Cortisone Tablets

[mad dogz]

Hi,

Our 2 dogs have recently had some sort of allergy with irritated paws and mouth. After taking them to the vet they were prescribed cortisone tablets which worked wonderfully. We have stopped their course of tablets and the allergic reation has come back! I phoned the vet who said it was ok to use the cortisone every 2nd day to keep it under control and to also use polarimine tablets which they've had before. We are in temporary accomodation while house is being rebuilt so it seems like they're alergic to something outside and at least it's not a permanent move for them. Does anyone else have dogs who have had to take cortisone one and off for months at a time? Back at the other place they were fine. I gues I'm concerned about any damage it may do to them??

Cheers

[Loraine]

I would not have my dog on cortisone for very long. It does other internal damage to the dog (messes with their adrenal glands etc.) I also have a bou who suffers from skin problems, and I have now gone the holisitc route via Robert MacDowell (he has a website and does a free email consult).

[BaaabyFlynn]

Cortisone is a fab drug short term

you need to find hte cause of the allergy and see if you can get rid of it

[BlitznBear]

mad dogz my boy suffers from allergies and it effects him in between his paws and under his chin to the point where he nores on his paws until he is red raw.

He was on cortisone everyday for 7 days then every second with antihistamine tablets in between, and just like you the itching and noring would stop and all his symptoms would disappear, and then when he was completely off them for approximately a week or so, he wouldflare up again and be back to itching and and constantly noring at his paws.

We didnt like him being on the cortisone at all, his coat turned to crap, it was rough, dry and his shine dissapeared, he gained weight whilst still running every night, his poo had a god awful smell,and he was constantly thirsty so we took him off the corts and changed his diet.

Since we have taken him off the corts and introduced flaxseed and fish oil capsuals with a raw diet we have seen 70% improvement, his coat is slowly coming back to its shiney gloss and he is back to his previous weight, we give him antihistamine tablets when he starts licking at his paws (roughly once a fortnight maybe) and it calms him right down, but summer is on its way and it will be our first summer with him so we are not sure what to expect.

You might want to try the flaxseed and fish oil, the flaxseed is a anti inflammatory and the fish oil is a calming soother for his skin, alot cheaper for you, with no harmful side effects for your dogs..

Good luck, all the best..

BlitznBear

[Poodle wrangler]

Depending on the dose of cortisone, you might need to decrease the dose b4 stopping it entirely. It's only a stop-gap measure for sure . Need to treat the cause.

I read on another allergy thread that you need to experiment with antihistamines- some work better than others, depending on the individual dog e.g. a 10 day trial of different ones.

[Minny]

My Chi is asthmatic and has allergies to grass and other substances.

He was put on cortisone for a long period of time and started losing his hair. Concerned about his long term health, I changed to another vet who refered him to a specialist.

The specialist put him on Aminyllin tabs. morning and night and he hasn't looked back.

Very occasionally, he will have problems with grass allergies - he licks his feet which appear red and inflamed, so I give him Polaramine for a day and that settles it.

But reading Blitznbears response, I'm goin to add flaxseed. He already has fish in his diet.

Hope this helps.

[Flaves]

It was me that suggested the antihistamine.

If it is hayfever then you can ask the vet to tell you what dose and get it from the chemist as it is cheaper.

You MUST put them on the antihistamine whilst on the cortisone and decrease the cortisone over a couple of days so that the antihistamine takes affect.

[peigirl]

MD up the dose of antihistamines and back down on the cortizone. Mine has very bad atopic dermatitis and has two claratyne tablets a day. What colour polaramine are you using - pink or red? Compared to others Polaramine is a low dose antihistamine.

As others said you also need to up omega 3 and 6s. The dermatology specialists normally recommend a fish oil (regular 120/180 DHA/EPA ratio) plus an evening primrose oil supplement.

[mad dogz]

Hi,

Thanks for all your tips! Piegirl, I've got the pink Polarimine tablets which are 2mg, are there stronger ones that I can use on them? How often would you give Polarime to your dogs and what strength? Are there other antihistimes available?

I will only use the cortisone in a flare up and manage their allergies with polaramine or similar. I will also try the fish oil & EPA in their meals too.

We're only in this place for about 6 more months while house being built thank goodness!

Cheers

[peigirl]

MD you can use a regular people antihistamine for treating your dogs allergies. The red polaramine is 6mg. If you already have the pink polaramine you could try one in the morning and one at night so 4mg per day. If no effect try a red polaramine 6mg tablet once per day. If still no effect experiment with different antihistamines with stronger active ingredients. I use claratyne, active ingredient is 10mg lortadine (sp?) which my boy gets twice a day. Polaramine had bugger all effect on him.

Edited September 18, 2007 by peigirl

[Ptolomy]

We use Zyrtec which is a human anti-histamine - 1 tablet daily - but you will have to trial them and see which works best.

[ScoobyDoo]

Hi, When we first fostered our beige Shihtzu three years ago, when he was 9, he was covered with a dreadful itchy rash. He was in constant agony of itching and scratching 24 hours a day. He was currently on cortisone tablets, which we immediately tried to wean him off, but the rash persisted. At the same time, I was having a few itchy problems myself and my GP prescribed Elecon Lotion, which is very helpful for people suffering psoriasis. I tried a little patch on Scooby one day and like magic, the next day that area was totally clear. Now, I use the lotion every time I notice he is favouring special areas for licking and gnawing attention. He has not had a sign of a rash or even a pink patch of hair or skin since beginning this treatment.

[shmoo]

I use a combination of Prednisolone, Neocort, Phenergan, Malaseb washes, and diet to manage Sweeps allergies.

[Sheridan]

My dog had some problems last year and was on cortisone for around two months. The vet said to steadily decrease it and he had no problems after that. A previous dog was on cortisone for an autoimmune disease and this suppressed his immune system but it allowed him to get sick from other things. Not a good drug to be on long-term.