Allergy-Type Ailments Caused By Stress?

[Guest KTPrime]

So I'm just returning from visiting my Optimus at my parent's house, and I'm noticing a few symptoms that I'm thinking might be stress related. A little background: Opti has been staying with my parents for a little under a year after I moved into an apartment that was not pet-friendly (only 4 more months until my stupid lease is up and I'm onto pet-friendly pastures!) Optimus has almost always had problems with his ears - usually at least one has a bad buildup and it seems to bother him, and occasionally when it gets bad one ear will kind of droop. I brought him to the vet who said it was a yeast buildup, but even with drops and regular cleaning it always seems to reoccur. This past time I was home I noticed his ears weren't too good (as usual) but he also seems to have a buildup at the bottoms of his eyes. I tried to clean it off with a cotton swab but it seems attached, almost like a scab. I also noticed his paws were very red and he seems to be licking them a lot. And then he has a small rash in his pelvic region, which my parents said was maybe only a month or so old.

The reason I'm wondering if this might be stress-related, was because my mom had mentioned that his ears were better, but then got worse again after I visited for xmas. Opti and I are very attached, and I know he is much happier when he is with me (everyone comments on how much peppier he is, and as soon as I walk into the house he is pinned to my side). He also gets very upset when he realizes I am leaving (he'll start to whine and pace, and lay in front of the door - I think he thinks if he does that I can't leave!) I can imagine he must be stressed, because I know it rips my heart out every time I have to leave without him.

Optimus has always been sensitive to certain foods, so we have him on a no-grain lamb and rice food with no treats or other food to upset his stomach. If these symptoms are some sort of allergy, I have no idea what he could be allergic too. I'm hoping to get him to the vet soon - I'd take him myself but we're about six hours apart. We have had several bad experiences with vets and limited finances, so it can be hard to get my parents to consent to take him, even if I'm paying for it. The last vet we went to charged me $800 for tests when all Opti needed was a sensitive stomach food. I can't say there's a lot of trust there.

So I'm worried it might be a few months before I can get him into see a vet, but in the meantime, has anyone else experienced these symptoms? Is it possible they are stress related and might resolve once we are reunited in a few months?

[KF_in_Georgia]

I don't know where you and your parents are, but it sounds like conventional pollen allergies. I don't know where you're located on this map, but almost everywhere is in bad shape. My girl reacts a lot to grass pollen--irritated feet from walking in grass, yucky ears, goopy eyes. I just keep the ears and eyes cleaned out, walk her on asphalt or pine straw and clean her feet when we get home. The rash in Optimus's pelvic region could come from lying in the grass. (I had one girl who would break out in a rash on her chest after she laid in the grass. but she had almost no hair there. Benadryl made the rash go away.)

 

You might get your parents to try Benadryl on Optimus. The yeast infection in his ears (this is common in dogs) could be triggered by a moisture buildup there when pollen is high. I'd be reluctant to attribute his current problems to stress since the ear trouble isn't new and since he has a history of allergy issues with his food.

 

From another website:

 

BENADRYL(Diphenhydramine):
Benadryl is an antihistamine that helps relieve swellings and itching from allergic reactions and is used long-term to treat allergies. The dose is one milligram for every pound given twice daily. (Although safe to use, Benadryl is not very effective in cats, and other antihistamines are more commonly prescribed.)

[Guest mld]

Stress can always make things worse if there is an underlying problem. Yeast loves to grow in ears and on paws, my guy is going through this right now, it's very itchy stuff for them. Benadryl will help the inch with will lessen the chance for an infection if he is scratching too much. I bath 3 times a week also and every time I also change/was his bedding with fragrance free laundry soap and no fabric softener.

[XTRAWLD]

To be completely honest, Kasey's allergies started when we moved in with my parents during a few months. We were moving from a house to another house, so the timing wasn't right and we lived there until the homeless overlap was over. I wouldn't say we moved into the healthiest of environments (smokers house and really old carpet), from our smoke free home.

 

Being one that has run the gammut with Kasey trying to diagnose and find the root of the problems, puzzle pieces started to fall together - the move may have just been the last straw that broke the camels back. Opti could have had an underlying allergy all this time, and the change of environment could have completely threw him. Opti may have just hit his tolerance level.

 

Kasey essentially wore his allergies on his face, his ears would breakout first and the rest of his head would follow, including under his eyes. He had some good days where he wouldn't itch as much, or look better, but it would always come back. It took forever to get the allergies under control, but they finally are now with meds and education. It takes a lot of trial and error and testing. We only tested via blood and not skin, because Kasey could not tolerate being off meds long enough for a skin trial, but if Opti isn't currently on meds, you might consider doing a skin test right away. Once you have testing done, you can figure out what they are allergic to and make efforts to right the ship. Kasey has food and environmental allergies, I'm not sure if there is any thing called stress induced allergy, however I do agree with the above statement that stress can amplify existing problems.

 

We have a university here with a vet program, so Kasey was a perfect subject for students and it wasn't as expensive as it could have been, but it is by no means cheap. However, I could not look at Kasey and NOT help him with this.

 

Good luck and keep us up to date with your progress.

[GeorgeofNE]

Sorry, but those are CLASSIC signs of allergies.

 

Dogs can be allergic to ANYTHING just like people.

 

Antihistamines will work wonders if it's a pollen allergy, which is very likely is.

[a_daerr]

Although it could be exacerbated by the stress, it definitely sounds like allergy symptoms. It could be food-related or environment-related (especially if it's starting to get warmer in your area). I would try him on an antihistimine like Zyrtec. If that doesn't work, it may be time for allergy testing and/or a food switch. Hill's Z/D or Purina HA are good choices.