i desperately need your help!

lovemydog · 12-02-2006, 04:14 PM

hi, i have a dog named Teddy and i love him so much. i was wondering if you could help me. a couple days ago, i found that he was itching nonstop and we even found little balls of fur on the ground because he was ripping it out. now that i look closely, i see that he has red spots on his head near his ears and spots near his tail. he wont let me see it because it hurts him when i touch it, also his hair is long and he has made knots because hes been scratching. so i beg you to help me find a cure. i have tried to call the vet, and they are all full until monday. what should i do??

Dogged · 12-02-2006, 05:12 PM

Call another vet. This should be seen as soon as you can get him in because he is obviously miserable. Imagine itching THAT badly. See if you can just go to the vet and wait until they can squeeze you in.

If you absolutley can't get him in anywhere and he is healthy otherwise, you could try giving Benedryl (plain Benedryl Allergy tablets, aka Diphenhydramine, not Benedryl Cough and Cold). About 1mg per pound of body weight two to three times a day. It doesn't always work in dogs, but sometimes it will.

(*Note* --- I am not a vet.)

cshellenberger · 12-03-2006, 12:15 AM

Definatly get to a vet ASAP! This could be several things from a severe allergic reaction to mange or ringworm and needs attention. The Benadryl may help to keep him comfortable until you get treatment.

Dulce · 12-03-2006, 12:19 AM

I believe that that is Demodex. It's pretty common..even humans get it.

Take your dog to the vet, and have them do a skin scraping test to see if there are indeed those Demoex mites. If they are, the vet will probably put the dog on Cephalexin. There's anohter thread about it.

Dogged · 12-03-2006, 01:02 AM

Demodex mites are a possibility, but do not usually suddenly make them that itchy. You usually gradually see some hair loss first. Humans can't get it, and usually Ivermectin or a topical medication is given to treat it. I've never seen Cephalexin, which is an antibiotic, used to treat it.

Did you go back to the vet? How is the dog now?

Dulce · 12-03-2006, 01:12 AM

Actually, humans DO get mites. Haven't you ever heard of lice?

The topical treatment never worke for me, and I switched to oral medication.

Dogged · 12-03-2006, 01:20 AM

Lice and Demodex mites are not the same thing. There are all sorts of different parasites and some are species specific and humans do not get Demodex mites.

There are oral and injectable and topical medications for this, and I have never heard of Cephalexin being used to kill the mites. Maybe your dog had a secondary skin infection and cephelexin was used, but again, I have never seen that antibiotic used to treat the Demodex mite.

cshellenberger · 12-03-2006, 01:22 AM

Ther are three types of mange, Demodex is not contagious, sarcoptic is HIGHLY contagious and can be spread to humans, and Notoedric mange which can be spread between dogs, cats, rabbits and humans
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-mange.htm
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the...s-of-mange.htm

Dogged · 12-03-2006, 01:23 AM

Maybe you are thinking of Sarcoptic mange. That is something that dogs get that people can get too.

Dulce · 12-03-2006, 01:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dogged

Lice and Demodex mites are not the same thing. There are all sorts of different parasites and some are species specific and humans do not get Demodex mites.

There are oral and injectable and topical medications for this, and I have never heard of Cephalexin being used to kill the mites. Maybe your dog had a secondary skin infection and cephelexin was used, but again, I have never seen that antibiotic used to treat the Demodex mite.

Maybe you need to read up on it a bit more?

I did not say they were the same thing. People get mites, like dogs do is what I said. There is a "human" form on Demodex that I have seen.

Dogged · 12-03-2006, 02:26 AM

OK, I did just do some research on it and found on multiple sites that there are demodex mites for lots of different species, but they are species specific, meaning they are not contagious between the species. There are dog demodex mites, human demodex, and cow demodex mites, and they don't leave their specific host.

The way you originally posted made it sound (to me) like the dog had Demodex and that the owner could get it from her dog.