Insanely itchy (kpwlee)

I think I got the dried nettle from our local health food store (it kind of looks like oregano, as I recall).  Maybe Callie knows more about good sources.

I remember reading once that putting wet tea bags on a sunburn will take the sting out, and I did that the one and only time I got a severe sunburn on my chest from sitting at a ball game.  The tea bags actually got warm after being on my skin.  Maybe there's something in basic tea (not even an herbal one) that calms inflammed nerves?

tacran

I think I got the dried nettle from our local health food store (it kind of looks like oregano, as I recall).  Maybe Callie knows more about good sources.

My typical go-to is Leaves and Roots, which is online click here - but they do have a $20 minimum (never a problem for ME *grin* but then ....) but if you want some holler and I'll get it and send it to you if you can't find elsewhere.  Surely cheap enough.  I hadn't thought about nettle -- but it makes sense.

tacran

putting wet tea bags on a sunburn

Just plain old black tea -- it's the tanic acid in it that neutralizes the burn -- and it can turn a mild sunburn into tan without peeling.  Dang, that was my mother's favorite 50+ years ago.

And as to chamomile -- that would be one of my first herbal go-tos -- it's actually a darned good anti-inflammatory -- whether used internally or externally.  And you can give the soggy herbs in their dinner -- if it's anything internal it's a great anti-inflammatory that won't upset the gut.  But I use chamomile a LOT topically as well.

Now for *me* -- I soak in boric acid and water a lot for the psoriasis -- there are times it's the ONLY thing that will squelch the itch but it's inconvenient with dogs.  You don't want them to ingest it but it's a good calmative -- just tough to get a dog to soak their feet, much less their head.  The places Bugsy is itchy is a limiting factor on what you can use.

kpwlee

And he has a plethora of environmental allergies, this is new-ish (probably noticed in January or a little in late December - but it wasn't as frequent) and is more intense than the other itchies.

  Did something change in your house about that time, such as new carpeting or drapery? Did you or B get some new bedding? I ask because Jessie's very allergic to wool and kapok. Dogs can be allergic to fabrics just like people can.

  You said B was just as itchy on the pork based product as he was on the Orijen. If a dog has food allergies, it can take 6 to 8 weeks to see improvement after a diet change.

  Jessie has been itchy too the past few weeks but not as bad as B or Twister. My vet and I adjust the frequency of her allergy shots according to how itchy she is. When her allergies act up, she gets shots twice a month instead of every three weeks. Like Bugsy, Jessie has many environmental allergies, but the shots have helped a lot. She receives antigens for 14 of her worst allergies, and some of those cross react with other allergies that she has, so it's like she's being vaccinated for more than the 14 antigens. Like the dog Julie posted about, holistic treatments didn't seem to help Jessie either. We've also found that she responds better to Tavist or Zyrtec than she does to Benedryl. Good luck with Bugsy; I hope the sweet boy feels better soon.

Julie -- homeopathy is one of those things that's more often done badly than well.  a LOT of "holistic" vets dabble in homeopathy and can do it VERY badly.

 Karen -- even if you took a whole bottle of Hylands "Hives" it wouldn't give him hives.  There *are* certain homeopathics that can do what you're saying but I'd honestly not use Hylands "Hives" for hives on a dog. That's too much an "emergency".  Hyland Hives is formulated for a human is pretty .... ineffective.  The reason I suggested that one is because it does have apis in it. 

Dosing homeopathics is tricky -- Heel does it best to be honest.  Their blends are really helpful.

Different "strengths" do different things -- it's not a matter of stronger as much as the fact that the different strengths literally do different things.

I used to give Billy Traumeel and Heels "Allergy" fomrula -- and giving them together changes what they do separately.  So give one and then the other.  (given literally *together* they almost mimic a steroid in how it works and I would only want you to do that on a vet's say so)..

I learned my own lesson the hard way -- several years ago I was taking Rhus Toxicandra (which is actually made from poison ivy plant) for my itchy psoriasis -- and since it's also good for arthritis I thot it was a win win!  I bought a single in a large size online -- but in a really low dose (figuing it was safer).  But since they were a low dose I was taking  several of them pretty frequently.  It took about a week -- but all of a sudden I realized my itch was suddenly WORSE ... and I had this fine little rash ... I literally GAVE myself poison ivy with my shenanigans.  That was my proof that it's stronger medicine than most folks think.  And that was where I stopped using "single remedies" without the advice of a homeopathic doctor. 

