Skin Rashes
I am sort of at a loss for what else I can do to help my little chicken. (First photo-what her skin has looked like for the last year, second photo-after a steroid shot, third photo-three weeks after the steroid shot) This is my 2 year old sphynx, Nala, who has been struggling with skin rashes and weepy eyes for the last year. Our primary vet said it was likely food allergies, so we did an elimination diet with every type of protein and limited ingredients, and nothing helped. She recommended Zyrtec with her dinner, but that did nothing either. Last month, I took her to a different vet for a second opinion and she immediately said the same thing, food allergies. I gave her the lists of every food we have tried and told her we had no positive changes. We decided to do a VARL blood test for environmental allergies, and we did have many common allergens come back position (result in photos). While we were waiting for the results, we decided to do a steroid shot, and the vet said that they can be safely given every three months as needed. Not even three weeks later, her rash came back and it looks so much worse than it ever did. We are starting Atopica next week once we receive the prescription in the mail, but I am so nervous that it is not going to provide her the relief that she needs. My other fear is that this may be urticaria pigmentosa and may need further diagnosing with a dermatologist to find a better course of treatment. I have read that Atopica is used as a treatment for UP, but there are often other treatments that go along with it. Has anybody experienced anything like this with their sphynx? I feel so discouraged because her quality of life seems so poor.