Hair not growing back on itchy skin

by | May 10, 2019 | Ask A Vet, Hair Loss, Itching, Skin Issues | 0 comments

by Wei Ling
(Singapore)

April 2015 Whole body

April 2015 Whole body

April 2015 Whole body

April 2015 Body

December 2014

Bioresonance test results

Dear Dr Tillman,

Hope everything is well for you. I need to seek your help for Xuan Xuan again. Everything has been well for her for the past 3 years though the hair in areas such as the base of her tail, under armpit and back of her ankles never really grew hair. Once in a while, she will scratch the area around her eyes, one patch on her lips etc and the area will be red and without hair for a while but the hair eventually grows back.

However, last august she had a outbreak where she scratches till the entire body is a quite inflamed though not till it bleeds and is swollen. I brought her down to a vet that my other adopted dog is currently seeing which is a conventional vet who is also trained in holistic medicine. She has seen this vet in September 2013 as I wanted her to go through the Bioresonance Allergy Test that my other young adopted dog went through. The vet recommended her current diet with supplements and suggested I continue to monitor her skin situation. But this time the vet gave a dose of steroid (prednisolone) for a week waned off over another week. It clears the outbreak and Xuan Xuan is back to her original condition after a month or so.

I don’t know whether it is related. My other dog who is a 2 year old mongrel had a demodex outbreak in December. He nearly passed away at 3 months and has a very weak immune system since. I applied and massage tea tree oil in every alternate day and moisturize with shea butter to my mongrel. It cleared in about a month. This is not the first time he had it. Previously, it does not seems to affect Xuan Xuan.

However, in January this year, Xuan Xuan who is 8 years old by now, scratches her body and bites her feet. On the scale of 10, I would say her itch level is about 5. Not very very high and not non-stop scratching. However, her hair does not seem to grow back.

By February, her hair is patchy. So in March, I decided to shave her so that I can apply Coconut oil evenly and bathe her more often. However, since shaving her about 4 weeks ago, the hair doesn’t seems to grow back very fast. I am at a loss what to do next.

Skin Observation

Her skin is still generally quite cool and not hot like I start consulting you 4-5 years ago. The area that she scratches turns red but is ok after a while. When she scratches, the area is a little damp. But she is not scratching, the skin is relatively dry. She still doesn’t smell too bad after a week of bathing although I try to bath her every few days these few weeks.

Current diet and Supplement

She is still on home-cooked food – beef, potato and vege in 1/3 proportion twice a day. She is on the following supplements:
1. Natural Calcium Powder (Red Seaweed)
2. Skin and Coat Supplement (Recommended by the vet)
3. Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
4. Apple Cider Vinegar
I have stopped immuplex and antronex (which the bioresonance test shows intolerant) two years ago.

Alternative Medicine and Oil and Shampoo

1. Tea Tree Oil (50% dilution with Fractionated Coconut Oil). She stopped scratching immediately when it is applied to her hotspot when she is scratching. But I dare not apply too often or too much as it dries her skin and I make sure I apply coconut oil at the same time. I use tea tree oil to manage her skin these few years.
2. I tried different essential oil these few month – Myrrh, lavender, bug off (mix) but none seems to smoothen her skin
3. She is now on Epi-smooth Oatmeal Shampoo and Conditioner

I tried giving Xuan Xuan Sulphur 1m in feb and mar, a month apart. But didn’t see much effect – neither improvement or aggrevation. Maybe also because it has expired?

Please do advice what I can do. There really isn’t any holistic vet in Singapore I really can rely on.

Comments for Hair not growing back on itchy skin

Apr 07, 2015Status
by: Wei Ling Hi,

Can I asked about the status of the reply above posted on 4 April? Xuan Xuan has been relatively itchy on and off these few days scratching her body and biting her limps.

Regards
Wei Ling
7April 2015

Apr 08, 2015My Online Vet Response for: Hair not growing back on itchy skin
by: Dr Carol Jean Tillman April 7, 2015

Hi Wei Ling,
Thank you for the update on Xuan Xuan. I am so sorry that she has had a set back. From your description of her condition now, you did not mention if you had a blood test for her thyroid.

Low thyroid level will cause hair not to grow back, cold body temperature, and poor skin condition.

You wrote,
“I tried giving Xuan Xuan Sulphur 1m in feb and mar, a month apart. But didn’t see much effect – neither improvement or aggrevation. Maybe also because it has expired?”

