Posted 2017-05-18 5:43 PM Subject: Hydroxyzine long term
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 338 Location: NE TX
My mare developed a BAD allergy last fall and rubbed out 90% of her mane and most of her tail head. It was finally starting to grown back and about a month ago I noticed she'd been rubbing again so I put her in an electric fence and started her on Antihist-H.
It's not working, she's laying on the ground and rubbing her mane and tail out now. I talked with my vet who said move to North Dakota ??. Told him I'm a wimpy Texas girl and would die up there so he said Hudroxyzine and Dex.
I know I can't keep her on Dex the next 6 months but has anyone had one that they've had to and been able to put on Hydroxyzine "long term" till "winter" in TX kicks in.
Forgot to ask him when I talked to him today about it and am picking it up tomorrow from him just wanted to know if anyone else has done this.
Thanks in advance
Posted 2017-05-18 6:32 PM Subject: RE: Hydroxyzine long term
Gettin Jiggy Wit It
Posts: 2734
Anti histamines like tri hist and hydroxyzine don't work well in horses. Once the allergy symptoms have started anti histamines don't work. They only work if you start them before the allergen is exposed. Which is obviously hard to do. Dexamethasone is obviously the treatment of choice for allergies but like you said it is hard to give long term. Prednisolone is an alternative to dex. It is a lot less potent and doesn't suppress the adrenals as long like dex. Making it a shorter lasting steroid and easier to manage when it's out of the body. It normally has effect for 24 hours allowing the adrenals to go back to normal before dosing again.. unlike dex which can have variable effects for 2 to 4 days. Most vets will take a horse with allergies from dex to prednisolone due to the lower risk of laminitis with it and a horse can be on it safely for a few months. They dose it using a method call alternate day therapy. Where you start at a higher dose then taper to the lowest effective dose. When you get to the Lowest effective dose it is normally given every other day. Another option is allergy testing via blood serum or skin to get a series of desensitization shots. Vets have had good luck with desensitization shots for skin allergies but not respiratory allergies.
Posted 2017-05-18 7:16 PM Subject: RE: Hydroxyzine long term
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 338 Location: NE TX
Any general idea on how much the desensitization shots cost?
I've had her for 4 years and she just got this allergy last September and I thought it wouldn't start back till September again but sadly it has and it's worse. I'm scared to ride her cause she has rubbed her withers raw ??.
Posted 2017-05-18 7:40 PM Subject: RE: Hydroxyzine long term
Gettin Jiggy Wit It
Posts: 2734
about 200 for the testing and 100 for the first major portion of shots. You start daily, then every other day, then like once a week and so on until it's just once a month. After that they stay on them once a month for the rest of their life. It's about 100 dollars a year for the maintenance shots once a month after the first initial desensitization period shots.
Posted 2017-05-19 12:25 PM Subject: RE: Hydroxyzine long term
It Goes On
Posts: 2262 Location: Muskogee, OK
Ask your veterinarian about Voren (Dex Isonicotinate)... It is a longer acting dexamethasone that can offer relief for allergy horses for about 4-6 weeks. I keep my skin allergy mare on it through the spring and summer months, one shot every 4 or so weeks and it is not as risky as giving straight depo.
If your vet cannot find a good source (it is not readily available everywhere), I order mine through a compounding pharmacy called Veterinary Enterprises of Tomorrow (VET) in Oklahoma.
Hydroxyzine long term
