Dermatology
Scratching, itching, hot spots
Your pet’s itchy skin can drive both your pet – and you — crazy. Worse, if the cause of that itchy skin is left untreated, quite serious health problems for your pet may develop.
Diseases of the skin and ears are among the most common reasons pets visit their veterinarians. Dermatology problems such as these can leave your pet feeling uncomfortable and affect the quality of your companion’s life. The good news is that these problems need not be tolerated.
By determining the underlying cause of recurrent skin problems, our dermatology team can provide effective treatments to spare your pet the misery of years of itchy and irritated skin. Effective treatments are available for allergies, endocrine disorders, autoimmune skin diseases, parasites and infectious diseases.
Veterinary dermatologists perform many specialized diagnostic procedures including allergy tests, video otoscopic examinations of the ears, microscopic examination of the skin’s cells and skin biopsy specimens, cytological smears, potassium hydroxide preparations, and fungal cultures.
Treatments include medicated shampoos and wipes; externally applied ointments and lotions; oral medications; and, sometimes, injected medications. BluePearl’s dermatologists may also use cryosurgery (freezing of the area), laser surgery, nail surgery, and traditional surgery to remove skin growths or other suspicious lesions.
Conditions we often treat
- Allergies and allergy-induced skin diseases
- Autoimmune skin diseases
- Chronic ear infections, inflammation and other ear problems
- Hot spots
- Infectious diseases that can be contagious from pet to human, and from pet to pet
- Nutritional imbalances that lead to skin disorders
- Parasitic skin disease
- Skin cancer and skin cysts
- Skin disease caused by systemic disease or cancer
- Toenail problems
- Diagnosis of disease, including cancer of internal organs, with signs that appear first as skin disorders
