Trauma To The Skin & Tail
There may be some bruising and bleeding on your pet’s skin due to excessive scratching and rubbing- particularly at the tip of the tail. This could be due to irritating insect bites.
How do I know whether my pet has flea Bite Dermatitis?
Flea allergies are seasonal and cause the worst symptoms in the summer and during fall –when fleas are rampant. If your dog or cat is suffering from flea Bite Dermatitis they will show signs of:-
- Thinning of fur due to
- Repeated and frantic scratching and biting of the skin and tip of their tail.
- As a result of this trauma the skin becomes red and inflamed.
Treatment
To get to the root cause of fleas you have to rid your pet of all of them. There are a number of flea-control products available in pet-stores to enable you to do this with-
ü Flea Collars
ü Sprays and shampoos that are effective with regular use
ü Topical hydrocortisone products
But be warned that the last of these can result in severe side effects, more so with regular use.
Ringworm
The name can be misleading because ringworm is not caused by a worm but rather a fungus. Cats and dogs suffer the most from this infectious skin ailment. Ringworm results in ring shaped skin lesions. Your pet may frantically scratch at inflamed spots that have a scaly look. In time your pet’s coat will show loss of hair.
Where ringworm strikes most…
Ringworm is widespread on the face, ears and paws; but in severe infections, it can affect your pet’s entire body. Persian cats in particular and any pet with a weakened immune system in general, are most likely to get this fungal infection.
Difficult to diagnose
Diagnosing ringworm is not easy, since it looks the same as many skin ailments like allergies. To make sure you need to ask a competent vet to make a diagnosis.
To detect ringworm your vet will take a sample of hair from the inflamed area and send it to a lab to be cultured.
Ringworm is infectious
The bad news is that ringworm is very catching and can take the same ring shaped form on you, or appear as a dry, odd shaped red patch. Ringworm can cross easily from a pet to the owner and vice versa-(especially so if the concerned immune systems are weak!)
A step in time…
If you get Ringworm ask your health care professional to immediately put you on the right treatment -normally a topical cream. It is also a good idea to boost your dog’s and your own immune system by eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly.