allergic reactions to sweet itch products?

digitalangel

digitalangel

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Anyone else have this? Am at my wits end trying to treat my girls sweet itch ( my first sufferer ) but the products just seem to make it worse!

today she almost tied herself up in knots, then when i tried to calm the symptoms down, she had an allergic reaction!

Heres what ive tried

-Naf D-itch ointment
Worked at first, but then had a couple of weeks without it and she broke out quite badly. Been applying it every other day, but doesnt seem to help the itching at all, and skin is now sloughing off along the sides of her mane/neck and in the mane itself. Skin is just lifting in massive flakes. Spent 2 hours tonight carefully combing it out.
- Naf d-itch apray
Seemed to soothe at first, but then skin became raised, and hot and painful to touch. calmed down a little later.
- Leovet power phaser spray - similar reaction to naf spray
- Yellow summer fly cream - applied this to belly along midline to stop her kicking at her belly - seemed to make it a lot worse and very irritating for her.
- Gold label itchigone
Seemed to work for a couple of hours, but still rubbing mane. Also went through half a bottle in one application and it smells of curry! Worked nicely on her tail though.
- Gold label wondergel - did nothing
- washing twice weekly with tea-tree and medicated shampoo - no results.

Ive also been using sudocrem for any open sores she has ( one on neck and one on hip, but they dont seem itchy ) shes in a fly rug, in 24x7 because shes lammi-prone and on wood pellets with shavings on top.

Im guessing the benzyl benzoate is probably whats made her skin come off, so ill have to rule out anything with that in - Can anyone recommend any other products that work without BB in it?

Im also going to try avon skin-so-soft but am confused about where to apply it? Is it a soother to put in mane and tail? or repellant so put everywhere/on belly/between legs/etc?

also does anyone know where i can get camrosa??

Many thanks for anyone who can help. Just want to give her some relief and am somewhat deflated that the ££ ive spent on products are actually making her worse!
 
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Yes, Blackjack was allergic to Benzyl Benzoate. I had to be very careful about finding products that had a different active ingredient (there aren't many!).

The lady who had him on loan managed his sweet itch very well. We were given a Boett blanket, which I think was the saviour of his mane/tail/back area as well as very strict time management. He also wasn't allowed anywhere near meadow-type fields.

She also said that marmite worked well but how this was administered I'm not sure!! She fed him lots of supplements (e.g. Garlic) and smothered him in fly repellant but it was hard work!

Best of luck.
 
HI

If you type camrosa into google you can find the website and order it direct. Delivery very prompt and if you ring they are really helpful and friendly.

I got some liquid from my local saddlers - it is based on urea (wee I belileve!!!!) but seems to stop the itching really well.

Hope you can make your neddie comfortable.
 
Buy yourself a good Sweet Itch rug. You'll spend as much on lotions and potions which really don't work without a good rug anyway. A normal fly rug is not enough.
I use this one...its excellent
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SWEET-ITCH-RU...t=UK_Horse_Wear_Equipment&hash=item3a51d0c126

I also use Coopers Fly Repellent Plus
http://www.hyperdrug.co.uk/Coopers-Fly-Repellent-Plus-600ml/productinfo/COO9010661/

so far this year is the first year my lad is not itching yet and I've had him 11 yrs and tried everything.

The only way to combat sweet itch is to prevent them being bitten and the only way to do that is to cover them up.
You horse will have already been bitten so even when you get a good rug on her it will take a couple of weeks for her to stop but she will as long as you keep her covered. If you ride her either keep the rug on (minus the belly flap) or drown her in fly spray.
Net Tex Sweet Itch Salve is excellent aswell. I have used this with sucess on the face and around the sheath/udders/legs but its a bit messy.

A regular bath will help. Head and Shoulders is good.

I am also adding Brewers Yeast to my boys diet this year which should be contributing....

Is there anyway you can fit a fan in your stable. Midges are not strong flyers so a fan will help keep them away.

Good Luck
 
Some of these chemicals are quite harsh. As others have said, a fly rug is no use at all for sweetitch, you need something like a Boett which is made from material the midges cannot get through. All the potions in the world won't really help. My horse had SI and she really used to massacre herself in her attempts to stop the itching. This year I used something new to the market that my vet actually recommended. It is called Cavalesse. It is a vitamin supplement that you syringe onto a treat and feed to them each day. I used to syringe it into her mouth, it is only a few mm of clear liquid. It works best if you can strt early in the year. I can only tell you that my horse was 100% better. You really should contact your vet to buy some. You can get it on-line, but they do not sell it in shops. It costs about £70 but that is for a 3 month supply. If it works for you, it is well worth the cost.
 
wow you guys are great - thanks so much for your replies i really appreciate it.

