AdVance Dermatology

23/07/2024

🐾 Success Story: Abby's Journey with Immunotherapy!🐾

Meet Abby, a lovable Labrador who struggled with atopic dermatitis. Abby's skin condition caused her discomfort, leading to persistent itching, redness, hair loss and frustration for both her and her owners.

After performing an intradermal allergy test to determine what she was allergic to, we decided to start immunotherapy. This individualised treatment involves gradually introducing small doses of allergens to build Abby's tolerance, essentially "retraining" her immune system to respond more appropriately, resulting in long term relief.

I am delighted to report that Abby has shown remarkable improvement! After four months her itching has completely stopped, her skin looks healthier, and she's back to her playful, happy self.

Immunotherapy can be a highly effective treatment for atopic dermatitis without the side effects that other drugs may bring, offering a tailored approach to managing allergies in dogs.

Watch out for more posts on immunotherapy!

Picture: Abby’s allergy test showing positive reactions to dust mites, storage mites and grass. And a happy Abby waiting for her biscuit during her consultation today.

28/06/2024

Eosinophilic plaques in cats

This little cat came in with a non healing sore on his neck. We took a sample by pressing a microscope slide gently on the area. Can you see the round pinkish cells under the microscope 🔬? These are eosinophils. Seeing lots of these cells helps us confirm the diagnosis of an eosinophilic plaque.

Eosinophilic plaques are raised, thickened, raw areas of skin that can be itchy. These plaques are a form of reaction pattern usually caused by an allergy in cats. Cats can be allergic to food, things in the environment or fleas.

04/06/2024

25/04/2024

Do you remember Lottie who was in for a biopsy a few weeks ago?

Her biopsy revealed bacterial folliculitis. There are numerous potential causes of this but in Lottie’s case it was a food allergy. In order to diagnose a food allergy we perform a food trial using a hydrolysed food. Following this Lottie’s symptoms completely resolved!

11/04/2024

Spring is here as are seasonal allergies! Like people dogs can suffer from seasonal allergies. Symptoms of a grass or pollen allergy may include scratching, paw chewing, head shaking, hair loss and ear infections. Avoiding walking your dog on cut grass, wiping or rinsing your dog’s paws after a walk and avoiding cut flowers indoors may help to reduce the symptoms associated with allergies.

We can perform an allergy test to try and identify what your dog is allergic to and use the results to reduce exposure to these allergens and formulate immunotherapy.

Here is a picture of an allergy test from a dog with lots of seasonal allergies including grasses, weeds, flower and tree pollen 🌼

07/03/2024

Lovely Lottie was in this week having some skin biopsies. A skin biopsy is a minor surgical procedure where a small sample of affected skin is removed and sent to a pathologist for analysis. In Lottie’s case we used a small punch biopsy to collect a sample. Here are some pictures of her having her procedure.

25/02/2024

Take a tour around the clinic where I see Ayrshire referrals! 👀⭐️

22/01/2024

Our first patient at the new premises in Prestwick 🐶

17/01/2024

Celebrating our first day in our lovely new premises at Dalblair Vets with a cup of tea in our fancy mugs ☕️

22/12/2023

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all my lovely clients and a big thank you to all the Vet practices I visit for their continued support - Dalblair Vets Machars Veterinary Services Ltd Creebridge Veterinary Centre Academy Vets Northvet Veterinary Group🎄⭐️

18/12/2023

Cats can suffer from allergies too! 🐈‍⬛

They can be allergic to things in the environment (including fleas) or food.

Cats usually present with one or more of the following four reaction patterns:
1.Feline head and neck pruritus(itching their head and neck)
2.Miliary dermatitis (crusts over their body)
3.Self induce alopecia (hair loss from licking)
4.Eosinophilic granuloma complex (ulcers/plaques)

This particular cat had feline head and neck pruritus. He had scratched his eye in the process causing a corneal ulcer. Following a few weeks of treatment his owner reports he is like a different cat! Not only looking better but back to playing and causing havoc!

