Viewer Question Topic: Allergies

Hello Dr. Milwicki, I am so glad to have run across your article as I am about to proceed with some allergy testing. I have a two and a half year old female boxer with allergy symptoms of redness between toes and underbelly/ears with constant scratching. She has been treated with cortizone for a peroid of time and is currently weaned off. Plans are to take her to University of Auburn Veterinary School for testing. Is is necessary to wait 6 weeks before we have her tested? I fear she will be miserable before that time as her condtion will become worse. What can I do in the meantime to make her more comfortable? Any insights and thoughts would be very much appreciated. Thank you, Bev A.

Hi Bev, I'm glad to here you are taking your Boxer to a dermatologist at a veterinary school. There are lots of good specialists available to all of us pet owners and we should ask for a referral whenever severe health problems develop in our pets. It is important to stop the cortizone before allergy testing, otherwise the test results will be inaccurate. You may want to consider using an antihistamine during this time as well as medicated baths. Please speak to your vet or call the specialist about this. Six weeks is a long time and she could damage her skin quite badly during the waiting period. Good luck to you.

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