When it comes to pet allergies, nothing is more frustrating than seeing a pet stay up all evening licking, scratching, biting and chewing, or coughing, sneezing and rubbing their face.
There are steps you can take at home to help reduce allergy symptoms. These include improving air quality, improving diet, controlling internal and external parasites and insects, and reducing causes of inflammation, including reducing stress.
Who would have guessed that something as simple as rinsing a pet’s paw pads after a walk outside could reduce allergy symptoms?
Regular bathing with a hypoallergenic, emollient shampoo helps many of my patients reduce their itchy skin and paws. But no one will bathe their pet every day (and you shouldn’t, except in certain cases and for short periods of time when you’re treating something like an open wound.)
When using regular baths to control allergies, keep in mind that topical products (spot-on and collars) for fleas and ticks will lose their effectiveness. Ask your veterinarian about oral flea and tick products when pets need medicated baths to control skin and allergy conditions.
To manage allergens and toxins on a daily basis, a quicker solution is often effective. Animals absorb toxic substances through their feet and also clean their pads with their tongues.
Wiping pets’ coats and feet can help remove not only dirt, but also pollens, chemical residue, and ashes (think forest fires.) Simply use a cloth that has been rinsed with water. distilled water and wipe dry. For the feet, animals can be given a foot bath with distilled water and dried before coming indoors. This also serves to keep your home and floors cleaner.
Owners can help their pets by removing their shoes at the entrance or in the garage. This reduces pollen and debris that people bring into the house. Changing the furnace and air conditioning air filters also helps reduce allergens in the home. Adding an air filter and cleaning the ducts regularly is also beneficial for pets and people who suffer from itchy eyes, sneezing, coughing, and itchy (itchy) skin.
Vacuuming regularly also helps, but don’t forget to change and clean the vacuum filters regularly.
Pet food and treat choices also make a difference when it comes to allergies. An anti-inflammatory diet can increase tolerance to contact and inhalation allergens. Aside from very specific foods that your pet may be allergic to, foods that promote inflammation include those made from grains, carbohydrates, sugars, and sugar substitutes.
Whole foods, produced in a healthy way, help reduce inflammation. Fresher foods have lower histamine levels. Older foods tend to produce more histamine, which increases the allergic response. Feeding bagged processed pet foods and treats that have been opened for more than 30 days will increase histamines and inflammation.
Add nutrients to the diet, such as probiotics, fiber (shaved carrots, pumpkin filling), omega 3 fatty acids (fish oil, grass-fed butter, raw milk products from animals that graze outdoors, fermented vegetables, raw apple cider vinegar, raw yogurt (not the processed yogurts we often eat, which are high in sugars), and leafy greens all help reduce histamine and inflammation.
In my practice, in addition to dietary changes for pets with allergies, I recommend therapeutic herbs and nutrients that naturally reduce histamines and improve the liver’s ability to process toxins and “clean the blood.”
When pets have significant allergy issues and need more relief, they benefit from herbal steroids, antihistamines, and medications that target more specific symptoms, like coughing and sneezing.
Reducing stress is also key to decreasing inflammation in the body. Pets are more prone to allergy problems when they have undergone several changes of ownership/household, or when they suffer from separation anxiety, noise fears and phobias, or when living in homes with many schedule changes or fights and arguments.
Identifying ways to reduce emotional stressors and giving pets medications or supplements to help them better cope with their anxieties also helps them better manage their allergies.
Not all pets with allergies need pharmaceuticals to become allergy-free. Many of my patients gain control through diet change and stress reduction, such as changing their exercise routines and learning “a job.” Having an outlet for energy, such as agility or scent work, can be very calming for dogs. Cats who benefit from interactive play sleep better and engage in less destructive behavior.
If your pet suffers from allergies, be sure to talk with your veterinarian about the best ways to help him find comfort.
Dr. Cynthia Maro is a veterinarian at Ellwood Animal Hospital in Ellwood City and Chippewa Animal Hospital in Chippewa Township. She writes a biweekly column on animal care and health issues. If you have a topic you’d like to discuss, email ellwoodvet@msn.com.