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Is It Ok To Give Zytec For Allergies


chook007
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Is it Ok to give your dog human Zyrtec for itchie skin allergies. I have read on DL about it being given to dogs, but is this the same as we would take or is Zyrtec also made for dogs ?

My girl has lots of allergies with itchie eyes, ears & skin. In the past 5 months she has had many vet visits only to be put on meds that dont work for her.

I would like to try the Zyrtec if it is safe to give her.

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Yes, my labrador gets 2 zyrtec per day if she needs it.

Be aware that although generally safe in most dogs, like with any medication, adverse reactions can occur. Also, dogs do not respond as well as humans to antihistamines. You may need to trial several types before you find a suitable one.

Check the doses with your vet though.

Edit- my dog weighs 25kg.

Edited by aussielover
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My lab gets 2 in morning and 2 in evening when he is bad. Take your dog to a dermatlogist, the vets i used messed us around while my new vet sent me straight to derm for allergy testing

Eta my dog weighs 32kg

Edited by Mason2009
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If you google 'dog antihistamine' there is an australian vet that gives doseages of some of the common ones. Definately worth playing around with different ones, I know for my own personal use I find Zyrtec good for hayfever but I also suffer from a type of hives (terribly itchy skin and one scratch brings me up in horrendous welts) and zyrtec doesnt help at all, I have to take a different type every few days to keep it in check. A few nurses are experimenting at work atm as we have mild allergy dogs and even the vets are sick of just prescribing cortisone with all its potential side effects.

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I have given her a Zyrtec today & see how she go,s with it.

It will be great if this helps her, some days she scratches spots into they bleed then she may be fine for a week without to much scratching.

Thanks for helping me with this.

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I had antihistamines on standby for my boy, but treatment using Calendula Tea washes were sufficient enough to get his symptoms under control. His allergy symptoms appear to be food related and his allergy symptoms were quite bad. I never needed to use the antihistamines.

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Casper also gets 1/2 Zyrtec or Xergic when he has the itchies and it works wonders for him. If I find he is still scratching by night time, I give another 1/2 in his dinner. He is 35kg.

Does anyone know, is it ok to give on an empty stomach? I only give with breakfast or dinner.

Good luck, I hope it helps your dog.

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Keep in mind if your dog's allergies are food related, antihistamines won't help.

Are you sure?

Speaking layman terms and layman knowledge base level ..... skin eruptions caused by food allergy still have histamine, don't they? And then when that's scratched it can cause a further skin reaction because of the histamine itself.

Worded poorly, so I hope you understand what I'm saying here. Mandela's hives were digestion related (so it seems) yet his Vet told us to have the anti-histamines on standby.

ETA: And to further clarify what I mean ..... they might help to clear the skin and thereby prevent secondary infection (which is what the Calendula Tea washes did for my boy) but they won't cure the cause.

Edited by Erny
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Keep in mind if your dog's allergies are food related, antihistamines won't help.

Steroid creams (neocort) aren't supposed to work on food allergy symptoms. I certainly found that the case with my girl. If she had itchies because of the wandering jew neocort worked but not when the itchies were because of food.

Antihistamines are weird. They work on my pollen, air-born allergies but do totally nothing for my skin allergies. That includes the old generation antihistamines like Polaramine.

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