02/12/2023

MRSP 🧫

MRSP, or methicillin resistant staphylococcus pseudintermedius, is a multi drug resistant bacteria similar to MRSA in humans. This infection can be challenging to treat. It is important to not only identify and treat the infection but to correct any underlying triggers.
We have been treating this little dog for MRSP. The owner has done a fantastic job following our treatment plan and she is now MRSP free 🎉

16/11/2023

Keeping up to date with therapeutics at this years British Veterinary Dermatology Study Group autumn meeting in Birmingham 💉

30/10/2023

This little lady has a condition called Ischaemic dermatopathy. Ischaemic dermatopathy is a disease that affects the blood vessels of the skin, especially the extremities. This can result in hair loss, crusting and loss of pigment. Jack Russells are one of the breeds that are predisposed to this condition. Thankfully she is responding really well to treatment and back to her usual playful self! 🐶

04/10/2023

Steve the English Bull Mastiff ready for his recheck this evening 🐾

04/09/2023

Machars vets are moving into their lovely new premises today. Excited to be seeing Machars Vets and D and G referrals from here as of this week! 🎉

16/08/2023

Secondary infection is frequently present in dogs with Atopic Dermatitis (allergies). It is important to identify and treat these infections. This is often key to a successful outcome. It certainly was for this lovely Shetland Sheepdog who is feeling “like a new dog” following treatment.

28/07/2023

Colour Dilution Alopecia

This blue Staffordshire bull terrier has a condition called colour dilution alopecia. She also has food and environmental allergies.

Colour dilution alopecia is a condition seen in dilute colours of dog. It is linked to the gene that turns black or brown hairs into blue or fawn. The main symptom is hair loss. Now we have treated her food and environmental allergies we are left with some mild hair loss on her back legs and chest which is likely irreversible but purely cosmetic!

12/07/2023

Have a look down the microscope 🔬

I use the microscope in nearly every consultation. Here is a picture of a sample taken from a dog with pemphigus foliaceus, a rare autoimmune skin condition. The sample was taken by pressing a glass slide against the skin. The cells in the middle of the picture, that look like fried eggs, are what we call acantholytic cells. Seeing these cells under the microscope help us in making the diagnosis of pemphigus foliaceus 🍳

12/06/2023

Hot pavements 🌡️ ☀️

Dog’s paws can burn on hot pavements. If it’s too hot for your hand it’s too hot for their paws! Walk your dog in the early morning or evening and always check the temperature of the pavement before going a walk.

26/05/2023

This dog came to Scotland from Cyprus and at the time was a fit and healthy 4 year old. A year later he started to develop skin symptoms as well as lethargy and weight loss.

He has a condition called leishmaniasis. Leishmania is a parasite endemic in Europe, it is transmitted by sandflies, which we thankfully don’t have here in Scotland. It takes between 5-22 months from infection to become positive on blood tests and may be even longer to show symptoms. As well as the skin symptoms seen here- blackening of the skin, hair loss, scaling and ulcers, dogs can become very unwell and in some cases it can be fatal. With an increasing number of dogs coming to the U.K. from Europe this is a disease we now need to be aware of. The good news is that it can be treatable.

As you can see he has made a good recovery and is now enjoying life in sunny France!

11/05/2023

Remember this girl from last month. Look how well she is doing at her 8 week check!

13/04/2023

West Highland Terriers are one of the breeds that are predisposed to allergies.

This westie had been battling with her allergies for many years. Today she had her first recheck consultation, 1 month after starting treatment. We are starting to see some hair regrowth 🎉. Keep an eye out for next months update!

12/04/2023

Spring has arrived and so has seasonal allergies 🌸

This lovely Weimaraner was in today for an allergy test which revealed positive reactions to various grasses, weeds, flowers and tree pollens. We are going to use the results of this allergy test to make up a specific vaccine called immunotherapy to treat his allergies!

23/03/2023

This week I have been in Manchester at the British Veterinary Dermatology Study Group spring meeting on otitis. Otitis is inflammation of the pinna, ear canal and potentially the inner and middle ear. The incidence of otitis can be as high as 10% of the dog population. Otitis is a therefore a very common reason for a dermatology referral!

09/03/2023

I’ve spent the last three days in beautiful Orkney seeing Northvet Veterinary Group’s dermatology referrals. Until next time Orkney!

06/03/2023

Look at this handsome boy who was in for a consultation today! He is a Bergamasco, an ancient breed of sheepdog originating from the Italian Alps. Their naturally forming matted hair provides insulation from extreme weather in the Italian Alps. Which is also perfect for the snowy weather here in Orkney today! ❄️

22/02/2023

Waiting patiently for his results! 🔬

The majority of skin and ear samples can be taken and analysed during the consultation. This means we can start appropriate treatment straight away and don’t need to wait on results.

08/02/2023

Star patient of today, the lovely Bruno! He is undergoing treatment for interdigital ‘cysts’. Bulldogs are predisposed to these nasty swellings between their toes, early investigation and treatment is often key to success! ⭐️

01/02/2023

Remember the demodex mites from last week? Have a look down the microscope to see what a demodex mite looks like. Their cigar shape makes them easy to identify 🔬