My chihuahua has ear margin dermatosis where the tips of her ears are losing hair. This started about a year ago and now it is getting worse. The first time she went through this, her ears were extremely inflamed, filmy around the tips, and red in the insides of her ear canal. I immediately took her to the vet and they treated her for an ear infection and for ear margin dermatosis. They gave me a topical ointment and a special cleanser. Her ears eventually healed but her hair never grew back. Now, a year later, she is having a similar issue....no redness or infections, but she's losing hair! A lot of hair! The tips are almost completely bald. The vet says it must be allergies and that I am doing a good job taking care of her....I use the cleanser once a week, the prescription ointment everyday, omega 3, and vitamin e.... I don't know what else to do! i have seen two different vets at the same clinic and they say they cant give me a reason. She also doesn't seem to be in pain so thats a p,us, but I'm worried that this may be something else and that shes not being treated properly. Has anybody experienced this with their dog? And will her hair ever grow back?
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Several ear margin dermatoses characterized by alopecia have been described in dogs. Periodic pinnal alopecia in Miniature Poodles is characterized by progressive bilateral alopecia of the convex surfaces of the ear. The hair loss is acute in onset and progresses over several months, but hair may spontaneously regrow. There are no other clinical signs. Treatment is unnecessary.
Pinnal alopecia has been reported in Dachshunds, Chihuahuas, Italian Greyhounds, and Whippets and is thought to have a hereditary predisposition. The age of onset is ≤1 yr of age. Lesions start as thinning of the hair coat, and complete pinnal alopecia may occur by 8-9 yr of age. Other commonly affected areas are the ventral neck and thorax and the caudal medial thighs. The hair loss is asymptomatic. Differential diagnoses for this condition are endocrinopathies (eg, hypothyroidism, hyperadrenocorticism, sex hormone imbalance). Histologically, the skin is normal and hair follicles are diminished in size but normal in appearance. No effective treatment has been reported, but pentoxifylline (10 mg/kg, bid-tid ), melatonin (3 mg for small breeds and 6 mg for large breeds, bid-tid ), and topical minoxidil have anecdotally been described as helpful.
Ear margin seborrhea or ear margin dermatosis is common in Dachshunds, although other breeds with pendulous pinnae may be affected. Lesions usually affect the apex of the pinnae on both sides but can progress to involve the whole ear margin. The cause is unknown. Lesions appear as waxy gray to yellow scale adherent to the base of hair shafts. Plugs of hair can be easily epilated leaving behind a shiny surface to the skin. In severe cases the ear margins are edematous, and fissured. Histologic findings include severe hyperkeratosis and follicular keratosis with dilated follicles filled with keratin debris. Differential diagnoses include sarcoptic mange, pinnal alopecia, proliferative thrombovascular necrosis, dermatophytosis, and frostbite. Dermatophytosis in particular can cause a scaling pinnal dermatitis in dogs, cats, and horses but the ear margin is not typically involved and other areas of the body are generally affected as well. Treatment includes antiseborrheic shampoos (eg, sulfur, salicylic acid, benzoyl peroxide), keratolytic products, dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate (DSS), and systemic medications that may help normalize the abnormal keratinization process (vitamin A and synthetic retinoids; essential fatty acids). Topical or oral glucocorticoids and pentoxifylline (10 mg/kg, bid-tid ) may be beneficial when severe inflammation and fissures develop.
Ear Margin Dermatosis
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ear margin dermatosis?
My chihuahua has ear margin dermatosis where the tips of her ears are losing hair. This started about a year ago and now it is getting worse. The first time she went through this, her ears were extremely inflamed, filmy around the tips, and red in the insides of her ear canal. I immediately took...
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Allergies to food # Contact with a substance that causes irritation # Metabolic disorders # Endocrine conditions # Exposure to harmful toxins or drugs # Predisposition based on breed # Nutritional deficiency # Sunburns # Certain cancers of the skin # Canine atopy, or an allergic reaction # Contact dermatitis # Other forms of dermatitis # Sarcoptic Mange Many of these causes can be avoided by feeding raw and bone and throwing away the kibble, giving neem bark powder daily which builds the immune system and protects the dog from parasites so you don't need to give chemical wormers/sprays, using less chemicals in cleaners, sprays etc at home, daily grooming and adding neem oil to the coat ( as long as there is no broken skin) if there is using Aqueous cream ( cheap none perfumed cream used in the burns unit at hospitals and available at most chemists) and covering the skin to stop scratching with a thin cotton fabric t-shirt, taken off & washed daily with no washing liquid/detergent...same as dog bed..............all of which costs very little