Homeopathic remedies stay good for years, so I do not think that would be a cause. But I would suggest that you have her thyroid level checked, and do the entire blood panel. Although, her diet and the supplements are very good, I worry that her early treatments with cortisone, atopica, and other drugs may have affected her system.

Please keep us posted by coming back to this page and clicking the ‘click here to add your own comments’ link below.

Take care,
Dr. Carol Jean Tillman

DISCLAIMER: The above should never replace the advice of your local veterinarian, as they have the ability to evaluate your dog in person.

Apr 08, 2015Blood test
by: Wei Ling Hi Dr Tillman,

I will be sending Xuan Xuan for a thyroid and full blood test tomorrow evening. Clinic requested a write up on medical history and recommendation letter, if not have to go through their vet’s diagnosis before she can go through the test. So I will be seeing a vet before going through the test.

I will get back to you after I have gotten the results. As her symptoms is really so close to hypothyroidism in dogs, what if the results of the blood test do show she has that and the vet recommended that she goes on medication for thyroid? Do I reject or accept?

Apr 09, 2015Blood Test results
by: Wei Ling ProCyte Dx

RBC 6.02×10^12/L
HCT 38.5%
HGB 13.5g/dL
MCV 64.0fL
MCH 22.4pg
MCHC 35.1g/dL
RDW 15.0%
%RETIC 0.6%
RETIC 34.3K/uL
WBC 23.48×10^9/L
%NEU 87.3%
%LYM 7.1%
%MONO 3.4%
%EOS 2.0%
%BASO 0.2%
NEU 20.51X10^9/L
LYM 1.66×10^9/L
MONO 0.81×10^9/L
EOS 0.46X10^9/L
BASO 0.04X10^9/L
PLT 609K/uL
MPV 7.3 fL
PDW 8.4 fL
PCT 0.44%

Catalyst Dx
GLU 6.7mmo/L
UREA 5.7mmol/L
CREA 52ummol/L
Bun/CREA 27
PHOS 1.57mmol/L
CA 2.37mmol/L
TP 85g/L
Alb 34g/L
Glob 51g/L
Alb/Glob 0.7
ALT 26u/L
ALKP 85u/L
GGT 2u/L
TBIL 3umol/L
CHOL 5.23 mmol/L
AMYL 457u/L
LIPA 442u/L

Snapshot Dx
TT4 29nmol/L

Mite test negative.

Vet gave the following medicine to treat secondary infection:

1. Cephalexin 250mg 1/2 tablet twice a day for 3 week
2. Ketoconazole 250mg blister tablet 1/4 Tablet once daily for 4 weeks
3. Sebolyse clear shampoo

Hi Dr Tillman,

Please see above test results. Should I administer the antibotics and antifungal medication?

What should I do next?

Apr 14, 2015skin condition status
by: Wei Ling Hi Dr Tillman,

I tried putting Xuan Xuan on e-collar and little socks for the past two days through the night and in the day when I’m out at work. When I came home today, I noticed the skin between her toes are damp and gives off a bad smell and all the outer skin has a thin layer of dandruff/scalp. That means I can’t put socks on her cos it traps moisture. However, she scratches so much that her entire skin is a little pimply.

I am eagerly waiting for your reply as to what to do next. I do not want to go for quick fix and administer the antibotics n antifungal if it will disturb her immune system in the long run but is at a lost what to do next other than oiling her every day.

Apr 14, 2015My Online Vet Response for: Hair not growing back on itchy skin
by: Dr Carol Jean Tillman April 14, 2015

Hi Wei Ling,
The blood panel for Xuan Xuan looks pretty good, except for the elevated white blood cell count, probably secondary to inflammation of her skin. I do not think the Sulphur 1M has expired, it may be due to interference from Tea Tree Oil.

Stop the Tea Tree oil, wait 4-5 days, then repeat one dose of the Sulphur 1M, one time daily for three days. You can use apple cider vinegar for a foot bath for her feet one to two times daily. I suspect she may have yeast in between her toes. Vinegar works as an anti-fungal.

Continue with everything else.

Keep me posted on the effect of the Sulphur 1M.

I feel that there may be a second remedy that might be better, (since some of Xuan Xuan’s symptoms have changed), but I do not want to forget Sulphur, as it worked well in the past.

Please keep us posted by coming back to this page and clicking the ‘click here to add your own comments’ link below.

Take care,
Dr. Carol Jean Tillman

DISCLAIMER: The above should never replace the advice of your local veterinarian, as they have the ability to evaluate your dog in person.

Click here to go back to the Ask a Vet Online Library of questions.

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