Friday, October 24, 2014

Ginger's allergic reaction

It started about 3 weeks ago with a small red patch on the neck below the right ear.

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The skin would turn red and it looked inflamed, but there was no puncture of any kind. I sprayed Path-Away and the next day, it would dry up, a scab would form, but the patch gradually grew bigger.

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 It starts as a red patch, then dries up, covered with a scab.


So off we went to the vet's. The vet said it looked like a scratch wound and suspected that it could be due to an ear infection which made Ginger scratch below the ear. True enough, that right ear had a lot of dirt in it. However, when the dirt was examined under the microscope, no mites were found. The vet cleaned both ears and told me to continue applying Path-Away. After two days, I was to apply Revolution spot-on. The vet didn't think it was anything serious.

The redness decreased, but the patch continued to grow bigger.

So after a week, we went to see another vet. Wood's Lamp was used to check for fungus and there was none. Then, three skin swabs were done and again, nothing could be found. Another swab was done to check for demodex and that was negative too.

It's so strange.

The vet concluded that it could be due to the ear infection as well as an allergic reaction of the skin. It didn't look that bad, actually. It wasn't red or inflamed, but the bald patch just continued to grow every day.

mini-PA190543The three patches where the skin swab was done. The rest of the skin looked okay; just that it was balding.


The vet prescribed a course of steroids (for the itching) and the antibiotic Clavomox. We were to go back in 5 days' time. An antifungal and antibacterial ear-drop was prescribed as well and this was to be used in both ears as well as on the balding patch.


Today is the 5th day and we went back for a check-up.


Another cytology (skin swab) was done today to rule out ringworm or fungus. Nothing was found in the skin swab again. So the vet said to continue with the tapering down of the steroids and to finish the 14 day course of antibiotics. If all goes well, we will go back for another check-up in 2 weeks' time.


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The fur is starting to grow back in middle of the whole patch.


We measured the bald patch - it's about 4 cm by 5 cm. The vet said it looks like it's already on the mend.


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I hope Ginger gets well soon.


The balding patch does not seem to bother him much.


His appetite is good and he's active and cheerful, as usual.


 

4 comments:

Kelly said...

Wish Ginger speedy recovery. Thanks for the sharing.

Yen Ling said...

Glad to know that Ginger is getting better.

Nerq Leman said...

Hi Dr Chan,
Ever run a bloodtest on Ginger? Sometimes it is a sign of diabetic cat.

chankahyein said...

Thanks, Nerq. I will KIV this.