Hello I'm new to this site, can anyone give me any advise on the treatment of demodex.  My elderly boxer has been having Aludex baths for some time at the vets, they are now talking of trying an oral treatment, I think (Ivermectin).  Has anyone here got any experience of this longterm condition?
Thanks
Barb

There is a multi parasitic treatment that also has a modified form of ivermectin that is licensed for this treatment and also is a wormer and anti flea treatment.  It is called Stronghold http://www.buystronghold.co.uk/

It works well for my friend whose dog has autoimmune problems, including hypothyroid, IBS, and Demodex, following a viral infection a few years ago.

It keeps the demodex under control as long as she applies it regularly without fail.  If she doesn't it flairs up and because of the steroids she has to take for her other problems she can seriously damage her thinned skin.

When Bruce was first diagnosed they tried something called Pro Meris Duo, a similar product to Stonghold but it didn't work.  Bruce was also diagnosed with low thyroid just before the mites were discovered and also the vet originaly thought he had ringworm, when this was found negative they gave him steroids which I later found was the worst thing for demodex. Anyway thanks for your help.
Barb

If you can get it, try Imaverol.  Its a bath solution, and it clears things up right away.  My MP has demodex, and we started her on Advantage Multi - which is a heartworm/flea/tick/ringworm/whipworm/demodex drop.  Have seen some results, but I hear Imaverol is better (and much faster at getting the hair back).

Advocate treats Demodex well also, its a spot on, but is also a wormer de flea er

oops I have to correct my previous post I did actually mean Advocate, as the other one I believe treats sarcoptic, but not sure about demodectic mange.  Advocate is used in the states but is under a different name ans is one of the most commonly used heart worm treatments/preventatives.

My Westie suffered really badly from demodex and we thought we were going to lose him.  We were referred to the Animal Hospital in Newmarket and they gave him oral Ivermectin and Ceporex antibiotics.  Thankfully, it really helped.  It really does depend how bad the demodex is.  The Aludex only made my Westies skin worse as it turned to open wounds.

tess had demodex diagnosed after a skin scrape, she has advocate drops in the back of her neck every month without fail, we have never had any episode of the mite reapear and the vet told us it probally will never surface again he said it was very common on staffi puppies, but did you no that you never breed from a dog that has had the condition?

That is correct as it points to a weak immune system.  Often ti is a temporary problem because the pup is undergoing stress, a change of home a first season etc.

Most dogs are born with demodex mites that cause no problems, but a dog with a defective/weakened immune system will have the numbers of mites multiply to levels where they cause irritation and hair loss.

the pairing that produced the affected pups would not be repeated either so you should always tell the pups breeder if your dog has had an issue with demodex.

You should not confuse demodectic mange with sarcoptic mane which is caught from foxes or other dogs.

My friends staffie was had trouble of itching etc: was treated for Dermodex but still keeps itching.
After several visits to the vets and having second opinions he is now booked into have a skin scrap and blood test, (thank goodness he's insured!!)
The vet mentioned Ringworm?  but my friend is very much a 'excellent' owner and is always up to date with the best wormers and the best flea protection.
I am very interested to see the results of this very expensive investigation! :)

Ringworm is a skin parasite often caught from where cattle have rubbed on fences.

Thats what I thought Barbara, and he has never been near livestock or in fields that livestock graze in???!!!! :) :)

Hi Barb, welcome to the site.  Ivermectin was originally a prescription for cattle.  Many years ago, when I was showing long coated cavies, my vet allowed me to have it, although I had to give him the correct dosage as set down by the Cambridge Cavy Trust (as it was in those days), simply because it wasn't licensed for cavies.  It worked fantastically, and I have known many people use it on dogs since with complete success.  Even after many other things had failed.  BTW although it was injected into cattle, we mostly used it orally on cavies.

>Ringworm is a skin parasite often caught from where cattle have rubbed on fences.

Ringworm is a fungal infection, nothing to do with parasites at all.

thanks for that link Jeangenie :) x
On reading it, I see Ringworm is a form of Fungus but the symptoms it gives do not seem to be what my friends dog is suffering from.
I wish he had had a skin scrap sooner, and the blood test, but I will have to wait to see what happens at the end of next week x

Thaks was always told it was a parasite, Hibiscrub would be useful if it is fungal then as that is antifungal and antibacterial.

We were looking for a Golden Retriever and went to see the last puppy in the litter.   The poor thing was covered in Mange.  The owner/breeder said she had washed her in "Head and shoulders" shampoo and it did not seem to have helped!!!!!! Surprise Surprise.  She was not a puppy farmer but the typical frustrating person with no knowledge that "just decided to have a litter from her before having her spayed".

