skin and coat Flashcards
What is alopecia?
the partial or complete absence of hair from areas of the body where it normally grows; baldness.
what is Erythema
superficial reddening of the skin, usually in patches, as a result of injury or irritation causing dilatation of the blood capillaries.
what is Excoriation
to chafe, abrade or wear off the skin.
what is Pruritis
severe itching of the skin, as a symptom of various ailments.
how much protein is required for the skin of dog and cat?
30-35%
what is an Allergic skin disease?
immune mediated inflammatory reaction in the skin to an allergen.
What are the top 3 most common allergic skin diseases?
Flea allergy dermatitis
Atopic dermatitis
Food allergic dermatitis
What is the most common sign of allergic skin?
pruritus + gastrointestinal signs
scratching and biting at the skin, rubbing the face against carpet or furniture or licking the feet or other parts of the body.
What is the most common underlying cause of allergic skin diseases?
exposure to allergens - any substance that when inhaled, ingested or absorbed through the skin induces an allergic or hypersensitive response.
causes formation of immunoglobulins, primarily IgE
These become attached to tissue mast cells or basophils. When these are exposed to the allergen, they cross-link with it and other IgE molecules leading to the release of compounds that cause the inflammatory reactions of erythema, oedema and pruritus.
What is the Pruritic Threshold?
individual animal’s tolerance of allergic and non-allergic factors that initiate pruritus.
exposure to a level of pruritic stimulatory factors above the pruritic threshold initiates clinical signs.
‘summation effect’ explains why an animal who has a low-level response to one or two mould allergens can appear to be completely normal, until the pet develops a new allergy to fleas.Taken separately, the mould or flea allergy may not cause enough discomfort for the pet to scratch, but the cumulative effect of the two allergies may cause the dog to exceed the threshold where the discomfort manifests in clinically noticeable symptoms.
How can the pruritic load be reduced?
by decreasing exposure to inhalant allergens, by treating for fleas, by removing offending food ingredients from the diet, or by using a combination of these actions.
what is most common external parasite to domestic dog?
fleas
What is the allergy to fleas called?
Flea Allergy Dermatitis (FAD)
flea allergic dogs develop clinical signs between one and three years of age.
immediate response - 15-20min of being bitten
delayed response 0 24 hours after - rear of pet causing itching up to 30 days
If flea infestations are there for a lon gtime, what can happen to the animal?
significant amounts of blood loss = parasitic anaemia and transmit tapeworm
how can you test for FAD
observations - the presence of lesions and papules along the back, near the tail and on the hind legs may be supportive of a FAD diagnosis.
intradermal allergy - detect cutaneous IgE and other non-IgE antibodies in the skin. This can be compared with serologic testing which detects only circulating IgE in the serum.
