Red Mange???

[SharPeiMom]

Does anyone know anything about the red mange (treatment, prognosis, contagious,etc.)? I have a client who has a relative with a collie with the red mange and it's under a year old and has been to the vet for diagnosis (supposedly) and has decided they can't afford the treatment and asked if I would be willing to take this collie. I love collies but I have 4 other dogs to think about so I was trying to find out more about this. Is this something that is easy to cure or is it a lifelong problem that requires a lot of medications? I don't think I will be taking this dog but am curious about red mange since I haven't heard of it.
Apparently this dog is now living with the horses and goats and needs a home so I am going to see if I can help so any suggestions for rescues would also be appreciated. TIA for any info on this.

[Particentral]

Look up Demodex. That is geberally what people call red mange. I have a griff with it and she recovered really well using Promeris. All other treatments failed.

Collies cannot use the normal treatements, Ivermectin, so Promeris would be the only other thing I can think of. Of course, her vet would have to say for sure....

I have to say I dont "get" not being able to afford the treatments. Dipping is the norm and it isn't that pricey, and iver (which they cannot use) is again, NOT that bad....Promeris is about the same cost as Frontline, applied every 3 weeks....now if they are talking teh INTERCEPTOR treatment of a HW pill every day for months it can be pricey, but I don't know of anyone doing that anymore as it is so time consuming and pricey......

[D'tails]

Frontline is sometimes used of label to treat it.

[petgroomaustralia]

Im not sure about Frontline but Advocate treats this condition. You use it once a month for 3 or 4 months and it should get the demodex mites back down to normal levels. All dogs have demodex mites in their hair follicles but they are usually in fairly low numbers. When the immune system is low for whatever reason they can multiply quickly and cause problems. You usually see it in young puppies and it usually will resolve without treatment as the immune system kicks in properly. I used to live in the country on a property where there were foxes around and all the young puppies would have it but it was always easy to get rid of. With an older dog it may be there is something else going on in its body causing the low immune response.

[Helly]

Red mange is demodecosis. It is NOT contagious to other dogs, cats, or humans.

There are two types of demodecosis; localized and generalized. If the lesions are confined to the head and front legs it's usually considered localized. If the leasions spread to the body it's generalized.

Dogs with localized demodex will often recover spontaneously. Sometimes Goodwinal ointment is used to help speed things along, but it's debatable if it really does any good or not. A Preventic collar will successfully treat localized demodex. Personally, I'd save my money and just wait for a spontaneous recovery. Whetever you do or don't do, the prognosis is excellent for a full recovery.

Generalized demodex is a whole 'nother ball game. Same mite, but the dog has a weaker immune system. The prognosis is still good, although some dogs never recover, and must be medicated for life to keep the little buggies under control.

The treatment of choice is currently Ivermecting. But if the dog is of a breed that precludes the use of that strong of a dose, amitraz (Mitaban) does an excellent job of killing the little pests. It's not used much these days, but it is still available.

Dogs who have had generalized demodecosis should never be used for breeding, as the fault in the immune system is most likely genetic.

[Particentral]

JFYI the active ingredient in Promeris is Mitaban. Well, the chemical names are the same. You can get it over the counter.

[Helly]

JFYI the active ingredient in Promeris is Mitaban. Well, the chemical names are the same. You can get it over the counter.

JFYI ProMeris contains two active ingredients; metaflumizone and amitraz. The amitraz is the same as Mitaban. Why would I want to expose a pet to TWO toxins when one is all that's needed.

And personally, I would never encourage anyone to attemt to dip their pet with Mitaban or the generic equivelent, even if it's available OTC, which I don't think it is. It's potent stuff, and should be used under the supervision of a vet.

As for Collies and other related breeds; I'm not sure but suspect it's only the dogs who have the gene mutation (forgive me, but I cannot remember the exact one right now) that would have a problem with ivermectin, even when used at the dosage necessary to treat demodex.

[Particentral]

Helly, I never advocate anyone use Mitaban as a dip. EVER. I didn't do it here either. Promeris is available over the counter. Dunno about Mitaban as it is toxic in the water supply (supposedly) and all vets here that use it have to have catch tanks to collect the excess. They cannot release it into the sewer system.

The reason you might use Promeris is that it WORKS. My griff had Demodex for months before the vet finally suggested this treatement and it worked. No more mites happier dog and happier mom. I never liked the daily ivermectin either. This works and it has to be safer than daily or weekly doses of ivermectin.

[pooh13]

Canine Demodicosis:
This skin disease of dogs occurs when large numbers of Demodex canis mites inhabit hair follicles and sebaceous glands. In small numbers, these mites are part of the normal flora of the skin of dogs and cause no clinical disease. The mites are transmitted from dam to puppies during nursing within the first 72 hr after birth. The mites spend their entire life cycle on the host, and the disease is not considered to be contagious. The pathogenesis of demodicosis is complex and not completely understood; evidence of hereditary predisposition for generalized disease is strong. Immunosuppression, natural or iatrogenic, can precipitate the disease in some cases. Secondary bacterial furunculosis or cellulitis may occur, leading to a guarded prognosis.

Two clinical forms (localized and generalized) of the disease exist. Localized demodicosis occurs in dogs <2 yr old, and most of these cases, especially the nummular forms, are thought to resolve spontaneously. Lesions consist of areas of focal alopecia, erythema and/or hyperpigmentation, and comedones. Pruritus is usually absent or weak. A percentage of these cases, especially the diffuse localized forms, progress to the generalized form. Generalized demodicosis is a severe disease with generalized lesions that are usually aggravated by secondary bacterial infections (pyodemodicosis). Accompanying pododermatitis is common. Dogs can have systemic illness with generalized lymphadenopathy, lethargy, and fever when deep pyoderma, furunculosis, or cellulitis is seen. Deep skin scrapings reveal mites, eggs, and larval forms in high numbers. Whenever generalized demodicosis is diagnosed in an adult dog, medical evaluation to identify an underlying systemic disease should be pursued.
Nummular localized demodicosis can be left untreated. The prognosis for this form is usually good, and spontaneous recovery is frequent. In contrast, treatment is required in cases of diffuse localized demodicosis (which can generalize), generalized demodicosis, pyodemodicosis, and pododemodicosis, for which prognosis is always guarded. Hair clipping and body cleansing, especially with benzoyl peroxide shampoo used for its follicular flushing activity, may be required. Whole-body amitraz dips (0.025%) applied every 2 wk is an approved treatment for generalized demodicosis in the USA. Higher concentrations (0.1%) and shorter treatment intervals (1 wk) may be more efficient. Other experimental protocols using daily half-body amitraz dips have been proposed for refractory generalized demodicosis. Among macrocyclic lactones, only milbemycin oxime (0.5-1 mg/kg, PO, sid) is approved for generalized demodicosis in some countries. Other reportedly successful nonlicensed systemic treatments include moxidectin (400 µg/kg, PO, sid) and ivermectin (300-600 µg/kg, PO, sid). For the latter, different therapeutic protocols have been proposed with a gradually increased dosage and thorough monitoring of patients to detect any potentially toxic effect. Ivermectin is contraindicated in Collies and Collie crosses. Local and systemic corticosteroids are contraindicated in any animal diagnosed with demodicosis. Secondary bacterial infections are treated with an appropriate antibiotic. Antiparasitic therapy must be continued not only until clinical signs abate but also until at least 2 consecutive negative skin scrapings are obtained at 1-mo intervals. As the sole prophylactic measure, demodectic dogs should not be used for breeding.