Primary and secondary seborrhea in dogs


Seborrhea is really a condition in which flakes of dead skin cells are shed in the epidermis and hair follicles. These flakes might be dry and dandrufflike, or oily and greasy. Oily seborrhea is a result of excessive manufacture of sebum by the skin oil glands. Sebum accounts for the rancid doggy odor that accompanies oily seborrhea. Primary and secondary seborrhea are two different diseases.

Primary Seborrhea

This common disease sometimes appears usually in American Cocker Spaniels, English Springer Spaniels, West Highland White Terriers, Basset Hounds, Irish Setters, German Shepherds, Labrador Retrievers, Chinese Shar-Pei, along with other breeds. Affected dogs might have dry flaky skin, greasy scaly skin, or perhaps a mixture of both. The flakes of dry seborrhea are simple to lift from the skin.

The scales of oily seborrhea keep to the hair. In oily seborrhea the hair follicles may become plugged and infected, resulting in the growth and development of folliculitis.

The elbows, hocks, front of the neck right down to the chest area, and hair across the borders of the ears are generally involved. With oily seborrhea, wax may accumulate in the ear canals, creating a condition called ceruminous otitis.

Treatment: Primary seborrhea is incurable but treatable. Treatments are targeted at controlling scale formation using shampoos and rinses. Numerous commercial antiseborrheic goods are available. The option of shampoos and rinses and frequency of application vary using the specific problem, and should be based on your veterinarian.

For mild dry flaking, moisturizing hypoallergenic shampoos and rinses that contain no dyes, fragrances, or another added ingredients can help rehydrate your skin. These items may be used frequently without causing harm.

For severe dry flaking, shampoos containing sulfur and salicylic acid are recommended to get rid of scales. For shiny seborrhea, shampoos containing coal tar work and retard further scale production. Benzoyl peroxide shampoos have excellent hair-pore flushing activity and aid in removing greasy scales that stick to hair shafts.

Therapeutic shampooing might be more effective when preceded with a tepid to warm water shampoo. Rinse thoroughly and follow using the medicated shampoo. Leave on for Fifteen minutes or as directed, then rinse thoroughly.

Systemic antibiotics are utilized to treat folliculitis along with other skin ailment. A brief span of oral corticosteroids might be prescribed in times of severe itching. Health supplements containing omega-3 efa's based on omega-3 fatty acids have been demonstrated to become good for seborrhea and certainly can perform no harm.

Secondary Seborrhea

This problem occurs when another skin condition triggers the seborrheic process. Diseases often related to secondary seborrhea include scabies, demodectic mange, canine atopy, food allergic reaction dermatitis, flea allergy dermatitis, hypothyroidism, hormone-related skin diseases, color mutant alopecia, pemphigus foliaceus, yet others. Primary seborrhea shouldn't be diagnosed until secondary seborrhea continues to be eliminated.

Treatment: Secondary seborrhea is managed in the same manner as primary seborrhea. It always disappears with control of the underlying skin condition. Look for any primary cause when dealing with your dog with seborrhea.

Legal Disclaimer

Our website is not responsible for the information contained by this article. Webworldarticles.com is a free articles resource thus practically any visitor can submit an article. However if you notice any copyrighted material, please contact us and we will remove the article(s) in discussion right away.


This article was sent to us by: Diana Meyer at 05132011

Related Articles

1. Treatment of hypothermia and frostbite in dogs
Prolonged contact with cold will result in a drop in body's temperature. Toy breeds, breeds with short coats, puppies, and incredibly old dogs are most vunerable to hypothe...

2. Measures against drowning and suffocation in dogs
Any condition that prevents oxygen from reaching the tissues causes suffocation. The most typical emergencies in this category are drowning, smothering in an airtight space...

3. Heat stroke in dogs requires fast treatment
Heat stroke is definitely an emergency as well as immediate treatment. Because dogs don't sweat, they don't tolerate high environmental temperatures as well as humans do. D...

4. How to induce vomiting in dogs to stop poison from spreading
Induce vomiting giving your dog peroxide. A 3 percent option would be best. Give 1 teaspoon (5 ml) per Ten pounds (4.5 kg) bodyweight of the dog. Repeat every 15-20 minutes...

5. Rodent poisons may put your dog in danger
Common rat and mouse poisons include anticoagulants and hypercalcemic agents. Both could be deadly if your dog ingests them. Anticoagulants Anticoagulant ...

6. Poison baits with strychnine should be kept away from dogs
Animal baits containing strychnine, sodium fluoroacetate, phosphorus, zinc phosphide, and metaldehyde are utilized in rural areas to manage gophers, coyotes, along with oth...

7. Dogs can suffer serious poisonings from insecticides
You will find a large number of products sold at hardware, home repair, and agricultural stores to kill ants, termites, wasps, garden pests, along with other insects. Many ...