Dermatology

Virtually all internal diseases will eventually have cutaneous manifestations such as a dull dry coat which sheds easily and is not replaced at a normal rate. In these conditions, the clinical signs of the internal disease occur first and predominate, leading the clinician down the correct diagnostic pathway.

Skin and ear problems are very common reasons for dogs and cats being presented to a veterinarian. These animals can suffer from many different skin diseases with a wide range of underlying causes.

Concurrent claw problems are not unusual in many skin diseases, but rare as the only dermatological problem. The most common disease affecting single claws are: trauma, bacterial or fungal infections; the most common condition affecting multiple claws would be onychodystrophy.

Cutaneous manifestations of internal disease exist in both human and veterinary medicine. Many endocrine skin diseases start with bilaterally symmetrical alopecia as the first clinical and presenting sign.

The most common hypersensitivities affecting dogs and cats are: flea bite hypersensitivity, food adverse reaction (food allergy & food intolerance), and atopy.

History (70% of the battle); physical examination (20% of the battle)

This was a commonly diagnosed disease in the late 70s and early 80s. It is rarely diagnosed today. With current day tests for infectious diseases like leishmaniasis and our understanding of the complexities of cutaneous drug reactions, most cases of "lupus" are actually not "lupus" and might be a curable disease.

Currently there are 3 morphologically separate species of follicularly oriented demodex mites in the dog: Demodex canis, Demodex injae, and Demodex ?. The unnamed species has a very short tail but is not Demodex gatoi of the cat.

A triamcinolone dosage is corrected.

Ear edge dermatoses in dogs can consist of alopecia, seborrhea, crusting, ulceration and necrosis.

Pemphigus foliaceus, the most common autoimmune skin condition in dogs and cats, is characterized by pustules, erosions, and crusts.

After years of giving advice all day long to pet owners with allergic dogs, I now have a fresh perspective on the subject-that is after adopting Cindy, an allergic 11-year-old Golden Retriever, a few years ago.

Pemphigus foliaceus is a disease of the immune system and the skin. In fact, it is the most common immune-mediated skin disease in dogs and cats.

Dermatologic disease is one of the most common reasons owners bring their dogs to the veterinarian.

Atopic dermatitis, also known as atopy and previously called allergic inhalant dermatitis, is considered to be a genetically based condition whereby the animal develops an IgE antibody response to environmental proteins resulting in disease, most commonly allergic dermatitis.

The pruritic cat often poses a challenge for the clinician as there is often no one distinctive pattern that provides the diagnostic criteria leading to a conclusive diagnosis.

Diseases of the ear represent a majority of cases observed in practice and often with accompanying integumentary involvement.

Resident bacteria are normal inhabitants and are able to grow on normal skin.

The skin and hair of newborn dogs and cats undergoes significant change between birth and six months of age.

Demodicosis is one of the most common skin diseases of dogs.

Diseases primarily affecting the nails and nail folds are relatively uncommon in dogs and cats.

Diagnosis of pruritic dermatopathies requires the dedication of collecting an historical account of the problem complete with all interrelationships of seasonality, in-contact animals, human disease and treatment, including specific drugs, treatment regimens and therapeutic outcome.

Despite the advent of newer demodicidal therapeutics, management of the chronic relapsing or refractory demodicosis cases remains a frustration.

Three species of fungi are responsible for most cases of dermatophytosis in dogs and cats.

Cutaneous or subcutaneous nodules are relatively common problems in the dog and cat with assorted etiologies to be considered.

Malassezia spp. are second only to Staphylococcus in terms of the frequency recovered from canine ear cultures.

Few organisms elicit as much concern in the field of small animal dermatology as Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Flea allergy continues to be a common condition affecting dogs and cats despite the major advances in the understanding of flea biology, the immune mechanisms of flea allergy and the availability of newer chemicals providing more optimal flea control.

Bacterial skin infections represent a common condition affecting the canine and is often recurrent.

The importance of topical therapy for pets should not be underestimated.