Can you get hives from a dog lick

Dog Hives (Urticaria | welts): Causes, Diagnosis & Treatment

What Are Dog Hives (Urticaria)?

Hives, otherwise known as urticaria by medical professionals, are one abnormality you may see. They occur when your dog is allergic to something, such as an insect, medication, or food. Recognizing hives in dogs and understanding the cause is essential to relieving your dogs discomfort and preventing dog hives in the future.

What do dog hives look like?

• Dog hives look like raised bumps on the skin, usually about the size of a nickel.
• Hives are usually red in color; however, you may not notice redness if they are on a very furry part of your dog. In this case, your pets hives may only look like fur-covered bumps. Sometimes, its difficult to see the raised bumps, and you may only feel them when petting your dog.
• Dog hives can appear anywhere on the body, including the face, tongue, neck, legs, chest, abdomen, or back. They can affect just one area of the body or the entire body.
• Dog hives are very itchy. This may be the first thing you notice before seeing or feeling hives on your dogs skin. Your dog will likely be trying to scratch, lick, or bite the areas affected as it will be itchy.
• Hives usually happen very fast within minutes after exposure to whatever caused them.
• You may notice excessive drooling and a swollen/puffy face if the hives affect your dogs throat or mouth.

What causes hives on a dog?

Dog hives are almost always related to exposure to an allergen. Once exposed to an allergen, mast cells in your dogs body release a substance called histamine. Histamine causes blood vessels to dilate, which leads to raised welts on your dogs skin.

The most common allergens causing dog hives include:

• Insect bite or sting, or ingesting an insect (photo recommendation: dog playing with bee)
• Vaccinations
• Acute allergic reactions to medications (chemotherapy, vitamin K, antibiotics)
• Food allergies
• Environmental allergies (grasses, trees, mold, dust mites, etc.)
• Contact allergens such as shampoos, insecticides, cleaning products
• Ingesting or skin exposure to toxic plants

Much less common causes of hives in dogs include prolonged exposure to extreme temperatures (hot or cold), strenuous exercise, parasites, or significant psychological stress.

Insect bites/stings, food, and medications are the most common causes of hives in dogs.

How are dog hives diagnosed?

As a pet parent, it can be worrisome to see these skin rashes, but luckily, for your vet to diagnose your dogs hives. Your vet will use a combination of your history and their physical examination findings.

Its essential to think about anything new your dog may have been exposed to. Did you see them playing with a bee? Were they recently vaccinated? Did they start a new medication or a new food? During the physical exam, your veterinarian will look at your dogs skin to evaluate hives and where the hives are located.

If your veterinarian is having trouble diagnosing your dogs hives or the reason for their hives, they may perform additional diagnostics, such as blood work, skin cytology, skin scrapings, or fecal analysis.

How to treat & get rid of dog hives?

Treatment for hives in dogs can be simple or more extensive, depending on the cause, severity, and duration of the allergic reaction.

To get your dog quick relief from the swelling and itchiness related to hives, your veterinarian will usually administer an injection of diphenhydramine (an antihistamine) and a corticosteroid. Once your dog is feeling better and discharged from the hospital, your veterinarian may also recommend that you continue giving your dog Benadryl two to three times a day at home for a couple of days.

To prevent hives from reoccurring, you need to understand what caused them in the first place so that you can avoid the allergen in the future. If there is no apparent cause for your dogs hives (such as insect bite, medication, or vaccinations), it may be more challenging to understand how to prevent hives in the future. Environmental and dietary allergies are two possible causes of hives that may require further diagnostics and treatment.

Environmental allergies

If your dog has recurrent hives or has other signs of allergies, your veterinarian may recommend testing for environmental allergies with serum allergy testing or intradermal allergy testing. With these results, your veterinarian can create a plan to desensitize your dog to these allergies with allergen-specific immunotherapy.

If you determine that you cannot eliminate the allergens in your dogs environment or pursue allergen-specific immunotherapy treatment, your veterinarian may recommend:

• Giving your dog daily antihistamines (such as Benadryl, zyrtec, or hydroxyzine)
• Giving your dog other prescription-strength allergy medications such as apoquel or cytopoint
• Starting daily skin health supplements, such as omega-three fatty acids.
• Frequently bathing your dog with medicated high-quality shampoo

Food allergies

Allergies that stem from food can also cause recurrent episodes of hives in dogs. The most common cause of allergies in dogs include chicken, beef, dairy, and egg 2. Recurrent episodes of hives can also be related to dietary allergies. To diagnose a food allergy, your veterinarian may recommend a diet trial for 6-8 weeks with a prescription food or an over-the-counter diet with a different protein source, like fish or venison. If your dog responds positively to a food trial, you can continue the special diet long term.

Are dog hives dangerous?

Dog hives are rarely life-threatening. However, there are a few less common situations where hives can affect your dogs breathing and become dangerous.

• Hives in the face, neck, or throat can cause severe swelling that impacts breathing, which can become life-threatening.
• The presence of hives anywhere may indicate your dog is having or about to have an anaphylactic reaction, which causes constriction of airways and difficulty breathing. 3 Besides hives, other signs of anaphylaxis include vomiting, diarrhea, facial swelling, drooling, blue gum color, and collapse.