As "super suckers" we could not leave her there, paid for her and brought her back and treated her with the Aludrox dab on bath lotion.  The condition would get better for a while and then re-occur and she would start scratching and her hair falling out, particularly in summer. 

About a year ago Luckily I discovered that the alternative flea treatment to frontline called "STRONGHOLD" treats mange as well as fleas.  Since I have changed to that I have managed to keep her in beautiful condition with no outbreaks at all and my vet bills have plumeted.

i use ADVOCATE drops on tess every month without fail since she had a bout of demodex mite fingers crossed never had a problem since. i dont think their in much difference between stronghold and advocate but their is actually a picture of the demodex mite of the box of advocate,,, well done for getting her coat back into condition,

It is useful to know about the AVOCATE so thanks for that - just in case the STRONGHOLD stops working I can have an alternative product to switch to.

Can you only get ADVOCATE and STRONGHOLD from the vets and is it ok to give it to them frequently like you would flea treatment and worming??

Yes, Advocate and Stronghold are Prescription-only and designed to be used monthly.

i use ADVOCATE monthly  and DRONTAL worming tablets every 6 months.

I believe Drontal tablets have to be given every 3 months, not 6.

Advocate also does worms so giving another wormer is overkill, and just tapeworm treatment during the summer would cover things.

so do you think using DRONTAL every 6 months is ok then?

Hello im new to this today and am after some help please.

My names is Jo and i have a German Shepard cross (8 years) a tabby cat (12 months) and 2 hens.

My sister is at the end of her tether with her 18 month old staffie, she has had her since last July from a woman who was moving away, i went to see her to make sure she was ok as i have more of an understanding with animals than my sister, i noticed a small patch of fur missing from around her neck but put it down to her very big leather colar. Since my sister has had her she has got worse, she has been diagnosed with Demadex Mange (sorry i cant spell it) and 2 different vets have been treating it, she changed the first vet beacuse he told her to have her put to sleep which she was not prepared to do, so she changed vets they have treated her with Ivemec and Auldex plus antibiotics and nothing has seemed to work, she is virtually bald now all fur missing apart from one strip down the middle of her back, she is not red nor is she scratching but she is very down in herself, some days are good but others she just looks through you and sleeps alot. The vet has told her now to take her off everthing so the can start from a clean slate so to speak, can you give me any ideas on what i could tell her to do??????? Please help?

I wouldn't use it if the same worms are covered by the spot on.

It is like taking paracetamol and then taking Lem sip on top (which also has paracetamol), or taking the recommended dose of two pain killers at once.

joeyjo  has she tried the ADVOCATE?

Advocate is fantastic, i have used it for ages!! well worth it. they do it in 4 size packs if my memory serves me correctly! :-) S. M. L. XL

A friend of mine uses Advocate on her bitch 10 year old who has Demodex due Auto Immune problems.  they keep it under control, but she hasn't regrown her coat, but she has other problems too.

I can understand the Put To Sleep advice as a severe case points to a severely compromised immune system, and it may not be possible to control it, or of course other problems will occur with the poor immune system, and the quality of the dogs life needs to be considered, as if it is not got under control it can make them very miserable.

I had this with a rottie and it got worse very quickly. I Got Advocate from Vet and gave a Sulphur Tablet  twice daily, am and pm, also wiped the bald spots with neem oil. Gave him 5ml of Abidec Vit drops (for children- but the people who did "Born Free" the Adamsons (The Lion Film) used Abidec on all their cubs - so dont let people tell you not to add it to a premium food - the dogs system is low and needs an extra boost) Started to get better within a week and now he is fine.  This is down to a poor immune system and if you can boost it the dog will be able to cope and his immune system will deal with the demodex mite that all dogs have.  You willhave to continue with the Advocate for at least 3 months to keep it at bay but it will work!! Do not give up.

Hi - new to this but I have a Shi tzu who has been recently diagnosed with demodex mites (after 8 months of suffering the vet finally came up with this!!).  He's old and in a really bad way, open wounds, bleeding and smells terribly.  He just sits in his bed all day and rarely moves just either to eat or go out once or twice.  His feet are so bad he can hardly walk.  He's on steriods, antibiotics and I think it might be the Ivermectin (I'm at work at the moment so not sure) I'm dropping it into his mouth with a syringe daily but I feel really sorry as he's got no quality of life at the moment.  Does anyone know if it will clear up sooner rather than later??  I'm seriously considering the pts option???  Thank you!