Sweet Itch Injection - Dr. K?
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Cindy Giovanetti
Over on the Horsekeeping list, this possible sweet itch vaccine was mentioned, and this article is dated 2021: https://equusmagazine.com/diseases/sweet-itch-vaccine/
I wondered if there is anything new about this.
I just came in from bathing my horse’s swollen, scabbing insect bites. ☹ He’s on Chondroitin and Spirulina year round. He seems to suffer the most at the beginning of spring and fall. Would love to have something new to try.
Cindy -- Cindy, Oden, and Eeyore, North Texas On ECIR protocol since 2/19 https://www.facebook.com/LifeWithOden/ History: https://ecir.groups.io/g/CaseHistory/files/Cindy%20and%20Oden Photos: https://ecir.groups.io/g/CaseHistory/album?id=91125
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No more news on it, and the results were not that exciting - 50% reduction but how did they even determine that? How much chondroitin and Spirulina? Balanced diet? Flax? Barrier blankets or creams?
-- Eleanor in PA www.drkellon.com
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Cindy Giovanetti
Oden is on 40g of spirulina split twice a day and a tablespoon of Chondroitin split twice a day. And yes, 3 1/2 ounces of flax split twice per day. Yes, his diet is balanced. Yes, I use barrier creams as the wounds show up, but he will not wear any clothing.
We did allergy shots for a year with no improvement.
I’m not even sure this is insect related as he will scratch in the dead of winter.
Cindy
_,_._,_ -- Cindy, Oden, and Eeyore, North Texas On ECIR protocol since 2/19 https://www.facebook.com/LifeWithOden/ History: https://ecir.groups.io/g/CaseHistory/files/Cindy%20and%20Oden Photos: https://ecir.groups.io/g/CaseHistory/album?id=91125
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Is it only his hindquarters? If so, consider pinworms https://wp.me/p2WBdh-1dm .
-- Eleanor in PA www.drkellon.com
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Cindy Giovanetti
No. It’s not mainly his hindquarters. It’s not pinworms. He’s been tape tested. Nor is it mainly his neck/mane (indicating neck threadworms).
It seems to be mainly on his “under arms,“ both front legs and back legs. Also the midline of his stomach, the girth area. But, yes, also the point of his rump (which is a bit lower than his anus), and yes, sometimes his mane also. And also his face. :( Last year a science-y member of our group examined skins scrapings under a microscope and confirmed that they were not insects or insect droppings. 🤷🏼♀️ -- Cindy, Oden, and Eeyore, North Texas On ECIR protocol since 2/19 https://www.facebook.com/LifeWithOden/ History: https://ecir.groups.io/g/CaseHistory/files/Cindy%20and%20Oden Photos: https://ecir.groups.io/g/CaseHistory/album?id=91125
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Biopsy could be helpful, along with cultures.
