First off -- this is going to be a much longer response than you asked for -- but allergies tend to be an interest of mine because I've had a ton of allergy dogs and I have severe allergies myself.
Honestly Websters probably says it best:
Prednisolone:
Etymology: blend of prednisone and 1-ol
Date: 1955
: a glucocorticoid C21H28O5 that is a dehydrogenated analog of cortisol and is used especially as an anti-inflammatory drug
Prednisone:
Etymology: probably from pregnane (C21H36) + diene (compound containing two double bonds) + cortisone
Date: 1955
: a glucocorticoid C21H26O5 that is a dehydrogenated analog of cortisone and is used as an anti-inflammatory agent, as an antineoplastic agent, and as an immunosuppressant
However be aweare also -- allergies are HUGELY tied to the immune system. If the immune system were working properly allergies wouldn't occur because it's the immune system that *should* respond to the allergens.
So the long term use of pred tends to be really counter productive -- because altho it may relieve the symptoms -- it actually worsens the allergies long term. And don't assume that prednisolone would then be the answer -- because just because prednisone is the preferred drug for dealing with auto-immune disease (to SLOW the immune system) doesn't mean that prednisolone won't work much the same way. It's just not good enough to be classed the same way as prednisone **and** it's still a corticosteroid with all that it does to war against the endocrine system.
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That means if you are using it JUST as an anti-inflammatory either works. But it's prednisone that they use in cancer treatment and in auto-immune diseases, not prednisolone.
All the prednisone does is reduce the inflammation. Honestly there are MANY MANY things you can do for allergies without using pred regularly. The use of pred beyond absolute dire necessity sets the dog up for Cushings (and you up for a huge nasty difficult disease to treat/maintain and ultimately the big BAD decision).
I have had **MANY** allergy dogs. All sizes, shapes, varieties and severities. I have mega allergies (and asthma) myself and I'm no stranger to pred.
But honestly? Billy is **the WORST** allergy dog I've ever had. When we first took him at age ~ 6 five summers ago it was a huge challenge just to keep his skin in one piece. Skin, ears, eyes -- ALL of him just flamed with allergy 24/7 and 52 weeks of the year (I live in Florida).
The first thing I did was use TCVM (traditional Chinese veterinary medicine) on him -- acupuncture can do awesome things to help allergies used on a maintenance basis.
It helped ... a lot. But I was still keeping him on Benedryl (which is iffy too because it's hard on the kidneys and cockers can be hard-wired for renal problems).
The BEST thing we did early on was send a full thyroid panel to Michigan State Vet School.
A regular veterinary thyroid panel just is NOT sufficient.
What's the difference? The Michigan State panel (or sending it directly to Dr. Jean Dodds at Hemopet in California) gives you a ***breed specific*** thyroid panel. BIG DIFFERENCE.
See, your regular T3, T4, etc. thyroid panel using your vet's send-out lab simply measures the blood against one table. Whether your dog is a cocker, a chiihuahua or an akita or a St. Bernard -- the blood is measured by exactly the same parameters.
But the endocrine system is extremely dependant on metabolism -- so it doesn't even make sense for a chi to have the same metabolic rate as a rottie or a jack russell or a German shepherd.
Getting the breed specific panel was the FIRST step towards getting Billy's skin under control. He'd had FOUR thyroid tests at my regular vet's office. They all showed him "low average" -- nothing remarkable, not high and not even 'medium' -- but not borderline. Just ... low average.
Sent it to Michigan State? BINGO -- he was **low**. WE began supplementing him and there was an almost immediate resonse foro the better.
Getting the dog's thyroid regulated isn't going to 'fix' allergies. But if the thyroid is out of whack then NOTHING YOU DO will help the allergies. They just rage on and on.
THEN Billy got IMHA (immune-mediated hemolytic anemia). I will always wonder if I set Billy's body up for the IMHA (and we know there was an actual 'trigger' of a sick tick -- however I will ALWAYS think that Billy's life-long battle with allergies made him more predisposed to IMHA.
One of the drugs they treated him with was .... **prednisone**.
Guess what? His skin got WORSE. And oh ... I mean SOOOOO much worse. The pred begins to act as a toxin in the body. It actually *causes* arthritis to form. (because it actually breaks down cartilage in the body over long term use).. The body actually attempts to rid itself of the toxins by more "hot spots" and deep pustules forming to expel the drug from the body.
Now granted he was on a pretty stiff dose of pred at first ... but it tends to be how it goes.
My first allergy dog, Ole Mike tha Dog ... we used pred to treat him -- not a huge dose. 5 mg 2 times a week. But over time it wrecked his liver and I lost him to a mild case of hook/whip worm that should NOT have killed him. But his body was debilitated by having used the pred straight for a couple of years to control the allergies he had.
Suggestions??
Try TCVM (http://www.tcvm.com -- that's the Chi Insittute website and there is a locator on the left). AGain it's not going to "cure" allergies -- you can't. It's like trying to "cure' being ADHD = it's part of you ---. But you can learn to cope and/or "maintain" really pretty darned well
Do the thyroid testing -- honestly my BEST recommendation is to send the blood straight to Dr. Jean Dodds -- her blood panel is actually *bigger* and more comprehensive than what Michigan does at this point.
Dr. Dodds is the lady who "invented" the breed-specific thyroid panel -- she was the head of endocrynology at Michigan State for years and she set up their lab. They still follow her protocols.
But when she retired she founded her own company (Hemopet is actually a national blood donor agency for dogs). But she also specializes in bloodwork, and she lectures at vet schools all over the US and Europe regarding auto-immune diseases as well.
http://www.hemopet.org
Your vet may find it easier to work with Michigan simply because it's a vet school and a "known quantity" to them. They are VERY good up there and it's not a problem. I really like Dr. Dodd's huge blood panel simply because it provides even more information.
3. Another suggestion -- and this is a different type of alternative medicine. Homeopathy, and particularly homotoxicology have been an absolutely perfect answer for Billy.
After the IMHA treatment Billy was in really pretty difficult straits -- the big drugs took a huge toll on him and man, the allergies were just horrible. At the same time we lost our roof in a huge storm and I had a ton of water damage/mold in the house and THAT made it worse.
But the homotoxicology has absolutely made an ENORMOUS difference. We still use the TCVM but i absolutely haven't given Billy even one Benedryl in YEARS. This year has been the *worst* allergy year in Florida in many years. And yep, he's had a little bit of breakout ... but NOT much.
But it is amazing to see that at the age of 11 he's in the BEST health he's ever been in since I adopted him 6 years ago. That's an amazing thing to claim about the worst allergy dog I've ever known.
If you're interested in homeopathy/homotoxicology -- holler at me via email. Of all the "alternative" modalities it is honestly the most solidly based on science -- it is not unlike how they prepare an allergy "shot" altho this stuff doesn't fail (only about 65% of the dogs who undergo allergy shot therapy benefit from it).
The URL I'd send you to for a holistic vet who does homeopathy or homotoxicology would be:
AHVMA -- http://www.holisticvetlist.com/
It's a tricky locator -- and it would be easier for you if I helped you wade thru that one.
Good luck - I'm not trying to be a buttinsky here, but trust me -- I have SOOOO "been there done that" with pred it's not funny.
But both in my own personal health and the repercussions of what happened to Mike have made me extremely leery of treating allergies with pred. The side effects are just TOO severe and damaging. But I understand TOTALLY how it feels to think you are cornered into using it.