What are the treatment methods for dog skin diseases?
In recent years, the number of dogs being kept has increased greatly, and many dogs gather to play in small and medium-sized squares in cities, causing the spread of diseases. Among these, skin disease transmission accounts for about 20%. The causes of skin diseases are related to poor feeding and management, deterioration of the ecological environment, being kept in cages with a lack of exercise, and the influence of other adverse factors. Dog skin diseases can be subdivided into several types, including bacterial, fungal, viral, protozoal, parasitic, endocrine, immune-mediated, dietary, hair-loss, and liver dysfunction-related.
The bacterial type is basically characterized by pyoderma, and its severity is classified according to the depth of damage to the skin; its main symptoms are acute dermatitis occurring on the lips, tail, vulva, and scrotum, with rupture of the epidermis and hair follicles, pustules on the mucous membranes and epithelial stratum corneum, and when the subcutaneous tissue is damaged, it develops into dermal necrosis, anaerobic cellulitis, folliculitis, and furunculosis. The fungal type commonly involves fungi invading the superficial layer of the skin. The viral type commonly involves botulinum virus or papillomavirus invading the superficial layer of the skin. The protozoal type commonly involves damage to the skin by kala-azar, babesiosis, and sarcocystosis. The parasitic type commonly involves damage to the skin by scabies mites and Demodex mites; in addition, flea bites can also cause intense itching, which can lead to the skin being scratched and inflamed. The endocrine type commonly involves lupus erythematosus caused by hypothyroidism, pituitary dwarfism, diabetes, and so on.
The dietary type is related to a lack of biotin, B vitamins, vitamin A, iron, and zinc in food; the symptoms are peeling scales and scratching the skin raw due to itching. This type of disease can be treated by supplementing the missing vitamins and trace elements; in addition, food allergies can also cause skin diseases. As the condition develops, eczema-like dermatitis may appear due to autointoxication. The treatment method is to identify the allergens and the sensitizing factors in contact with the dog and treat accordingly. The cause of hair-loss skin diseases is impaired hair production function, hair follicle malnutrition, hair follicle damage, hair follicle degeneration, and obstruction of the periodic growth of hair follicles. In addition to the many above causes that can trigger dog skin diseases, liver dysfunction can also cause dermatitis.
Dog skin diseases cannot be considered congenital or hereditary diseases. Some are related to skin pigmentation, some are caused by neurological factors, some are caused by Rickettsia and helminths, some are caused by skin swelling, some are primary epithelial in origin, and some have not yet caused actual harm to the dog. At present, among the many dog skin diseases, the causes of some diseases are still not clearly understood and are still being studied.
The various drugs used to treat dog skin diseases have different pharmacological effects in the body. In addition to drug therapy, there are also physical therapies such as ultraviolet light and lasers, as well as protein therapy, tissue therapy, and so on. The main drugs for treating skin mycosis are nystatin and sulfonamides. Using them together with ingredients that have various pharmacological effects to make preparations for external application is effective. For treating dermatitis, the drug dosage form can be selected according to the cause of the dermatitis, the sensitivity of the dermatitis to drugs, and the depth of the lesions. Glucocorticoids and immunomodulators are also drugs for treating dermatitis, and vitamin therapy is of great significance for treating dermatitis. For treating pyoderma, staphylococcal vaccines and autogenous vaccines are now widely used to produce an immune response against the corresponding pathogens. For treating skin mycosis, multivalent antifungal vaccines must be used.
In short, when treating dog skin diseases, different methods must be used according to the different causes of each type of skin disease.