skin problem

[trevorwoolley]

we have a lhasa apso called henry, for about the last five years he has had a terrible skin complaint, his skin looks as though it is coated in mud and flakes off in clouds of dust, his coat is very thin and falls out all over the place. we have spent hundreds with vets and got nowhere, he has been castrated at the vets advice, no improvement, he has been on steroids, antibiotics, special shampoos, special allergy diets, nothing seems to work. our other lhasa, taz, is a female and has no problems. henry smells so bad, we are at our wits end with him. he has been on a diet containing aloe vera and plain yoghurt and has been bathed regularly in the same and for a while there seemed to be an improvement but now he is as bad as ever. a leading canine skin specialist told us it was an auto immune problem called pemphagus and for a while the treatment seemed to work, but again after several hundred pounds worth he was just as bad again. we are desperate for some help.

[latergatorj]

http://p069.ezboard.com/bhealthforumfordogsandcats

There is a Veterinarian on this site- I recommend cross posting this query onto that site. I hope you find some help; it sounds like you've done quite a bit to try and solve the problem.

[Tucker'sMom]

I have some experience with pemphagus, my Mother's Cocker had this. It took a long time to diagnose and while I was reading your post I started thinking of that. If you want, I will talk with my Mom and get any info from her or just have her join and she can give you the info herself. I don't remember a whole lot about it, or even how it was treated. I know Melanie was on prednisone, but I think that was before the proper diagnosis. I'm not sure what else was done. Let me know if you need any more info.

[Maggie's Mom]

In the event that the original poster is checking this... I am Tuckers Mom's mom and my Cocker had pemphigus. It is an autoimmune disease that is difficult to diagnose. My Veterinarian explained that a canine dermatologist may see 10 cases in his/her career, whereas a general practitioner may only see 1. I went through 4 vets before I found one that was dedicated enough to find out what was wrong with my Melanie instead of just trying drugs. Part of the problem is also that pemphigus will sometimes go into remission so it seems that the treatment is working. Some time later, it comes back. Melanie was treated with a low dose of Prednisone and it seemed to be working, but that was when one Veterinarian decided that she had lupus. The symptoms returned. When she was finally diagnosed properly she was treated with a high dose of Prednisone and Imuran, an anti-rejection drug given to transplant patients. That treatment did work and her pemphigus symptoms disappeared. However, that is not the end of the medical problems. Unfortunately Prednisone is a steriod and can cause excessive weight gain. Also the Imuran seriously depresses the immune system. You have to be very dilligent with any injuries or illnesses. If I can answer any of your questions, please post.

[Leo's Mom]

I have the 2-year-old pomeranian -- Leo -- with very similar problems. This Atopica that the Veterinarian put him on seems to be doing the trick. Atopica is an immunosupressant for dogs with Atopic Dermatitis. Basically (as I understand it), their bodies develop an allergy to their own skin... it's an exaggerated immune response (hence the label Acquired Immune Disease). This Atopica is supposed to suppress the allergy. Also, I have been rubbing Colodial Silver all over his skin (2x daily) and giving it to him orally as well. I'm not sure which one is doing the job, but his skin sure has improved! His hair is starting to grow back in places, too. Hope this helps. DEANNA