-- Eleanor in PA www.drkellon.com
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liisaacson
Hi Cindy
Haven's case history: https://ecir.groups.io/g/CaseHistory/files/Lisa%20and%20Haven Haven's photos: https://ecir.groups.io/g/CaseHistory/album?id=261155
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You have just described my horse Dusty. It is awful we have tried everything including all the above for years. As a last resort I give 1000 banomi to him before a 3 CC shot of Dex. About every 30 days when it's extremely bad. (Rubbed raw and bleeding) Vets said to try this, or move him to different area, or put him down. He said it was a low dose. Said important to keep ahead of it when it begins .It has really helped
I still worry and know the risk but feel there truly is no other choice for us. Just a note.daily baths and Calimine lotion ($1.44 at Walmart really helped with the itch, kept the flies the scabs too. Just wanted to share. So sorry for anyone that has to see there horse so miserable. -- Lori, Abel, Bodie & Dusty 2016 Redding, CA https://ecir.groups.io/g/CaseHistory/files/Lori%20and%20Able%20-%20Bodie%20-%20Dusty https://ecir.groups.io/g/
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Hi Cindy,
For two horses having very similar symptoms as you described, we performed cultures and both came with bacterial infection, they were treated with antibiotics and both improved a lot. One is still on treatment, the other one was cured, then it came again, but in a very mild form because he is an advanced case of PPID. Just in case it helps. Hope you can find the solution. -- María Durán Navarro Dec 2017 Madrid (Spain) Plutón´s Case History Plutón´s Photo Album _._,_._,_
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Laura
Hi,
I too have a horse with severe sweet itch. I manage him with Apoquel, which is very expensive, but when you see your horse bleeding from scratching, well, you do what you can. I’ve had him tested, yes, it is sweet itch 😢. I also use barriers, desitin on anything open, and under his front legs. I’ve done sublingual immunotherapy for 5 years, intralymphatic immunotherapy, not much helped. I am anxiously awaiting the vaccination. I know it was not 100% effective, but even a 50% decrease in symptoms would be a life saver for my horse. Good luck, Laura
-- Laura in WI- 2022 https://ecir.groups.io/g/CaseHistory/files/Laura%20and%20Teddy
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Have you tried topical Bactine or Arnica https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Organic-Montana-Extracts-Strength/dp/B06Y3G7HGP .
-- Eleanor in PA www.drkellon.com
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Cindy Giovanetti
Dr. K, can I ask you one more thing about this?
In a previous reply, Lisa said that her horse got over this when she removed flax.
Oden has had allergy testing, and the main thing he tested positive for was weeds. (Not insects.) I don’t think he was tested specifically for flax or Timothy or beet pulp, and these are the main things he eats now.
Because he doesn’t go out on pasture, he doesn’t encounter any weeds.
Would flax seem like weeds to his body? Would it make sense to remove flax based on a weed allergy? I would have to try it for six months before I’d feel I had any results because the scratches can clear up for that long, and then randomly show up again.
Cindy
_._,_._,_ -- Cindy, Oden, and Eeyore, North Texas On ECIR protocol since 2/19 https://www.facebook.com/LifeWithOden/ History: https://ecir.groups.io/g/CaseHistory/files/Cindy%20and%20Oden Photos: https://ecir.groups.io/g/CaseHistory/album?id=91125
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Allergy testing is HIGHLY unreliable. It's impossible to have an allergy to weeds in general. It would have to be to a specific weed since they will have individual allergen profiles. If you want to try removing flax, replace it with flax oil. Oils cannot induce allergy.
-- Eleanor in PA www.drkellon.com
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Barbara Sollner-Webb
Cindy, does your horse truly have sweet itch (allergy to the saliva of culicoides/no-see-ums/midges) or possibly some other bug allergy, because the preferable treatments differ? When you say your horse has "swollen, scabbing insect bites", that does not really sound like sweet itch, where the torn up skin is from the horse violently scratching his itchy areas, not from the bites per se. Having gotten a horse who had just been imported from Iceland and then developed a terrible case of sweet itch, 20 years ago, and being a research biologist by profession, I (and other Icey owners) have learned quite a bit about successfully managing sweet itch. But since this is different than managing other bug allergies, it is important to first confirm that you indeed are dealing with sweet itch, for instance discerning: is it much worse on still, humid days than on breezy, dry days? Much worse just after sunrise and just before sunset than midday? Is it worst on the parts of the horse where your local variety of culicoides perfects to bite, which for most regions in the US is the belly midline and chest? And does it abruptly disappear with the first frost? If you gave a responding yes to all those questions, that certainly sounds like sweet itch, which can be very successfully managed with a multi-faceted approach.Email me for an article on this - <bsw@...>. yours, Barbara (Maryland, 2013)
Cindy Giovanetti on Sat, 17 Sep 2022 asked about "Sweet Itch Injection - Dr. K?". Over on the Horsekeeping list, this possible sweet itch vaccine was mentioned, and this article is dated 2021: -- Barbara Sollner-Webb in Maryland 2010
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