From:
Sukie Crandall
Date: 2008-06-08 15:26:12 UTC
Subject: need your ferret with asthma info; not an immediate danger but we =
To: fhl <ferrethealth@yahoogroups.com>, ferret-l@LISTSERV.FERRETMAILINGLIST.ORG
will get his chest x-rayed tomorrow
Hilbert appears to again be having seasonal allergy problems but with=20
asthma involved this year. We do have access to an emergency hospital=20
which can x-ray his chest today in case of infection if he worsens.
Here is my general post to the Ferret Health List and Ferret Mailing=20
List and I would greatly appreciate *****INFO ON ASTHMA=20
TREATMENTS***** for ferrets from those who have treated asthma more=20
aggressively since our past experience includes one who controlled=20
well enough with Benedryl but not more severe asthma.
I think that we should watch him carefully also because sometimes=20
physical stress can create a need to increase the Fludrocort and=20
Prednisolone to avoid Addison Crisis.
---
Our highly allergic little guy began having problems that I noticed=20
yesterday on my return, exhausted from tending some family needs=20
away. (With Hilbert very quiet and *hidden* coughing would be in=20
character till it became impossible to hide, so is possible but not=20
really likely because he and Steve are so extremely close. What did=20
show up in the three days when I was away was that he was more clingy=20
but that can have a range of causes.)
Hilbert has a history of allergies. I don't know the timing for sure=20
but my notes to others on it seem to show that he has at least once,=20
perhaps as often as three times had his dermal allergies which can=20
also get secondary bacterial infections (once severe), and I see that=20
at *least one of those times it was just about now that it started* so=20
there may be a local pollen that nails him abut now. I am not=20
discounting that I might have accidently brought back something like a=20
pollen in some of Dad's things or on my clothing but the timing could=20
be a coincidence. I checked the NAB reports and the local pollens did=20
shift yesterday.
He was gagging so at first i thought it was his stomach, but neither=20
petroleum jelly for ingested fur, nor a bit of Carafate brought him=20
any relief. Then my brain finally kicked in a little and we tried a=20
bit of Benedryl (which he absolutely hates) and each time (twice) that=20
he has had Benedryl now he has felt and sounded so much better within=20
20 minutes that he could even play. Steaming him also brings relief. =
(I use a clothing steamer with both of us getting steamed together.)
For night I was worried that perhaps Benedryl might not be good to=20
give so close to his Fludrocort and Prednisolone (both adrenals became=20
very inflamed from irritation when he had his bilateral=20
hydronephrosis, bladder diverticulum and cystine uroliths when young=20
but the R had to have vascular clamps so we are always aware that=20
hormonal cortical tissue might regrow from remnants though it hasn't=20
yet). What I did last night was I upped his Prednisolone to 0.4 mg=20
from 0.2 mg. That also brought enough relief for a while that he=20
could sleep well.
We'll pick up a range of baby foods and we have AD so those will help=20
provide nutrition and fluids as soupy foods.
Here is part of yesterday's National Allergy Bureau report for this=20
area and here are the things that differ from earlier in it though=20
with our first hot spell there could be others:
the level of grass pollen in higher (but in the past he cleared up=20
after about a month so unless it is a specific grass I don't think=20
grass is the likely problem unless he has a new allergy)
> 3. Walnut, Butternut: 1/m=B3
were not blooming before and there certainly are walnuts around here,=20
and there could be butternuts
>> 1. Plantain: 1/m=B3
I've been told that the weed variant of Plantain is very common in the=20
neighboring swamp and it was not blooming earlier.
So, now we will be getting vet care while treating for allergy and=20
hoping there is no infection, secondary or otherwise. His axillary=20
nodes are up a bit but not hard and the others are not up. So far his=20
skin seems okay though he was a bit itchy before the Benedryl, but=20
when that happens it is a bit itchy for a while and then it just=20
worsens dramatically.
FERRET ASTHMA TREATMENT INFO (the ferret has the asthma not the people=20
reacting to him), ANYONE?
Sukie (not a vet)
Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/fhc/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
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