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Itchy Pet Clinic

Environmental allergies can affect us all (Asthma and hay fever are common manifestations in people) but in dogs and cats the most common result is a very itchy skin resulting in hair loss, recurrent ear infections, greasy or scaly coats and general distress for the pet.

There are many other causes of chronically itchy skin in dogs and cats and advise on controlling these cases may show large overlap with the control of environmental allergies so the following concentrates on these so called 'atopic' animals.

We have developed an Itchy Pet Clinic as this condition is so common and if not dealt with in an intensive and thorough manner can result in hugely debilitating skin disease and resultant large bills for the pet owner. At the Links Veterinary Group we are keen to try to avoid these costly and distressing flare ups by regularly checking your pets skin after they have been diagnosed with environmental allergies causing dermatitis or eczema.

Controlling your pet's allergies can involve various strategies including the use of hyposensitising injections which slowly decrease the allergic reaction causing the itch. Equally we have in depth experience in the use of specific anti-allergy drugs which have proven to be very effective in controlling inflammed skin and can often be reduced markedly as the pet's condition improves to the point that medication may only need to be given once a week or so.

Nutritional advice will be given to owners of itchy pets as recent evidence has shown the huge benefit of large levels of anti-inflammtory oils in the daily diet with regards decreasing the itch levels experienced by the pet. Equally the use of controlled sources of protein can decrease the itchiness in these patients. All of these properties are embodied in various of the complete diets supplied by Hills Pet Nutrition (www.myhillspet.com).

Pets with long term eczema are also at increased risk of developing skin infections whether by bacteria or by yeasts and in our regular clinics our vets will examine small samples taken painlessly from your pet's skin with a microscope to look for these nuisance bugs and allow us to treat them quickly and effectively.

Using this regular check on your pet's skin will allow us to maximise the chances that your pet's lifestyle is maintained in as itch free way as possible and that will enable us all to sleep easily at night!

Call us on 01620 622262  or Contact us online now to make an appointment at a surgery near you.