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My 6 mos old pup has generalized demodex mange (diagnosed by vet). It seems to be affecting him everywhere but his head. He is not bald - yet - but he has lost a good bit of fur and continues to shed copiously.
Brief history:
It's been eight days now that he's been on the Ivomec. I started out bathing him every day, but his shedding (especially along his back) and itching for getting worse, so I started skipping a day or two between baths. The Hydroxyzine helps the itching and I can tell when it wears off that the itching is still present. He has also developed scaly skin (dandruff) along his back. So now I'm wondering if it was wise to withhold the antibiotics. I don't like using them prophetically which is why I hesitated.
Can anyone who has experience with demodex mange comment on whether or not antibiotics are a necessary part of the treatment? Also at what point should I start to see improvement in the hair loss or any indication that the mite problem is lessening?
Brief history:
- When we got him at almost 4 mos old, he had a skin infection as evidenced by rash on belly and scaly skin on the back of his head near his neck. The vet called it puppy seborrhea and he took Cephalexin for 10 days. It cleared up.
- A month later I noticed bumps again and washed him with Keto-C (anti-fungal anti-microbial) shampoo and took him back to the vet the next day. The bumps were almost gone (thanks to the shampoo) so she gave me another round of Cephalexin to use if it got worse and told me to watch for more hair loss as he might have demodex mange. He was already starting to lose hair on his legs. I didn't use the antibiotics!
- Fast forward another month. Periodic washing with Keto-C kept any rash under control (could have been from hot, humid weather) but hair lose had continued to get worse. He was scratching more too, especially along his sides and back.
It's been eight days now that he's been on the Ivomec. I started out bathing him every day, but his shedding (especially along his back) and itching for getting worse, so I started skipping a day or two between baths. The Hydroxyzine helps the itching and I can tell when it wears off that the itching is still present. He has also developed scaly skin (dandruff) along his back. So now I'm wondering if it was wise to withhold the antibiotics. I don't like using them prophetically which is why I hesitated.
Can anyone who has experience with demodex mange comment on whether or not antibiotics are a necessary part of the treatment? Also at what point should I start to see improvement in the hair loss or any indication that the mite problem is lessening?