What to do when you can't afford the treatment?

[Thehallk]

Have you tried local honey as it can help desensitise allergys but it does take time to get going

Oh, I'd heard this but haven't tried it yet. I'll swing by the farmer's market today and see if I can find any (unpasteurized? pasteurized, does it matter?)


Also, we do give her salmon oil daily and coconut oil intermittently - she has beautiful skin and coat - if you were to look at her skin you would have no idea it was irritated at all, even around her face/rump/front ankles where she scratches/bites - there's no flakiness and it's clear with no redness at all (except her ears, they get pretty red on the flap, and I wipe them with a cleanser that has HC in it every few days). I check these areas daily or every other day and they seem perfect but then "suddenly" she has scabby areas above her tail or a hematoma in her ear from shaking...etc.

 

[Brandie&Maggie]

If she's spending that much time outside, like you said, and grass is a trigger, do you have an outdoor area where she isn't in the grass? Like a deck, etc? Or can you made her a dog area with another surface? Also, I like the idea of using a blower to get rid of the pollen, etc in her coat. If would only take you a couple of minutes and if you did it before she comes in at night, etc I would think that would help a lot.

I really hope you can find a good solution that works well for your family. Good luck!! (And great to "see" you here!)

 

[DAWNMERIE]

I've bought the zyrtec this year and will attempt to use when our allergy season rolls in but jeeezzzee can anyone say brain fart! The blower is a great idea, and I will also attempt that this year too! The local honey is an ok idea, we tried it for about a year without results....so we then went a step further and got some local pollen and added a few pieces over the course of about 3 days, just those few pieces triggered her allergies full on or it was just the timing?????? HHHmmmmm, makes me think???? I will pull out and review all the logs I've kept on her. Why didn't we try using the pollen over the winter when her skin is calmer ????? We did this figuring it was the natural way of the treatments they get when you go in for the allergy shots. Your description sounds familiar, the base of the tail and the ears were Myra first year issues and then it escalated. How old is Gilly now?

I understand what you are going through and it is very very frustrating especially when you feel you've tried all the avenues but drug cost are becoming unreachable these days. If the pred works (which I think you said it did) then honestly maybe finding the lowest dose maybe a solution (I know we all don't like it but if it gives a better quality of life) I think Jeannie's Samantha lived until she was 13 being on pred for allergies. (I'm sure she can chime in with the details of how many years and how long her allergy season was) If we can not control Myra's this years and I can not convince Vin to go raw, that will be our only solution cause at this point it's been 4 or 5 years and I just want to keep her comfortable during that time if I can.

Does Canada do co-op programs? I think that's the route Charlie went (it's frozen and pre-packed) all you do this slice off the correct amount and defrost and put in bowl so no need to be to fearful of cross contamination with the baby, easy clean up. I think Charlie said it's not that much difference in price over this way but if you take into consideration of all the vet visits and drugs your probably up there anyhow. Just my thoughts out loud.....and now has sparked the raw conversation in our household again (I read my post to Vin lol)

 

[Lori]

One thing else you might want to try is Prozyme. It's a digestive enzyme powder I always recommend when allergies are involved. It's a tasteless powder you put on their food. It worked wonders for Chance's ears. It's not real expensive either. I usually got it at www.entirelypets.com. Their regular shipping was reasonable and fast. It's available online and at stores.

http://www.entirelypets.com/prozyme1.html

 

[victoria1140]

Never worried whether honey was pasterised or not just so long as it was local.

I know it has helped my hayfever nosebleeds beautifully but it is a long term solution.

Also if she likes laying on a grassed area what about a piece of astroturf

 

[lacey9875]

How much Zyrtec are you guys giving your dogs? The past few days I've noticed Maggies are all runny and goopy-very similar to my allergy eyes. Is it just one tablet a day?

 

[CMDRTED]

Oh, I'd heard this but haven't tried it yet. I'll swing by the farmer's market today and see if I can find any (unpasteurized? pasteurized, does it matter?)


Also, we do give her salmon oil daily and coconut oil intermittently - she has beautiful skin and coat - if you were to look at her skin you would have no idea it was irritated at all, even around her face/rump/front ankles where she scratches/bites - there's no flakiness and it's clear with no redness at all (except her ears, they get pretty red on the flap, and I wipe them with a cleanser that has HC in it every few days). I check these areas daily or every other day and they seem perfect but then "suddenly" she has scabby areas above her tail or a hematoma in her ear from shaking...etc.

Make sure you get "Local" Honey made in your area. Big Big difference than the junk in most stores. I buy a lot in the summer, so I have enough to last through the winter. Most local honies store well in a cabinet.

 

[padkins]

How much Zyrtec are you guys giving your dogs? The past few days I've noticed Maggies are all runny and goopy-very similar to my allergy eyes. Is it just one tablet a day?

You can start at one a day and see if that helps. Indy weighs 120 lbs. and the vet said that she could have up to 2 1/2 a day, but they are extremely hard to cut or break.

The only other thing I would suggest is take a close look at her eyelids to make sure that they aren't rolling in and causing eye irritation. That's a whole different problem.

 

[nowhavethreebears]

Was just wondering about you and Gilly.....

 

[Jeannie]

My Samantha had terrible allergies. We did allergy testing and serum but it didn't work. Tried Atopic, didn't help enough to justify the cost. After talking with my vet we put her on Prednisone. When she would start itching in the spring I'd give her 20 mg per day for 7 days then I'd wean her off and keep her on the lowest dose possible to give her relief. Which would usually be 10mg every 4-6 days. I knew (or should I say thought) it would shorten her life but at least she would have better quality of life. I started her on it at age 3. She lived to be over 14 yrs old.

My vet would sell me 50 20mg tablets at a time. I just used them as needed.