If you notice that your dog has hives, pay particular attention to how they are breathing and for any other concerning changes in their behavior. If you are concerned your dog may be having severe allergic reactions, take them to the emergency room immediately to rule out a medical emergency.

At-home remedies for dog hives

If possible, take your dog to the veterinarian if you notice they have hives, especially if this is a first-time problem. If your dog chronically or intermittently has hives and the issue has previously been discussed with a veterinarian, some at-home remedies may help relieve the allergic reaction.

• If the hives are not affecting your dogs face, neck, throat, or ability to swallow, you can administer Benadryl by mouth. Always discuss if this is appropriate for your dog with your veterinarian first and receive instructions about dosage and frequency.
• If the hives were caused by a contact allergen (such as grasses/trees or chemicals) or insect bites you can help relieve itchiness by bathing with a gentle oatmeal-based dog shampoo can help your dog feel more comfortable.
• Apply a cold compress to the hives or the most severely affected areas of your dogs skin. Be careful never to apply a cold compress for more than 10 minutes at one time, and always wrap the ice or cold object in a towel before applying it to your dogs skin.

Allergist Q and A: Can a dogs lick cause a serious allergic reaction?

We found out our son was allergic to peanuts at age 1, when he was licked on the face by a dog that had recently eaten a peanut butter flavoured dog biscuit. Luckily, the EMTs got there fast and after epinephrine was administered and a trip to the ER, he was okay.

We went to the allergist, who performed a peanut skin test and explained to us how cross-contact works. She also informed us that several common allergens are found in some dog foods and flavoured toys. For a person with food allergies, touching these allergens can lead to hives, but contact with the mouth (as in a dog lick on the face) may cause a serious reaction. For small children, the risk is greater because they touch their mouths so frequently.

Recently, I spoke with Dr. Vy Hong-Diep Kim, MD FRCPC, a Toronto-based clinical immunologist and allergist, about dogs, food allergies and reactions.

Q: What is a dog allergy?A: Dog allergens are present in the skin, hair, saliva and sebaceous glands. Dog allergies can cause symptoms such as itchy watery eyes, runny nose, sneezing, hives and an asthma flare in people who have asthma. People with dog allergies can develop symptoms when they are around the dog, even without touching the dog, as some of the allergens can be airborne.

Q: I hear people say their dogs are hypo-allergenic. Is that possible?A: Hypo-allergenic dogs still have one or more dog allergens present in them, thus they should not be considered safe for people with dog allergies. Dog exposure should be minimized in people who are allergic to dogs to reduce the chance of developing asthma or the chance of asthma flares in those who already have asthma.

Q: What is the connection between food allergy reactions and dogs?A: Generally, for peanut allergic people, if the dog has eaten peanut butter and licked you, you could get a skin reaction where the dog has licked you. Reactions are limited to the skin, unless you have a dog allergy or you ingest the peanut.

Q: What precautions should be taken if a child is allergic to ingredients in some dog foods, such as peanut?A: I suggest the same precautions that you would take for other foods if the food contains peanut, then the child with the peanut allergy should avoid being around the food, in case of accidental ingestion. If the child is playing with the dog, the child should be supervised (for safety reasons, regardless of presence of allergies).

If the dog has just ingested peanut [or any allergen], then the child should stay away from the dog.

Q: If youre allergic to dogs and also have food allergies, how do you know what you are reacting to?A: Food allergies can cause a range of symptoms, some of which overlap with the symptoms of dog allergies. Generally, food allergy symptoms appear quickly after ingesting the food. Sometimes it can be confusing if exposure to both happens at the same time. If theres any question of a food allergy reaction, then it is best to treat the food reaction.Interview by Anne B., a Food Allergy Canada member

Tags: cross contact, dog, pets

5 Skin Problems You Can Get From Your Pets

Mites are tiny, spiderlike creatures that hail from the tick family. They can also spread disease as they feed from the blood of their hosts.

The mites that cause cheyletiellosis, or cheyletiella mange, tend to hang out in kennels and pet shops, where pets can pick them up and bring them home with their owners. The result is a red, bumpy rash and white flakes that appear to be moving (which is why cheyletiellosis is sometimes known as "walking dandruff"). Cheyletiella mites can also infect humans, producing a rash on the arms, trunk, and buttocks.

Washing your pet weekly for six to eight weeks with a pyrethrin shampoo (the type of shampoo that's also used to kill lice) should take care of the mites. Make sure that you also spray all pet bedding. Once you've treated your pet, your rash should clear up.

The Sarcoptes scabiei mite causes sarcoptic mange (better known as scabies in humans). When these microscopic menaces get under the skin of your pet, they can lead to hair loss and some serious itching. Small red pustules erupt on the animal's skin. Because the dog or cat is itching so much, these pustules can get infected.

If your pet's mites jump to you or another human, they will cause a very itchy, pimply rash that can last for weeks. To treat the rash, your doctor can prescribe an ointment or cream called a scabicide to kill the mites. Also wash all of your towels, bedding and clothes in hot water or seal them in a plastic bag for at least 72 hours.

You can treat sarcoptic mange in your pet with an organophosphate dip, but this procedure isn't very pleasant. To prevent your dog or cat from getting sarcoptic mange in the first place, use a monthly medication that protects against the disease. Also treat your pet's bedding, because these hardy mites can survive for several days without their pet host.