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  Discussion on Hives
Author Message
New Member:
Biz42

Posted on Saturday, Jul 8, 2006 - 12:11 pm:

My 6 year old gelding has had hives for over 1 month. He is currently on dex every other day I try to give him the least amount as possible. I started cough free 3 days ago and the hives seemed to stay away longer. He has always had a problem with his skin in the summer he is allergic to flies but has never had hives from them. Before fly season he had a shot for the fly allergy, Could this be why he has hives? Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Thank You. Susan
Member:
Echoval

Posted on Saturday, Jul 8, 2006 - 4:44 pm:

I feed my mare coughfree for 6 weeks every year at the same time of year then she is fine
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Sunday, Jul 9, 2006 - 5:12 pm:

Probably not Susan, what type shot did she have Susan?
DrO
New Member:
Biz42

Posted on Sunday, Jul 9, 2006 - 8:19 pm:

Hello Dr.Oglesby I have the receipt for the shot. I can't make out the second word on it but it says I.D. flea then the word I can't make out starts with an A. (intradermal),He had this shot in may because he had had problems in past summers with flies. I really don't like giving him Dexamethasone is there any other way to get rid of the hives? I have tried some homeopathic things and so far no luck. I feel so bad for him. Thank You. Susan
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Monday, Jul 10, 2006 - 8:26 am:

My guess is that the word is antigen. Why did he think giving one injection of flea (fly?) antigen would decrease your horses hives is a bit beyond me. Maybe there is something here I am not getting. For more suggestions on treating hives Susan see the article associated with this discussion, Hives, Wheals, and Urticaria in Horses, you can click on the title above on the navigation bar to go directly to it.
DrO
Member:
Cpacer

Posted on Monday, Jul 10, 2006 - 10:15 am:

A friend of mine showed me an article in Horse Illustrated the other day that said insect bites do not cause hives--very temporary bumps from bites but not hives. Is that true?

Susan -- my horse has been having a rough summer too! He got hives in early June and they creep up here and there so I give him Azium powder as needed. Now he has bald patches all over him. I don't know if it's an after affect of the hives (does yours have them?) since they're not exactly consistent with where the hives were.

He's bald on his neck, most of his chest, his face, armpits, and flanks -- all the places he gets sweaty. I don't know if it's related to the hives or something else. The baldness happened while I was moving and couldn't brush him for a few days. Guess I will read the article on hives again and see if balding is listed as an after affect.
Member:
Biz42

Posted on Monday, Jul 10, 2006 - 10:49 am:

Dr.Oglesby, The vet didn't give the shot for hives he gave it because my horse would get sores on his legs and lose hair on his legs and face every summer from flies. and so far that isn't happening this summer. but the hives are much worse than the other problem was. Thank you . Susan
Member:
Biz42

Posted on Monday, Jul 10, 2006 - 10:58 am:

Hi Cpacer , My horse isn't losing hair so far.How bad does your horses hives get? Mine gets pretty bad about the size of a nickel all over his sides and neck. I hope he doesn't lose hair. I am already stressed out about the hives.I hope you find out what is going on . Good luck..Susan
Member:
Biz42

Posted on Friday, Jul 14, 2006 - 1:09 am:

Hello Dr. Oglesby , I was looking at the dates on my calendar and my horse had the shot on may 8th and started getting hives 1 week later. I am trying to find out if this flea antigen shot somehow started the hives. Do you think its possible? Thank you. Susan
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Jul 14, 2006 - 6:58 am:

cp horses often get hives for unknown reasons, it is quite possible some of these are do to reactions to the flies saliva which can be quite antigenic. I have also seen a large whelp in reaction to a horse fly bite. Hair loss is not typical hives so be sure to review the aricle on hair loss too.

Hmmm possible Susan. The purpose for the shot is to get the immune system use to a antigen that it normally stimulates by using a low dose but if your horse was very sensitive, it can cause immune reactions. But hives are common in horses so this may be a number of stimulates. Also I would not have expected the hives to be ongoing unless you are having problems with fleas? Why was a flea antigen shot given anyway?
DrO
Member:
Vickiann

Posted on Friday, Jul 14, 2006 - 9:53 am:

cp -- I've got one who also loses hair where he gets sweaty. Applying MTG has helped immensely, and he looks better than any other summer thanks to me discovering the product here on HA. After applying it daily for two or three days I now only do it once in a while as needed. It is best to apply it in the evening so it has a good chance to soak in before the horse goes out into the sun.
Member:
Cpacer

Posted on Friday, Jul 14, 2006 - 2:40 pm:

Thanks Vicki, I'm a huge fan of MTG too and have started applying it occasionally in the PM. I'm sure it's helping the hair grow back but I can't tell if it's still falling out or has stopped. Hopefully it was just because I couldn't groom him for a week and now that I'm back on track with brushing it will get better.

