Chronic Itchy Elbows

[ramonaghan]

Sweep's had itchy elbows the entire 9+ months we've had her. That is the only place I see her scratch regularly, sometimes to the point of bleeding. We've tried Nordic Naturals fish oil capsules, coconut oil (as a supplement and also topically), Missing Link, and colloidal silver first aid gel, which seems to help with healing as long as she doesn't manage to rub or lick it off before it dries. I mentioned it to the vet a few months back and she thought it might be an environmental irritant like detergent (though I'd think that would also affect her belly), so we switched to Dreft for a while. No major improvement. Sweep has plenty of soft beds that she takes full advantage of, so it's not any kind of pressure sore. Has anyone else seen itchiness that's isolated to one spot like this? She literally walked away from her dinner last night to scratch furiously for a minute, then came back to eat. One elbow's looking pretty rough right now, but of course when we tried to wrap it up, Miss Drama Queen acted like her leg was broken. Her coat and skin look good otherwise.

[GeorgeofNE]

I'm guessing she is really trying to itch her "arm pits." Classic sign of an allergic reaction. Probably a seasonal pollen allergy.

 

Have you tried Benedryl?

[Guest RMarie]

When we first got James, he would scratch at his ears to the point that he scratched off the layer of skin on both ear tips! We came home to find a raw ear tip and his skin flap on the carpet. For him, it was finding the right food.

[a_daerr]

I'm also guessing allergy. Could be environmental or food (although food usually presents as itching at the butt, base of tail, paws, and ears). I've seen several other threads on here discussing seasonal environmental allergies, so it may just be a matter of giving her Zyrtec until the weather changes.

[ramonaghan]

Have you tried Benedryl?

 

I did try it over the winter, just once or twice and probably not a full dose because I'm paranoid like that. I'll give it another go, unless...

 

I've seen several other threads on here discussing seasonal environmental allergies, so it may just be a matter of giving her Zyrtec until the weather changes.

 

...Zyrtec would be better? Does it matter? If it's something like pollen, are there other telltale symptoms? (She does do the reverse sneezing/gagging thing occasionally.)

 

I don't think it's food (and the vet didn't seem to either). She came to us on Purina One SmartBlend's Lamb & Rice and is now on a combo of Iams green bag and Blue Buffalo Life Protection Chicken & Rice or Lamb & Rice, and she has handled all of them well. Her poops are consistently fine and she has not had any gas since the first week or two here. Coupled with the fact that she doesn't scratch any of the typical food-allergy spots, food seems a less likely culprit than something external to me. I just hope it's not the cats!

[a_daerr]

Yeah, Benedryl is one of the fast-acting allergy meds. It has a sedative effect, though (diphenhydramine). Benedryl is pretty good for sudden allergic reactions, like insect stings or whatever. But it does have the potential to knock the dog out. On the other hand, Zyrtec is an antihistimine, but it does not contain diphenhydramine. So that's probably better if you're going to be using it over a longer period of time. Our vet also recommends buying unscented baby wipes and wiping the dog's legs down (elbows too) when they come in from being outside. I definitely know that in PA, we're having unusually high pollen counts this time of year. I'd probably chalk this one up to allergies.

[ramonaghan]

Yeah, Benedryl is one of the fast-acting allergy meds. It has a sedative effect, though (diphenhydramine). Benedryl is pretty good for sudden allergic reactions, like insect stings or whatever. But it does have the potential to knock the dog out. On the other hand, Zyrtec is an antihistimine, but it does not contain diphenhydramine. So that's probably better if you're going to be using it over a longer period of time. Our vet also recommends buying unscented baby wipes and wiping the dog's legs down (elbows too) when they come in from being outside. I definitely know that in PA, we're having unusually high pollen counts this time of year. I'd probably chalk this one up to allergies.

Yep, Nashville's awful too (almost year-round), so allergies would not surprise me; I just thought it was weird that it's seemingly only one part of her body that's bothering her. I'll try the Zyrtec and wipes. Thanks!

[gryhnd_adoptee]

One of my girls cannot take fish supplements, nor any food with fish in it as it makes her itch. I never noticed that was the culprit until the TOW recall last year. They were both eating Pacific Stream, and I thought they were doing so good on it, but when I stopped feeding it, her itchies stopped. She doesn't shake her ears anymore, scratch at herself, and her anal glands even cleared up. I used to have them done twice a year for her. I just assumed fish oil was good for all, but seems it's not so on her case.

 

Just in case it was just the food, I started her on the Grizzly salmon oil after the food recall to continue supplementing with fish oils, and she was back at worrying about her butt again, and her eye rims would be pinker then usual. No fish oil for her.

[macoduck]

My vet prefers Zirtec over Benadryl. He always suggests giving local honey for environmental itchies too.

[tbhounds]

Try Zyrtec, Claritin, Chlortrimeton or Allegra. Just remember not to give one that contains a decongestant (D). Benadryl has fallen out of favor for seasonal allergy use. Benadryl is greyt for an acute allergic reaction to a bee sting, vaccine ...... but, the other antihistamines have proven to be more effective with seasonal or chronic environmental allergies.

[ramonaghan]

One of my girls cannot take fish supplements, nor any food with fish in it as it makes her itch. I never noticed that was the culprit until the TOW recall last year. They were both eating Pacific Stream, and I thought they were doing so good on it, but when I stopped feeding it, her itchies stopped. She doesn't shake her ears anymore, scratch at herself, and her anal glands even cleared up. I used to have them done twice a year for her. I just assumed fish oil was good for all, but seems it's not so on her case.

 

Just in case it was just the food, I started her on the Grizzly salmon oil after the food recall to continue supplementing with fish oils, and she was back at worrying about her butt again, and her eye rims would be pinker then usual. No fish oil for her.

 

Thanks for this idea. I'm still leaning toward environmental allergies, but it's worth a shot to try going without fish oil for a couple of days, and she loves coconut oil, which I already have on hand. I'll see if there's any improvement before trying Zyrtec. Pollen counts will continue to be high over the next few days, so I'll only be changing one variable at a time and should know fairly quickly what's working or not.

 

He always suggests giving local honey for environmental itchies too.

 

Sweep appreciates that recommendation!

 

Try Zyrtec, Claritin, Chlortrimeton or Allegra. Just remember not to give one that contains a decongestant (D). Benadryl has fallen out of favor for seasonal allergy use. Benadryl is greyt for an acute allergic reaction to a bee sting, vaccine ...... but, the other antihistamines have proven to be more effective with seasonal or chronic environmental allergies.

 

Thanks for the reminder on the D!

[Guest LazyBlaze]

My old dog with seasonal allergies did well on a daily supplement of Quercetin (it's a flavonoid). Piriton (an antihistamine) also helped, but would make him drowsy, and since he had to take them regularly I preferred giving him the Quercetin (I also liked that it's natural). It really kept his allergies in check, though maybe took a day or so longer to take full effect than the Piriton.

[cometdust1]

Years ago I had a dog with constant problems with raw, inflamed elbows with no other symptoms. Turns out it was from powdered carpet deodorizer. Could it be scented laundry detergent or fabric softener?