Saturday, April 30, 2011

Plastic Allergies in Dogs


It is the owner’s responsibility to protect their dog. The owner is the dog’s first line of defense. This is why it is crucial for dog owners to educate themselves about the many things which contain irritants and allergens and make sure that their dogs get the best care possible. Dogs can easily develop contact allergies or reaction to things.

Dogs are exposed to allergens on a daily basis, this is only normal. Allergens are harmful to dogs and to people too. Sometimes, your dog’s immune system will react to the presence of allergen in a way as if it is a threat to your dog’s life. This is when allergic reaction starts. There is a long list of allergens today and some of them are pollen, food, plants, and plastic. Sometimes even owners cause dog allergies.


Causes of Plastic Allergies

Most dogs get plastic allergies when they come into contact with the substance when they eat or drink. They can also get plastic allergies when they play with plastic toys. Most of the time, it is the materials used for your dog which cause plastic allergies like plastic food dishes and water dishes. Even if your dog has already used plastic dishes before and it has not developed any allergies, it can still develop allergies later on. As a matter of fact, plastic allergies can happen to your dog any time in its life.

Symptoms of Plastic Allergies

If your dog is allergic to plastic, you will see symptoms. Your dog can develop contact dermatitis which is mostly seen on the chin, mouth and nose. Contact dermatitis is characterized by inflamed skin and it sometimes comes with bumps. Sometimes your dog’s skin may also become swollen and your dog cannot resist but scratch and scratch. In worse cases, dogs begin to lose their fur. 

Treatment for Plastic Allergies

It is common for other dogs in the household to also develop plastic allergies if one of your dogs already has them. The best way of treating plastic allergies is to remove plastics from your house or reduce exposure to it. Instead of using plastic dishes, you can opt for ceramic dishes or glass. Get rid of toys which are made of plastic. You will see improvements after you get rid of plastics in your household.

1 comment:

  1. yeah, thinking this is the reason for the sudden onset of my girls' newest reaction. was using a plastic water bottle so they could drink when i wasn't around (they wear cones to keep them from licking and scratching their faces - don't get my started on the ridiculous amounts of allergies they have), but i think i have to go back to the ceramic bowls.
    UGH!!!! my poor poor babies!!!

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