Do you have any idea what causes it? I see in your profile you have Arabians--is one of these who gets it (mine is)? Geez, they're so sensitive!!
Member:
Cpacer

Posted on Friday, Jul 14, 2006 - 2:42 pm:

Oh yes, I was hesitant to put the MTG on because it's so oily and can't feel very comfortable when it's 95 degrees and super humid. Any less oily products to recommend?
Member:
Vickiann

Posted on Friday, Jul 14, 2006 - 4:22 pm:

I've tried a variety of other things but nothing else has worked nearly as well nor consistently. The MTG does help the hair grow back, and with occasional use seems to help keep it from falling out again. I suspect that the sweat and heat causes some kind of an itchy fungus, though other "anti-fungals" haven't helped clear the problem very well. Perhaps insect irritation is part of the problem too. As I rub the MTG on it seems as though it helps the horse feel better almost immediately. And yes, my horse who has this problem every summer is a bay Arab. What color is your horse? (Some of the lighter colored horses can also lose hair due to sunburn if they have pink skin). This is the only summer my bay has ever had hair on his face! My gray Arabian reflects the heat better and does not have THIS problem, but he gets bouts of rain rot, scratches, chapped hocks and knees, and summer sores; depending upon the season.
Member:
Biz42

Posted on Friday, Jul 14, 2006 - 5:10 pm:

Hello Dr. O , The flea antigen was given to my horse because he was allergic to flies. I have a call into my vet to see if there could be a connection between the antigen shot and the hives. I am suppose to get him another one later this month but I am afraid to. I will let you know what he says. Thank You . Susan
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Saturday, Jul 15, 2006 - 1:56 pm:

And how is a flea antigen injection suppose to help with a fly allergy, have I missed something here?
DrO
Member:
Cpacer

Posted on Sunday, Jul 16, 2006 - 11:27 am:

Vicki - He's black, at least was, a little on the blonde side now from the sun. I read recently that all arabians have black skin which I thought was interesting, maybe makes them less likely to sunburn considering the climate they came from. He does have pink skin where the white is on his nose and socks. Interesting about the chapped hocks too, I never realized that's what those scabs on his "heels" were, thought he was rubbing them on something. I think you're right about them liking the MTG, when I put it on the bald spots on his face he DrOps his head and closes his eyes. It was more the idea of rubbing it on his entire chest that I thought would feel icky. Anyway, the spots are definitely getting better now and have little black hairs growing in.
Member:
Mariss

Posted on Sunday, Jul 16, 2006 - 2:30 pm:

I don't know if this may help you. I cared for a horse who would get episodes of terrible hives. He was tested for allergies and turned up as sensitive to so many things it would be impossible to eliminate them. They would start as small bumps which would grow and connect into larger hives. Sometimes they would leak and the fluid would dry and be difficult to get off the skin and hair. One time his whole body was so full of fluid under the skin it accumulated in the belly area and he looked huge. We found that as soon as an episode was beginning we would give the horse hyDrOxyzine. The bumps would not develop after the hyDrOxyzine. He did better after that and actually eventually stopped getting hives.
Member:
Vickiann

Posted on Sunday, Jul 16, 2006 - 2:47 pm:

Very interesting cp -- thanks! My gray does have MOSTLY black skin under his whited-out, flea-bit coat. For some reason he is less effected by the heat and also sweats less than most horses, including other Arabians. He does have a pink snip on his nose, plus random pink areas on the backs on his front feet where he had white markings. That pink area on the feet sometimes experiences a greater sensitivity problem with dew poisoning, and sometimes scratches, but perhaps part of it is related to sunburn some times of the year. I use Desitin on the backs on his feet after cleaning, if he is showing signs of a problem. That helps protect against moisture and irritation. I used to put sunscreen on his snip but he hates it, and I have been very fortunate that his snip has never sun burned. A friend of mind has an Arab with a pink nose that looks horrible right now. Currently my gray's skin problems are being caused mostly by bug bites, but the bay is reacting more to where the sweat collects -- especially the dish of his face and inside at the tops of his front legs. I'm thankful for MTG and that I found out about it right here on HA!
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