Sweetich - Anyone tried capsules from National Sweetitch helplin

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carterk3

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Hi All, I know with the weather like it is at the moment this is a strange thing to think about but I have a horse who battles with sweet itch every year. I have tried every remedy known to man but this year I thought I would give the Bioeos capsules from Itchy Horse (used to be the National sweet itch helpline) a go. They are quite expensive at £140 for six months and am wondering what other people's experiences have been. Apparently its just 1 tablet a week!
 
We've two bad SI horses on them and think they have reduced the severity of the symptoms. I also think that they were better the second and third years they were on them than the first. However with SI there are so many variables it's sometimes hard to be certain that the improvement wasn't due to something else. We've had the two horses for many years so have tried everything over that time.
 
I do think sweetitch can be a generic term for all sorts of summer itching, each one a response to a different allergen. I presume the capsules are some sort of vaccine against the bite of the culicoides midge, as was the vaccine that was trialled a number of years ago. My horse was on the trial and it did nothing for him - but since then I have worked out his allergen is grass. We manage with the sort of diet a laminitic gets, he is a long way from cured but it is manageable.
There is a skin patch test for the different allergens but once you have identified it, the hard part is eradicating it from his environment. I knew of one who was allergic to timothy grass, and it got so bad as he got more and more sensitive and his owners just couldn't find a forage that didn't contain it, he had to be PTS because he was damaging himself so much.
 
Yes they are expensive but having tried everything else I thought it was worth a try. My horse had an allergy test a few years ago and showed up lots of things she was allergic too. She then had monthly injections which were supposed to desensitise her but they didn't make any difference. I've also tried cavalesse without any success and the Global Herbs supplement which didn't make a difference either. Last year I used Itching from Flints Yard which did seem to make some difference, at least it soothed her skin and I put it on twice a day.
However the thing that makes the biggest difference is keeping her covered head to toe and keeping her in after about 4 o'clock so I thought the tablets are worth a try but they are very expensive.
 
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