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Demodicosis in dogs is a parasitic disease, also called demodecosis. It primarily attacks puppies up to the age of one and old, often sick dogs. How is demodicosis manifested in a dog, what causes demodicosis and how is demodicosis treated?
Demodicosis is one of those diseases that practically every dog can get sick, even those whose owners puff, blow and regularly visit the vet with them. Almost every tetrapod has various parasites on the skin, and one of them is the psi mite - Demodex canis, a microscopic arachnid from the mite order. The infection occurs in the first days of a dog's life - during feeding or licking it passes from the bitch to the puppy.
Demodex is not dangerous to humans, and outside of its host's organism, it can survive for no more than an hour.
Demodex lives in hair follicles, sebaceous glands and in the stratum corneum. It feeds on sebum and skin cells, and in a he althy pet it is not dangerous under normal conditions - it lives for itself, without hurting the dog any more and not letting it know itself. But even a temporary drop in the pet's immunity is enough for the mite to take advantage of the opportunity and start multiplying rapidly, causing the dog to have characteristic symptoms.
Demodicosis can also appear in the course of other diseases: viral diseases, allergies, metabolic diseases (including diabetes), autoimmune and viral diseases.
Worth knowingEvery dog is prone to this ailment, but some breeds of demodicosis are more common in dogs than others. Doberman, Shar-Pei, Great Dane, English Bulldog, West Highland White Terrier, German Shepherd, Dalmatian, Bernardine, Bull Terrier, Boxer, American Staffordshire Terrier are particularly sensitive to the Demodex.
Demodicosis in dogs: symptoms
Demodicosis has various symptoms that depend on both the age of the dog and the form of the disease.
Local Demodex person
Usually affects young dogs. Its most common symptoms are erythema, flaky skin, and local hair loss around the eyes, face, on the head, outside of the ears, torso, or front paws.
Does not itch unless secondary bacterial contamination occurs in the meantime. In this form, demodicosis is commonit heals itself. Sometimes, however, it turns into a generalized demodicosis.
Generalized juvenile demodicosis
It concerns dogs between 3 and 12 months of age - it occurs when focal lesions spread over the whole body. It happens that the lymph nodes are enlarged as a result of secondary bacterial infections. In some dogs, this form of demodicosis heals on its own.
Generalized demodicosis of adult dogs
Applies to animals over 12 months of age. Its symptoms are identical to those in generalized juvenile demodicosis.
Demodicosis
Usually accompanies a generalized form and concerns mainly giant breeds: Great Danes, Bernardines. Symptoms are located on the fingers and in the spaces between them - most often it is erythema, purulent lesions, soreness and itching.
Demodex in dogs: diagnosis
The diagnosis of demodicosis is relatively simple: on the border of he althy and diseased skin, the tissue is scraped to see if there are demodicosis in it. The so-called the scrape must be quite deep due to the fact that Demodex lives in the hair follicles and sebaceous glands, lying quite deep in the skin. The collected material is then viewed under a microscope - the doctor looks for eggs, larvae and adult Demodex in it. Sometimes microscopic examination of hair follicles in which adult individuals live is also performed.
Demodicosis in dogs: treatment
Treatment of demodicosis in a dog depends on what form we are dealing with. Topical demodicosis is treated with topical acaricides - it usually takes 4 to 8 weeks, until there is no trace of a parasite in the scraped tissue. If local lesions have become superinfected with bacteria or fungi, additional antifungal treatment or the use of antibiotics is usually necessary.
Much more difficult to treat is generalized demodicosis. During treatment, the condition of the diseased skin should be improved and the lesions disappear, as well as the general condition of the animal, as well as the root cause of the disease should be found and treated. Skin lesions are treated with anti-mite agents (by mouth or by injection), and the affected areas should be lubricated with preparations recommended by the veterinarian. The treatment lasts even several weeks, and in order to avoid a quick recurrence of the parasite, the therapy should be continued for up to six weeks after receiving a negative skin test result.
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