I used to have asthma so badly that I was on three or four breathing treatments of albuterol a day plus 2-3 different inhalers.  I lived in a constant state of bronchial ashtma.  That was where I began using homeopathy on myself -- and at this point I actually have a homeopath I go to regularly.  IN fact, it was the homeopath who figured out 2 weeks ago that the drug they'd given me for the lung infection I had was causing side effects that were making me more ill.  Got me off the antibiotic and started to feel better immediately.  I told him last night I owe him a big big debt of gratitude. 

But as to what Julie said -- it's not uncommon for someone to not respond to particular homeopathic remedies -- often there are 4-5 different remedies that may do similar things and the one that might help me won't help you at all ... then again it might.  So it happens a lot where someone "tries" homeopathy and if they don't have the guidance of a good vet or doctor it may fall flat for them.  Which is a shame, because done well, it's awesome medicine. 

 Kord is raising his paw. He understands Bug's itching. Kord is down to all beef and beans for food, with supplements. Eggs turned out to be a no no, a big one. We knew he was allergic to chicken, I guess it extends all the way down to the shell. He has been off them for a full month now, so hopefully in a couple of weeks we will see even more improvement. We even tried a dose for Thyroid with no improvement. I avoid pred as much as possible and only use it for emergencies because he has trouble processing it. We are using Claritan now instead of benedyl, it did noting for him anymore.

On some good notes we got permission from our landlord to make some changes. 

We are in the process of removing the carpeting here in the house. The living room was going to be done second to the bedroom because Kord sleeps in there more than anywhere but we discovered hardwood flooring under the 2 sections in the living room we checked, so now we are ripping it out next week. The bedroom floor is going vinyl by Memorial day. I am hoping that by pulling out a 10+ year old carpet we improve his environment more.

The water thing Lisa mention, I might have to try that as well. Never thought of the water as being an issue.

At the advice of his vet, no testing was done here either for Kord. To many things to check for. We narrowed the food down and we know flea's can be an issue, the environment is going to do what it does and there is only so much you can do to control it. We keep the grass cut short, the weeds down, all greenery off the fence and building. He does get wiped down when coming in.

Since switching to cooked he is growing hair back! And he looks fuller. He still itches and gets bad ear infections, but hopefully the straight up food he is on will continue to work. If he becomes allergic to beef, I have no clue what I am going to feed him.

Good luck.

 ((( Truley ))); you certainly have your hands full with Kord. Continued good wishes as you deal with his allergies.

Truley

At the advice of his vet, no testing was done here either for Kord. To many things to check for 

   I wanted to comment about this, mainly for lurkers. This is an incorrect assumption, but many vets will make this mistake. I took Jessie to a veterinary dermatologist about nine years ago and she explained to me that dogs have a threshold; they can tolerate things they're allergic to up to a certain point; beyond that point they become itchy. Jessie was tested and found to be significantly allergic to about 28 types of pollen. In addition, she was highly allergic to house dust mites, storage mites, and house dust. Looked pretty hopeless, right? Well, the dermatologist chose 14 of her worst allergens for immunotherapy and it made a huge difference in her quality of life by bringing the allergen load below her threshold level. We used to deal with so many skin infections, as well as her chewing the bottoms of her feet enough to make them bleed. She also had numerous ear infections. She was on antibiotics continually. She has been itchier lately because of the early pollen season; scratching her sides a few times a day, but so much better than she used to be.

Truley

Since switching to cooked he is growing hair back! And he looks fuller. He still itches and gets bad ear infections, but hopefully the straight up food he is on will continue to work. If he becomes allergic to beef, I have no clue what I am going to feed him.

   I'm glad his coat is getting better, but are you certain all of this is due to food allergies? Have you tried a short term course of prednisone? If it doesn't help, that's a better indication that his suffering is caused manly by food allergies, but if it does help, you may want to have him tested for environmental allergies.