Dog has red splotches from flea treatment. How to treat allergic reaction?

Yes, Gidget could absolutely be allergic to her flea treatment! Topical products can definitely cause redness, irritation, hair loss or sores at the application site. They can also cause system reactions such as seizures, tremors and trouble walking but these are rare. Oral products can cause vomiting, diarrhea and decreased appetite. Dogs that have epilepsy may be more prone to have increased seizure frequency but this is also not likely. Extremely rare cases can be anaphylactic reactions of collapse and hypotension and this could be to any product. If you are seeing problems, I would recommend to switch products. While some products have the same active ingredient (like Fipronil), many are different. I have had good flea prevention and very low reactions to Comfortis, Simparica and Revolution. Remember that itching all over can be related to fleas not dying from your product, food allergy or environmental allergies. I hope I answered your question!

Yes this could be the cause. This is probably an allergic reaction , these reactions tend to resolve within 48 hours without treatment. if the swelling becomes too large or if your dog is lethargic, take her to the vet in order to get an antihistamine injection.

She may be uncomfortable from the itching and inflammation. I would recommend speaking with your veterinarian about additional prescription medications and topical ointments you can use to help relieve the discomfort. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hi, and thanks for your question. This could be due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

It definitely seems like she's reacting and it may be worth taking her to a vet for medication if this doesn't go down soon. The best thing you can do at this time is wash your dog again with just cool water. The cool water will help give some relief and will help to remove the cause of the reaction. I recommend using a shower head for 15 minutes all over her body, so there is good pressure to remove the shampoo residue. If she happens to start vomiting, has trouble breathing, or starts breathing faster than normal, then these are signs of a severe allergic reaction and I recommend taking her to the emergency vet immediately for treatment. If you have further questions or need further clarification, then you may consider having an online consult with one of our vets on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. This way, you can send unlimited pictures and have a text conversation with a vet. I hope that helps and she gets better soon.

These do indeed look like part of an allergic reaction (wheals/hives) and generally settle down after 12-24hours. Monitor closely for any internal complications such as vomiting, diarhhea, panting or weakness from an increased heart rate which may require hospitalisation and intravenous fluid drip. It can be difficult to identify the original trigger allergy bloods and a hydrolyzed diet such as royal canin anallergenic should be considered if recurring often

The main control point for flea allergy is to prevent any and all flea bites as well as treating any areas of damaged and potentially infected skin created from severe scratching. A product with rapid onset of action or flea repellant is recommended - bravecto tablets, frontline and advantix are all useful, in some cases combinations may also be required. Treatment of the house and bedding areas initially with a household insecticidal spray is also required as only 5-10% of the flea burden is actually present as adult fleas on yur pet at any one time and it is important to treat all aspects of the problem. Regimental use of flea protection products and strict complciance with any application recommendations such as timng in relation to shampooing/swimming etc is required also going forward