Everyone, no matter where they live, is now well into Flea
and Tick Season - a time for prevention and close inspection after being
outside. Living in South Florida, it is
Flea and Tick Season all year round which can be difficult for those dogs (and
possibly me) who suffer from flea bite allergies.
What is a Flea Bite Allergy?
If a dog is hypersensitive to a flea bite, it can cause the
dog's immune system to overreact, producing antibodies to ward off what it
deems is a dangerous invader. When an
adult flea bites a dog, it injects saliva into the skin and the proteins in
the saliva is what causes the intense itching associated with flea bite
allergy.
This all can lead to a skin disorder called flea allergic
dermatitis. Believe it or not, but flea
bite hypersensitivity and the resulting flea allergic dermatitis are the most
common cause of itching in pets. And
guess what? You do not have to be
infested with fleas to suffer from this allergy.
A single flea bite can trigger an allergic reaction.
That is what my veterinarian once told my Ma when I was in
the office for yet another bout of the allergic itchies. He also said that Ma wouldn't have to see even
one flea on me...the flea could just jump on, bite me and jump off (because it
was repelled by a flea and tick preventive) and I could have a severe allergic
reaction.
Are there treatments for Flea Bite Allergy?
I can tell you firsthand that when you are in the midst of
Flea Allergic Dermatitis, treatment consists of an antihistamine to block the
immune response as well as Corticosteroids (steroids) to decrease the
inflammation and severe itching.
However, just like in humans, corticosteroids are not recommended for
long-term use since they can have some harmful side effects.
There are also allergy shots which can help desensitize a
dog to the allergen. They are given just
like human allergy shots, over a period of time, but sometimes are required for
the life of the dog. It is said that
they are successful for approximately half of the dogs suffering from this
allergy.
An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure
From what I know, the best treatment is prevention. Continuous flea treatment, like what's provided by the new
Seresto® collar, is essential for keeping fleas away to stop the allergic
reaction.
The Seresto collar has sustained release technology which
delivers the performance of a topical treatment in an easy-to-use collar for up
to 8 months. That's right...no need to
remember monthly applications as the collar provides protection from fleas and
ticks for 8 months.
I received the non-greasy, odorless and water-resistant
Seresto collar, which is available in three sizes - Large Dog, Small Dog and
Cat - and will be giving it a thorough test here in buggy South Florida. The packaging says it repels and kills ticks
as well as kills fleas that may try to bite me and give me a horrible allergy. I will keep you updated!
What do you use for flea and tick prevention?
Do you or a dog you know suffer from Flea
Bite Allergy?
This post is sponsored by Bayer/Seresto and the Pet Blogger
Network. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about the Seresto
product, but Oz the Terrier only shares information we feel is relevant to our
readers. Bayer/Seresto is not responsible for the content of this article.
I use the common frontline and we try to get the new revolution treatment (it's not available in france by now). but your suggestions sounds great! to be safe for whole 8 months, is absolutely pawesome!
ReplyDeleteWe had a Cairn with awful flea allergies when I was a child. The technology back then was not so good. We flea bombed the house, but the poor thing was constantly under attack. I really wish we'd had Frontline back then. Today we still have the ticks, but when I find them, they are usually dead. We did have to treat Katy for fleas when we got her from rescue and this time we had the professionals treat the house. However, no problems since.
ReplyDeleteSo many pups suffer from these reactions. So happy we have no buggies
ReplyDeleteLily & Edward
Flea allergy is not FUN (scary) to have. Every pet parent, must be educated about Flea protection. As a senior dog, Sugar is taking extra protection. Sugar is currently using the Seresto collar too. Woofs to you OZ :-)
ReplyDeleteWe haf been hearing about this collar, so far wesa lucky none of us haf this allergy but mom stays on top of it each month. Please keep us updated on how well it works.
ReplyDeletestella rose
Oh I have never heard of this before!
ReplyDeleteWe have battled fleas in our home, and let me tell you, it is not fun with 3 very furry Siberian Huskies!!!!!
Thanks for sharing this!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
Thankfully we are never in areas were there are fleas. Nasty little dudes. The collar sounds like a good idea though.
ReplyDeleteOh Oz buddy bless your heart ....living in the South is rough when you are allergic to the out of doors critters.
ReplyDeleteMom is highly allergic to mosquito and flea bites too. when they had their first pet a Doxie mom said the fleas would jump off Toto unto her. She has since learned fleas and skeeters are attracted to humans with O+ blood type.
I hope your bites feel better soon itching is no fun. Even though I'm indoors only I have a monthly flea/tick prevention.
Hugs Madi your bfff
While ticks are a big problem for us, I've never seen any fleas on my guys, thank goodness! I try to use as few chemicals as possible on my guys so I am glad at least one pest hasn't found us yet!