Right so i guess ill be ordering a sweet itch rug then - right now i am covering her with fly spray as much as i can during the day and ill definitely be looking into the Camrosa and Cavalesse thank you!!!!
 
thanks so much guys - lots of stuff here i didnt know about - will definitely order a rug, and check out camrosa, coopers and cavalesse - thanks guys!!!
 
We have found that treating topically is only half of the solution - sweetitch is an internal problem caused by an over-reactive response by the immune system, so it's essential to make sure that the liver is cleansed and detoxing properly, and keeping blood cleansed and purified. It's absolutely right to keep the coat covered with a boett-style rug, and applying soothing creams to sore areas, but it's just as important to supplement internally as well. In the Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research, October 2002, Linseed was found to help control skin symptoms of sweet itch, and another very useful herbal blend is EquiNatural's SkinSoothe which we've used for the past 2 summers now, and our two sweetitchers are completely comfortable now, both sporting healthy manes and tails.
 
I think the main problem here is how far it's gone. It's damage limitation. Whatever you try will probably take a long time to turn things around at this stage. I think avoiding the things you think your horse is reacting to and using a safe soother such as sudocrem and a mild repellent (eg with garlic oil) as well as feeding some of the helpful supplements such as garlic, linseed and yeast - initially in small quantities - should hold things at bay. Don't try anything else until your horse's condition stabilises. However, it's a shame if your horse isn't being allowed to graze as they can so often self-medicate if given a field with plenty of variety of weeds in. I'm surprised your horse reacts to benzyl benzoate as, in the correct concentration, it actually promotes healthy healing skin and is used widely in human cosmetics. Perhaps it's just reached a stage of general intolerance with any intervention.
 
Definitely a "proper" sweet itch rug such as a Boett, I am under the impression that garlic can be unhelpful to SI sufferers because garlic stimulates the immune system which is the last thing you need to do with SI.

I have found apple cider vinegar is helpful, it is very soothing apparently, I just apply it to the skin where she's been rubbing/itching. I also put about 1/2 a cupful in her feed every day.

Very low sugar feeds - eg alfa oil, unmolassed beet, keep away from nuts and mixes which are often quite highly molassed... We're in our 3rd year with our SI mare, and we are getting better at managing it. Electric fencing everywhere and the biggest thing I think we do to help is stable her overnight throughout the year, thus avoiding the midges as much as possible at dusk and dawn. Good luck with sorting out your one.
 
I would wash off the mane and tail areas with cool water, try to get rid of any residual chemicals that are causing the irritation. Mine quite enjoys having cold water gently hosed over his itchy parts. On a bad day I hose him two or three times.

Maybe could then try calamine lotion to calm it down? The problem now is that the horse is itching so badly the rug will get a severe testing as soon as you put it on, so try to alleviate it as much as you can first.
 
i cant use anything with benzyl benzoate in it on poppy
she wears a snuggys rug as has an udder pad i find vasceline and baby oil good to offer some protection as well but dont use when sunny
shes now on immune theropy as i got her tested and she was allergic to all sorts including a chemical in fly sprays and lots of pollens and black ants and fire antsd as well
i found the best thing was beezle bug and feed marks supplement equi dermis i see they now do a fly formula supplement as well which might be worth a go
http://www.feedmark.com/Product.asp?Product=Equidermis+Plus
 
Our cob has sweet itch. We feed her 25g of brewers yeast a day all year she weighs about 450kg. We also apply Nettex Itch Stop. This is the second Sweet Itch season we have been using yeast as well as Itch stop and so far this year she has no sign of Sweet Itch. Brewers Yeast is very high in vitamin B3. Marmite is made from Brewers Yeast. Although garlic is used to repel flies I have read that it should not be fed to Sweet Itch sufferers as it does something to the immune system which apparently is bad for Sweet Itch. The Brewers Yeast will not be an instant success but I am convinced that if fed over time it will really help. The Itch Stop is pretty instant it will soothe open sores and will repel flies.
 
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