Food Allergy and Otitic Pruritus

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Otitis due to allergy induced by dietary protein is a common problem in dogs and cats. Topical treatment mostly seems to be successful as temporary relief, but chronic recurrence of inflammation and infection can lead to permanent inflammatory changes, discomfort and anatomical dis-arrangements, with anti-microbial resistance. This makes the otitis condition difficult to treat by a veterinarian. Eventually, the changes can become irreversible and require a total ear canal ablation/lateral bulla osteotomy or ablative laser surgery. Proper diagnosis of subtle changes in an animal's lifestyle, diet and skin pattern is very important to be noticed. Most importantly, clinicians must appreciate that all recurrent ear infections in dogs are secondary. Treatment are usually in 2-3 phases: treating the root cause of the allergy, treating the ongoing damage and inflammation and pruritus, and elimination of secondary infections/ organisms. This will typically involve ear cleaning, topical anti-microbial therapy, and topical or systemic glucocorticoids. Novel treatments including herbs and special animal extracts for infection and inflammation may offer additional options in the future. Understanding the underlying causes and pathogenesis of the disease condition, diagnosing it at the right time and addressing the treatment in collaboration and association with primary veterinarian, referral dermatologist and pet parents can make a huge difference in the treatment outcome of food allergy induced otitis.