadryl®, Dimetapp® Allergy may cause drowsiness and medications such as Allegra®, Claritin®, Zyrtec®) may have few side effects. They may even cause dry mouth. The first generation antihistamines sometimes cause irritability and restlessness in your pet.

Allergies that trigger asthma can be treated with Bronchodilators (albuterol Ventorlin®, Proventil®), corticosteroid inhalers (e.g., Flovent®, Azmacort®) and Leukotriene), antagonists (montelukast sodium, Singulair®, Omalizumab and Xolair®) and oral decongestants such as Sudafed® and phenylephedrine can also be used in combination of antihistamines that help in reducing allergy symptoms. These medicines may cause side effects including nervousness, difficulty sleeping, increased heart rate and/or high blood pressure.

Nasal decongestants like Afrin®, Neo-Synephrine® may not be suitable for long-term treatment as these may cause rebound nasal congestion after the medicines are discontinued.

Allergy vaccine therapy known as allergy shots or immunotherapy maybe occasionally used to treat animal allergies when other medications become ineffective.