Allergies - does honey help?

[meggymoo]

Just curious as one dog has allergies. Tests showed borderline/positive to various trees and weeds. I've heard local raw honey can help build up immunity. Is this true? Does it work? Will they get worse before they get better? Anyone tried it and if so, success or failure!

 

[Moobli]

I tried it for myself as I suffer from a seasonal allergy to heather when it is first in bloom (not ideal as I am surrounded by it), so tried heather honey that is made very locally but made no difference to me unfortunately. That is not to say it won't work for others.

 

[meggymoo]

I tried it for myself as I suffer from a seasonal allergy to heather when it is first in bloom (not ideal as I am surrounded by it), so tried heather honey that is made very locally but made no difference to me unfortunately. That is not to say it won't work for others.

Thank you @Moobli. I must admit I'm a bit sceptical but as I really dont want him on steroids for life I'm considering alternatives!

 

[Aru]

Have a chat to your vet about alternatives over steroids.

Medicated shampoos and antihistamines,
using barrier methods-essentially using light doggy clothing to reduce exposure to allergens on the skin.
wipe downs when coming from outside to inside-all can help reduce your degree of reaction

If you can afford them Cytopoint injections often help
apoquel is also another options, while not ideal it's still safer then longterm steroids.

Personally...I've never seen local honey help a dog,unless it's been applied directly to a wound for healing purposes-and then any sterilised honey is the way to go.

 

[planete]

I used monthly desensitising injections successfully for a couple of years for one of my bitches until the things she was allergic to multiplied to the point it was no longer possible to use this method. She has now been on a small dose of Apoquel for three years with a yearly blood test to monitor possible hidden side effects. It has massively improved her quality of life and has been very effective without any side-effects.

 

[meggymoo]

Have a chat to your vet about alternatives over steroids.

Medicated shampoos and antihistamines,
using barrier methods-essentially using light doggy clothing to reduce exposure to allergens on the skin.
wipe downs when coming from outside to inside-all can help reduce your degree of reaction

If you can afford them Cytopoint injections often help
apoquel is also another options, while not ideal it's still safer then longterm steroids.

Personally...I've never seen local honey help a dog,unless it's been applied directly to a wound for healing purposes-and then any sterilised honey is the way to go.

Thank you @Aru we have an appointment in a couple of days. He is currently on Cytapoint and although its been very effective for over 12 months, I'm not so sure this month! Initially, (probably 2 years ago now) he was on steroids short term, then apoquel again short term, both of which proved very effective, but both of which I had heard long-term horror stories about and didn't want a young dog subjected to them. Trouble is, I think human nature being what it is, the eye is drawn to the handful of horror stories on the internet, whilst the thousands of times all has been fine, go un-reported and un-noticed. I did think perhaps I would be backing a loser with the honey but was willing to give it a try if there was any chance it worked.

 

[meggymoo]

I used monthly desensitising injections successfully for a couple of years for one of my bitches until the things she was allergic to multiplied to the point it was no longer possible to use this method. She has now been on a small dose of Apoquel for three years with a yearly blood test to monitor possible hidden side effects. It has massively improved her quality of life and has been very effective without any side-effects.

Thank you @planete you have just jogged my memory that the vet did once mention the possibility of a vaccine being made up according to the results of his sensitivity tests. He did have apoquel, short term a couple of years ago and it did make a huge difference, but I was put off somewhat by reports of side effects. Think Im going to have to have a discussion with vet later this week as to our plan of action.

 

[planete]

Apoquel has made a huge difference to my life too, now I no longer have to worry constantly about my bitch making herself raw, wiping her down, bathing her, fending off steroids, keeping the house cool, endlessly hoovering... Before treatment, I had got rid of all the carpets in the house, covered everything in thick cotton dust sheets washable at 60 degrees... I also read some horror stories but reached the end of my tether and finally decided a happy, itch free and maybe shorter lived bitch was preferable to our not very successful struggles.