Rudy presented to Pet Emergency Center for a swollen face, red skin and hives.
Rudy's owner first noticed that Rudy had developed facial swelling and some hives around 5:30pm the night before he presented to our hospital. Rudy's owner recognized these signs as consistent with an allergic reaction and gave Rudy some Benadryl (50mg total) that they had at home. The hives, which started off pretty big, became even bigger and more numerous over Rudy's entire body by about 11:30pm that night.
Rudy’s owner started to become more concerned and called her veterinarian who advised she try giving 75mg Benadryl which she gave at 2:30am that morning since the clinical signs were not improving. By morning time, Rudy still had the hives and had developed a swollen face and muzzle, reddened skin and seemed very restless. Since Rudy had not responded to the Benadryl pills, Rudy’s owner decided to take him to Pet Emergency Center for examination and additional treatment.
On Rudy’s physical examination at PEC, he was bright and alert. His eyes were pink and the skin around his eyes were swollen. The skin of his inner ears were red as well as the skin on other parts of his body. He had hives over his entire body. Rudy also had a swollen muzzle. Because his muzzle and lips were swollen, he was drooling excessively. Rudy had mild tachycardia (elevated heart rate) but was otherwise stable.
Dr. Hench discussed the different causes of allergic reaction with Rudy’s owners including bee stings, bug bites, an allergy to a new food or treat, an allergy to the environment like hay fever and even allergies to things like new shampoo, laundry detergent or even dust disturbed from construction.
Rudy’s owners did report that Rudy was playing in the yard the day before where there might be bees or bugs. They were also having some renovations performed on their house where a lot of dust was being disturbed. Rudy also ate some grass in which Round Up was recently applied and received a new type of dog treat yesterday. Any of these things could have incited an allergic reaction in Rudy.
Rudy’s owners authorized treatment for his allergic reaction. He was given an injection of Dexamethasone which is a steroid that helps with reducing swelling and itchiness. He also received an injection of Famotidine, which is an antacid that can help prevent stomach upset associated with the Dexamethsone injection as well as an antihistamine (H2 blocker)
Because he had already received 75mg of Diphenhydramine (Benadryl –antihistamine/H1 blocker) at 2:30am that morning, he did not receive this as an injection at PEC.
Because Rudy appeared stable on his physical examination and did not show any signs of anaphylaxis ( a more serious, life threatening allergic reaction that can cause shock, cardiovascular and respiratory distress, coagulopathies, collapse and even death) he was discharged to be monitored by his owners at their home. He was treated with oral pepcid AC and benadryl for the next 3 days at home for residual allergic effects.
As long as there was no re-exposure to the allergen, his clinical symptoms were expected to improve throughout the day.
Since the exact cause of his allergic reaction was unknown and because there were many things in his history that could cause an allergic reaction, Rudy’s owners were advised to not feed Rudy the new treats he was given yesterday as well as to keep him away from direct exposure to the renovation sites. They were also advised to avoid areas heavily populated with bugs and bees.
With each re-exposure to an allergen that an animal has had an allergic reaction to, the reaction can become worse and can lead to a life threatening situation called anaphylactic shock.
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