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Stinging Dog – West Highland White Terrier

Stinging Dog – West Highland White Terrier

The West Highland White Terrier suffers from an allergic skin disease called atopic or atopic dermatitis. These dogs have a faulty skin barrier and are allergic to pollen, dust mites, and household spores (the things that cause asthma in people). These dogs are frustrating to deal with.

Since pollen and spores are difficult to keep away from the dog, problems are recurring. To reduce the severity of flare-ups, itching should be treated as soon as possible. Itching and rash in these dogs develop in areas of the body with fine hair that are not well protected. These dogs often have itchy feet, groin, ventral abdomen (belly) and armpit (armpits) and the concave surface of the pinna (pointed part of the ear).

Immunotherapy is the only current way to cure the problem with a 70% success rate. Allergens are determined by a blood test and a skin prick test. This procedure is expensive and most West Highland White Terrier owners turn to other ways to manage the condition. Corticosteroids like prednisolone are the cornerstone of treatment. Cyclosporine works well too, but the costs involved are often inhibitory.

Recent advances in understanding this terrible condition have allowed some more effective natural treatment regimens to be developed that really work. The skin barrier is deficient in a protein called sphingosine that is part of the protective ceramides that bind skin cells. Protecting and repairing the barrier can greatly help these dogs prevent flare-ups by blocking triggers. The West Highland White Terrier is a very defiant itchy dog.

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