Managing pets with persistent ear and skin infections due to dog allergies is a significant challenge and incredibly frustrating for pet owners. The relentless sounds of pets chewing, licking, and scratching can be as irritating as the screech of nails on a chalkboard.
Pets afflicted with allergic otitis (ear infections) and dermatitis (skin infections) may even lose weight from the relentless scratching and rubbing. At times, their odour becomes so overpowering that sharing a space with them becomes unbearable. These pets’ greasy, thickened, and flaky skin often deters affectionate interactions.
Initially, antibiotics might seem effective against these bacterial skin infections, but the relief is temporary, and the infections frequently return once antibiotic treatment ceases.
As time progresses, the infecting bacteria evolve, developing resistance to existing antibiotics and necessitating more potent drugs. The prolonged use of steroids, anti-inflammatory drugs, and immunosuppressive treatments such as Apoquel and Cytopoint impairs the body’s natural healing processes, leading to severe suffering in these animals.
Consequently, many of these pets face an increased risk of cancer or succumb to severe infections.
Suppressing the immune system might offer short-term relief from allergic symptoms but damages long-term health. A healthy immune system, consisting of the thymus, bone marrow, lymph nodes, lymphatic vessels, spleen, skin, and liver, is crucial for combating infections and preserving health and longevity. These organs collaborate to create barriers, generate immunity, and purify the blood.
The gut microbiome, a community of bacteria within your pet’s gastrointestinal system, plays a vital role in maintaining a strong immune system. The long-term use of antibiotics can severely disrupt this microbiome, resulting in an unwanted overgrowth of harmful bacteria and yeast proliferation. This disruption can cause intestinal swelling and a condition known as “leaky gut,” where bacteria, toxins, and undigested food particles progressively leak into the bloodstream, triggering unfavourable immune responses and compromising overall health.
Providing pets with a diet suited to their species-specific needs is essential to heal a leaky gut. Diets high in starches like grains, potatoes, and legumes, which convert to sugars, exacerbate yeast growth and inflammation.
Altering the diet is crucial for improving allergies, especially if the pet’s current diet is rich in potatoes, legumes, or grains.
Incorporating prebiotics and probiotics can support restoring the gut’s bacterial balance. Fermented foods and sprouts are excellent sources of these beneficial bacteria.
Additionally, digestive enzymes can aid in food breakdown, reducing the strain on the compromised gut. Glutamine, an amino acid found in meat, fish, and supplements such as NutriFlex DigestiMax, is beneficial for repairing damaged intestinal cells.