Anyone have any experiance with these mange/allergy medications?

Chevy has had multiple skin issues over the years and this time they diagnosed mange back in Nov. The vet gave her :
Prednisone 20mg, 1 every 12 hours
Cephalexin Caps 250mg, 1 every 12 hours
Cephalexin Caps 500mg, 1 every 12 hours
Chlorhexidine PS Micro Spray, Between baths
Chlorhexidine PS Shampoo
Since she has taken these, she has stopped the excessive scratching/licking, but has been drinking excessive amounts of water. The vet told my dad that this would happen. She also has a sorta "brightness" in her eyes, like a person high on something would have. Should I be worried about her kidneys? I read somewhere that excessive drinking/urination is caused by kidney problems. I'm wondering if the medication could have done something to her kidneys. She is also 10+ (not sure her actual age, but she is up there.) Has anyone had their dogs on these?

a common side-effect of prednisone is drinking more (and thus peeing more). they can also get really hungry while on it, and you might see more panting. are they tapering the dose soon? (pred should never be stopped cold turkey, it has to be tapered to lower and lower doses before stopping.)

We are taking her back to the vet when the pills run out, that's what the vet told us to do. When we take her back, she will tell us if she is going to raise or lower the dosage.

I've been through mange twice...


pred is causing the thirst, and yes, extended use can damage organs.

what kind of mange?

hope that Chevy feels better soon and that they lower his dosage!..keep us posted

(double post)

I posted and it disappeared - try again.

Prednisone - short term use is safe. Long term use can cause an assortment of issues.

Cephalexin - broad spectrum antibiotic commonly used for skin infections.

Chlorhexidine - topical antibacterial.

None of these would kill mange mites - they'd only treat the secondary bacterial infection that usually accompanies mange. However, at your dog's age, I too would be curious what type of mange she was diagnosed with!

Prednisone is a steroid. What I don't get is it can/does depress the immune system, so why did they give it to her when her immune system is already not doing its job (hence the mange/inability to reject the mites in the first place).


Did she perhaps give an injection? Or give the dog a bath? We always treated mange through a series of 4 Mitaban baths, and then on the 5th bath we did skin scrapes before to determine if any more were needed.

Did the vet do a skin scrape? I think Demodex would be the culprit, given the age. IIRC it's based on a genetics (well, the gene weakens the immune system which allows the mite to come back) and thus can recur throughout the life time. I think limited immunity can be developed to the mites that cause Sarcoptic mange (basically the IgE antibodies get pissed off that something is annoying the skin and cause the release of cytokines that **** off the mite in return), so that leaves Demodex.

Demodex would have probably been Mitaban dips. At 10 yrs old, demodex would surprise me ... I know there is 'adult onset', but 10 is taking that a little too literally ... ?? Sarcoptic would be a consideration if there were exposure ...

Well to me the age is what makes Demodex more likely than Sarcoptic. I don't know how well the immune system develops immunity to the mites that cause Sarcoptic mange, but I do know that the genetic defect weakens the immune system which allows Demodex to take hold, thus the chance for re-infestation is present throughout the life time.

this is not my understanding of it...do you have a link that supports this? As far as I know they can only get infected with demo during a certain period of time in puppyhood, and reinfestation would be a result of not killing all the mites in treatment.
Demodectic Mange

so getting demo again and again would be a result of not treating long enough.



to the op...ask your vet about ivermectin unless you have a collie or other sensitive breed.

I would wean Chevy off of prednisone (steroid, baaad stuff to use long term) and I would seek out a holistic care regimen. Sure the meds given will do something with the issue, but they don't get at the root of what causes the issue to begin with, therefore it never really goes away.

Been there, done that, at least half a dozen times. We have FINALLY figured it out. Sometimes you have to combine both modern medicine and holistic care regimens to do the trick. You can PM me for more information if you'd like, and are interested in learning more about the holistic care regimens (would be much more gentle on an older dog as well).

The only link I have is what I learned in my microbiology, immunology, and parasitology courses.

I don't think it's a case of re-infection in this case due to the age, and besides it's a possibility with demodex and sarcoptic mange both, or any condition where you stop treating it before it's actually eradicated (IE stopping antibiotics prematurely).

It's been a bit since I last thought about this stuff but I'm pretty sure the demodectic mange is aided by a genetic defect that causes the immune system to not reject the demodex mites. That's why Demodectic mange isn't near as contagious as Sarcoptic mange (because not every dog has that defect). It's also the reason why it would fit in well with the age issue. I'd think the dog would have some resistance to sarcoptic mange from over its life. Of course, with the age of the dog it may also be a declining immune system.

You're right, GO. The way the vet described it to me, is that mange mites are on all dogs' skin, even our skin. The reason they don't cause infection is because the dogs' immune systems fight off the infection; but that doesn't mean the mites aren't there. A dog then, becomes infected with dem. mange when his immune system doesn't fight it off anymore for whatever reason.

not entirely true...puppies can be stressed or just simply have immature systems...there does not have to be a genetic component.

LOCALIZED generally means the above, stress or age.

GENERALIZED is generally caused by a genetic defect, tho the animal could just be severly stressed.

But it's a 10 year old dog, not a puppy. As a puppy it could go either way, but a 10 year old dog would have some resistance to sarcoptic mange mites unless it's never been introduced to them before (which is a possibility, though slim; not all infestations are clinical). That's what leads me to think demodectic.

Problem with demodex theory is the dog would've likely been infected at least a couple times throughout the life time, and thus the owner would have some experience with what was going on, which doesn't seem to be the case.

yes, yes, and I agree...the only point Iam making (for lurkers) is that demo does not HAVE to have a genetic component.

Last night she had a minor nose bleed, do you think that could be a sign of other problems caused by the Prednisone?

That I've no idea about.

I've never had a client that had a similar side effect, but it might happen. Then again, she might've just walloped herself.