If you could spare a thought…

[Nemo]

Good luck at the vet! I hope Mr. Hippo feels better.

[Elysium]

Many positive thoughts from Germany, too! ;)

How is he?

[nkjvcjs]

Sending good thoughts here too.

-Nicole

[tanza]

Good wishes on the way

[renaultf1]

Positive thoughts coming your way - I hope it all goes well at the vet. Get well soon Hippo!

Please keep us posted.

[Rivermoon]

sending positive thoughts….

[Andrew]

Positive thoughts & prayers from Callie & Lola

[snorky998]

I feel your pain. My Katie had an awful outbreak this past fall. It took over 2 weeks of prednisone, benedryl, and oatmeal baths to make her comfortable again.

Good luck at the vets and keep us posted.

[Quercus]

Thanks for your good thoughts, everybody. We are home, and he is more comfortable. He did get a steroid shot to tame the hives; and he will be on an antibiotic in the hopes that the coat and skin issues we have had are bacterial. Later tonight he will get an oatmeal bath. This is definitely the worst case of hives I have seen, they are all over his body, and even his eyelids and muzzle have some swelling.

Some of you may recall that we have been battling skin sensitivity for awhile, and I have been messing around with his food, and laundry…now I am thinking about an air-purifier. He obvioulsy has some sort of allergy, and I don't *think it is food related. I would love to hear if anybody has tried some homeopathic allergy treatments.

Thanks for all your thoughts :)

[Nemo]

How is the humidity in your house?

[Quercus]

It is very dry, particularly in the dog room. And his skin is very dry…but we have been battling this since August. I have been adding fish oil to his food, thinking that I could hydrate him from inside....but, I don't know if it is doing any good.

[tanza]

You might want to try 3V caps… there are lots of places on the web you can buy from, here is just one.
I have used them for years with good results... and they are also recommended for joints as per my Orthopedic Vet from when Maggii broken her leg

http://www.entirelypets.com/3vcapskinfor2.html

[nkjvcjs]

@Quercus:

Some of you may recall that we have been battling skin sensitivity for awhile, and I have been messing around with his food, and laundry…now I am thinking about an air-purifier. ..

We have a cat with asthma who gets very wheezy if we turn off the air purifier or the cool mist humidifier.
She has actually given us a really big scare when the air purifier went off.
Asthma and allergies are pretty closely related, so the air purifier may help more than you would expect.

-Nicole

[Nemo]

@Quercus:

It is very dry, particularly in the dog room. And his skin is very dry…but we have been battling this since August. I have been adding fish oil to his food, thinking that I could hydrate him from inside....but, I don't know if it is doing any good.

Hmm, I was thinking dust mites, but they really only thrive at 50% humidity or above, so do fungi.

[Quercus]

Clay, I didn't know that about dust mites…I was thinking that too...but yeah, it would definitely be too dry for them....ugh....I am really hoping it is a bacterial infection 'cause at least we could identify and treat that.

[Quercus]

@tanza:

You might want to try 3V caps… there are lots of places on the web you can buy from, here is just one.
I have used them for years with good results... and they are also recommended for joints as per my Orthopedic Vet from when Maggii broken her leg

http://www.entirelypets.com/3vcapskinfor2.html

Thanks, Pat…I will definitely look into that.

[Quercus]

@nkjvcjs:

We have a cat with asthma who gets very wheezy if we turn off the air purifier or the cool mist humidifier.
She has actually given us a really big scare when the air purifier went off.
Asthma and allergies are pretty closely related, so the air purifier may help more than you would expect.

-Nicole

Thanks, Nicole :)

[Nemo]

@Quercus:

Clay, I didn't know that about dust mites…I was thinking that too...but yeah, it would definitely be too dry for them....ugh....I am really hoping it is a bacterial infection 'cause at least we could identify and treat that.

Bacteria like low humidity. Not that it necessarily helps.

[lvoss]

Allergies and skin issues can be such a tough thing to get a handle on. Food allergies can be difficult to get a good elimination diet with a novel grain and protein source. Environmental allergies can be to nearly anything or multiple things so you think you rule something out only to realize it may have been several things. Throw in something like hypothyroidism to the mix and it gets to be really complicated.

What laundry soap do you use? How about fabric softners? I break out in hives from most fabric softners and get an awful rash from Tide. For me it seem to be the fragrances because I am fine with most of the dye free, fragrance free brands.

Are the hives seasonal? I know in Southern California several people have dogs break out in weird hives but it always happens at the same time of year, spring. I don't think anyone is quite sure what it is but it is definately a springtime thing.

[thunderbird8588]

Glad Hippo is more comfortable