Gingerโs Journey from Horrible Skin & Itchiness to Wellness
PARTICULARS
Breed: Mixed
Age: 12 years
Troubles: Skin/Yeast symptoms โ Chronic itching, Skin rash, Skin blackening, Hot Spots, Pyoderma (?)
Pictures above: Illustrate the โbeforeโ challenges (June โ08) and the โafterโ with progress on Nzymes Program
GINGERโS STORY, COURTESY OF OWNER, L. WISNER:
At the beginning of May, 2008, we started noticing that our almost 13-year-old mix breed dog, Ginger, was starting to have some skin problems. She has had some minor problems in the past, mostly in the spring, so we didnโt think much of it. She progressively started to get worse but I thought I could manage her โhot spotsโ with hydro-cortisone sprays etc.
On June 6, we decided to take her to the vet as she was really getting bad and she was scratching non-stop. He wasnโt sure what she had but took a scraping to see if it was mange. The test came out negative so he said she had โpyodermaโ. He gave her a prescription for antibiotics and also gave her a cortisone shot and Benzoyl peroxide shampoo. She was also due for her annual vaccination shots, so they were administered as well.
We did all that the vet told us to do and she still wasnโt doing any better. Actually, she was worse! We took her back a week later; he did another skin scraping which was negative again for Mange. He didnโt have any other suggestions except to take her to a doggy dermatologist and gave her another shot and more antibiotics. I suggested running a thyroid test and he agreed to do that. Her T4 thyroid result was low so I went ahead and did the full thyroid work up and that came back fine. By this time I didnโt know what to do, as I knew the dermatologist would be quite expensive and I wasnโt sure that that was something we really wanted to do.
On the 22nd of June, I thought Ginger was going to die. (click any photo to see larger)
Her skin was red and inflamed and she was running a fever. I started looking on the internet for some kind of answers and that is when I came across the Nzymes.COM web site. I figured she must have poor immune health. I was a bit skeptical at first but thought it would be less expensive than all the vet bills and testing etc. the vet wanted to do. When I spoke to the vet about the (NZYMES) Healthy-Skin Program he said he didnโt think this was the issue, but I decided to go ahead and take a holistic approach since his methods hadnโt worked and only made her worse.
So, I ordered the Healthy-Skin Kit even though I wasnโt sure she would survive till the products came. I went right away to the vet and purchase the Malaseb shampoo and also followed program instructions to obtain and use a recommended food. The NZYMESยฎ Healthy-Skin Kit products came on the 25th of June and we started her on them right away. We followed the program by the book. I had my doubts along the way as to if I was doing the right thing for her or not or if I should have had her put down. She had good days and bad days with fever, diarrhea and weight loss. She had lost most of her hair and had the ugly blackened skin. My teenage boys called her โResident Evilโ. She would get chills and we kept her covered with a blanket so she wouldnโt shiver. We bathed her every day to every other day with the Malaseb shampoo. When that ran out we got her the Universal Medicated Shampoo, which we liked better and rinsed her with a mixture of baking soda water. We kept her sprayed with the topical (solution) too. We also purchased the Comfy Cone, because she wouldnโt stop scratching and that helped a great deal. Iโm glad we did as we didnโt have to constantly yell at her and it was much better than the hard, plastic cones.
It is now just past 3 months and Ginger is doing so much better (picture 2 above). She has grown most of her hair back but still has some issues on her head and legs. For the most part, she is doing quite well and has gained most of her weight back. Sheโs still a bit itchy but the baths are down to twice a week. I have also added coconut oil and omega 3-6-9 to her diet. Sheโs come a long way in 3 months and Iโm sure she has more time before she is completely through the detox as she has had her 13th birthday and itโs supposed to take a month for every year. (picture 3 above โ is about beginning of 2009)
I am very happy with the results that NZYMESยฎ Healthy-Skin Kit has provided and the new diet has given her. My theory is, we had adopted a Parrot in January of 2008 and Ginger wasnโt happy with not getting all the attention or having a bird in the house, even though she got, even more, attention now to compensate for her being nervous around the parrot. I think her immune system suffered from her age, the antibiotics that we gave her, cortisone shots, the immunizations and lack of good nutrition even though we fed her a middle of the road dog food. She still doesnโt like the bird but seems more tolerable of her. I hope she will have a couple more happy and healthy years with us thanks to NZYMESยฎ Healthy-Skin Kit.
PHOTO HERE: Shows Ginger at 6 months into the Program, looking healthy and very โnormalโ but still having โups and downsโ, as described by the Pet Parent with her Update. A lengthy period of โups and downsโ can be expected with these complex โyeast cleansingโ cases, as Candida is a formidable foe. While this process has its challenges, itโs the only way to fix these dogs โ that are normally diagnosed with โAllergiesโ, yet endless efforts to control โAllergiesโ are virtually never successful.
UPDATE:
Almost a year has passed now and a lot has happened. Ginger was making great improvements with her initial skin issues but it seemed that I just couldnโt get her over the โhumpโ so to speak.
So I decided to try a different vet back in November of 08. I had heard he took a more holistic approach even though he wasnโt considered to be a Holistic vet. Well, he said that she had staph and that I needed to put her on medications. I really didnโt want to do it, but conceded. A week went by and I took her back for a check and she actually seemed like she was doing better. During the following week, we started to notice that she was having the same symptoms like she did the initial time. I came to my own conclusion, that the medication that we had been giving her may have been one of the reasons she got so bad in the first place. I immediately stopped and contacted the vet. Surprised to find out what I had told him, He didnโt really have any other suggestions except to take Ginger to a Holistic vet which was about 50 miles away and I just didnโt want to do that.
I went on the internet to do some research of my own and came up with giving her some other options. I have been including the Nzymesยฎ Healthy-Skin Kit in her daily routine since the beginning and even though she lost hair and had difficulty cleansing, it wasnโt near as bad as the first time. Iโm sure it was the Nzymesยฎ and also feeding her Eagle Pack dog food as well as bathing her several times a week with her special shampoos. I also give her Ultra Oil skin supplement and sometimes include coconut oil too.
She made great improvements over the winter months and we were actually down to bathing her once every two weeks! In the last month, she has become increasingly itchier and has had a terrible ear infection that I think we have under control now. We are back to bathing her every few days again but this is the same time of year that it all happened last year. I have no idea what is causing her to react this way, as the most of our pollen here is gone. I guess we may never know but the great thing is, she is still with us even though she shows her age of 13 ยฝ.
L. Wisner โ Spring Hill, FL
Nzymes NOTE: The mention of the Parrot, and the dogs reaction, brings up a factor that is commonly overlooked. STRESS, regardless of cause, can be a very negative factor related to digestive health. It can impact body pH balance/chemistry with a result in loss of beneficial bacteria that allows further growth of the troublesome Yeast Candida. The ultimate goal of the Nzymes Healthy-Skin Program โ is to HELP the immune system eradicate the troublesome Yeast while restoring friendly bacteria as master and commander of the gut environment. Two things to keep in mind about this process: itโs challenging and time-consuming!!
