Allergies

Pets can develop severe allergic problems. In some pets, exposure to certain foods, treats, bedding materials, and other common things in their environment make their life miserable. Many owners are unaware the problems their pet have may be related to ordinary and common things, such as foods or bedding, and do not recognize the symptoms, such as licking the feet or frequent ear infections.

During the thorough exam of your pet, your veterinarian may ask a number of detailed questions to help identify the source of your pet's symptoms in order to eliminate the problem completely. Medications can be useful to relieve symptoms and reduce discomfort, but it is equally important to attempt to eliminate the source of the irritation. One comparison of this might be a person suffering from asthma who eliminates exposure to cigarette smoke and exhaust fumes and also uses an inhaler to relieve airway tightness. At Alpine Animal Clinic, our focus is to try to find solutions rather than trying to cover up problems.

Case study of Food allergies: Below are photos of a 4 year-old dog who had suffered from allergies for years. Despite extensive treatment with 8 different prescription medications prescribed by another Helena veterinarian, including steroids, creams, antibiotics, antifungals and other medications to suppress the immune system, he still itched and chewed all over and battled frequent ear infections. He lost hair from all over his body, and chewed his hind end and feet raw. Exasperated, his owner took him to Alpine for another opinion.

Dr. Heidi Wampler took a careful history and identified several possible problems. She suggested a specific dietary regimen and elimination of identified possible allergens. Dr. Wampler also recommend discontinuing all prescribed medications, at least temporarily, for the duration of the trial period. Just five weeks later and utilizing only the prescribed food source, this patient was comfortable for the first time in his life! As you can see in the photos below, by eliminating allergens he had significant regrowth of hair and completely stopped chewing and rubbing his skin. Best of all, this dog was no longer on any ​​medications!

Before treatment:

You can see this dog suffers from intense itching that causes hair loss and skin darkening

around his eyes, nose and mouth.

Before treatment, you can also see on his hind end the red areas of bare skin, dark pigmented skin, skin thickening and hair loss he suffered due to chronic allergies.

After treatment, just 5 weeks later:

After just 5 weeks, this dog has regrown much of the hair around his eyes, nose, and mouth. He is also already losing the abnormal dark pigment in his skin and you can see new hair growing, nearly covering the entire hind end and inner legs.

This patient achieved all of this without use of any medications.​​

All patient photos used with permission.

---

Common Allergy Symptoms

• Chewing or licking feet, toes, toenails

• Ear redness, thickening, and pain

• Ear infections with bacteria, yeast, or both

• Rubbing on floor or furniture

• Scratching or chewing areas of skin

• Red, irritated, or crusted areas of skin

• Scooting or licking anus

• Red bumps or hives

• Watery or red, irritated eyes

• Nasal discharge, sneezing

• Reverse sneezing (snorking)

• Coughing, wheezing, or difficulty breathing

• Asthma

• Red mouth, red gums