ReplyDeleteOh no! Sad itchy skin! Curious to see whether you like this product! We are currently using Frontline, and applying it has not been a fun process for Chewy or the humans. He will even lie on his back to try and keep me from applying it!
ReplyDeleteHey Oz! Thanks for sharing this important and timely information with us! We had heard of the Seresto collar but learned a lot more through your post. What a bummer that all year long is flea/tick season in Florida :( We haven't had many problems since moving to the Pacific Northwest but still vigilant as ever!
ReplyDeleteMiley has a flea allergy and it's definitely no fun! We always blame the cat for bringing them into the house! Great post!!
ReplyDeleteWow Florida sounds the place for ticks and fleas? Crikey pal. We have a lot of those products here but we do stick to frontline as we know it works. Have a wonderful Wednesday.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes Molly
Fleas are horrid in Mississippi! We used to do natural with dimatecous dirt and Dawn until last summer. We had the house and yard professionally treated twice and still couldnt overcome. Even neighbors with no pets had flea problems. We tried the natural collars, oils, and magnetic flea tags to no avail. Kirby hates the topicals acting as if it burns him so we finally resorted to comfortis which is working for him but scares me. How safe and really how well does this collar work? Its expensive for another useless product.
ReplyDeleteHope it all clears up Oz!
ReplyDeleteI saw these in a trade industry magazine about a year ago and was very interested in how well they work. I'm looking forward to your review!
ReplyDeleteOh, you KNOWS I gots the flea allergy!! I'm still tapering off my prednisone/antihistamine from my rash from when Ma forgots to refill my flea meds! Let me know if the collar works...It would be a great back up, in case 'Ms. Airehead' forgets again!
ReplyDeleteKisses,
Ruby ♥
Luckily we don't have a flea problem here. Hope this works for you OZ.
ReplyDeletehugs
Mr Bailey, Hazel & Greta
We don't have fleas or flea allergies (that we know of) but that looks very itchy! a like the idea of an odorless flea collar. I haven't used one on my pets since the early 80's and they smelled to high heaven! I'm anxious for the Twitter chat about these.
ReplyDeleteGreat post Oz, Those fleas are such evil little boogers!
ReplyDeleteReilly too is allergic to fleas and this time of year he is driven crazy be chigger too. I have a sprat I put in him to keeps them at bay
ReplyDeletePaws crossed, we have no allergies, not even bee stings, but we are interested in these collars.
ReplyDeleteOh, Oz, hope the collar does the trick! Doesn't sound like fun! :)
ReplyDeleteScooby Doo is allergic to fleas too. That is why we love the Seresto collars. They protect him and ma doesn't worry about whether or not she forgot to give him a treatment.
ReplyDeleteNola has terrible, terrible flea allergies. It's so sad when she's in the midst of a reaction. Our new vet just put her and Pike on NexGard for flea and tick prevention (it's a pill), since we've had issues with Comfortis not working. Pike got his first dose today, and I am thrilled!
ReplyDeleteDM
I'm really allergic to flea bites myself. Don't know if Rita is as she hasn't had them. Thank heaven! I hate to put chemicals on her, but fleas are really bad here in So Cal and since I'm allergic I go with Frontline - but I only put it on her every other month in summer, or every 3 months the rest of the year.
ReplyDeleteI'm very lucky in that I live in a place where we have very little problems with fleas. In fact, when a case does pop up, it's always such a surprise.
ReplyDeleteWow Oz, such a great post with really good info. Lots of people used to say "but my dog doesn't have fleas" and we would tell them just what your vet told you. It just takes ONE flea bite! Fleas are bad here this year. Have been doing a lot of natural treatments, which work OK but am going to apply some Vectra 3D tomorrow since it's what I have on hand right now. Would love to try Seresto one day.
ReplyDeleteOur Golden had flea bite sensitivity and we did treat him with a topical preventative. But I think he must have outgrown it or never came into contact with fleas because we slacked off on the preventatives but he didn't have issues later in life. I like the idea of a collar except of course our dogs swim so much that usually things labeled "water resistant" don't last long....lol.
ReplyDeleteI use a Seresto Collar too. Last year was the first year I used this collar and not a single flea or a tick had bite me. So this year mom had got me and now also Vaks a new collar. She don't want fleas and ticks in her house or on us she says :-)
ReplyDeleteFleas aren't the big deal here - we have more problems with blackflies and horseflies. Hope the fleas leave you alone.
ReplyDeleteWe use Frontline Plus. It works well for us - but this was really good info!
ReplyDeleteCammie!
PS: By the way ... nice to meet you, Oz! Thanks for stopping by our blog!
ReplyDeleteHey guys, we have nominated you for the Shine On Award. You can read all about it here: https://followingroy.wordpress.com/2014/06/23/shining-through/
ReplyDeleteCongratulations!
Roy & Shefali
What a great post Oz, thank you for sharing. My gang has never had fleas and we don't want them. I do use Vectra 3 D on my gang.
ReplyDelete