Actinic (Solar) Dermatitis

Most of us know that sun exposure can be damaging to the skin. We get wrinkles, sunburn, and even sun-induced skin cancers. It turns out that dogs have similar issues.

Pets like to sunbathe just like people do. Many like to lie happily on their backs and soak up the damaging UVB light. UVB light is pretty unpleasant stuff.  For one thing, UVB light induces the inflammatory response of skin cells, damages the skin’s immune cells, and induces mutations in skin cells of DNA. At first, the skin becomes pimply and red, but then plaques of thick skin develop and spread. Skin cancer can form, and not all forms of skin cancer stay confined to the skin.

Dogs at Risk

For most of the time, a good fur coat is all the protection a dog needs to avoid damage from the sun. After all, protection from the environment is what fur is all about. There are two problems, however: the tummy (which is sparsely furred in most dogs), and short white fur (which sunlight readily penetrates). This puts the pit bull terrier at special risk but any dog with similar hair length (greyhound, pointer, Dalmatian etc.) can have a problem with too much sun exposure, on the tummy or otherwise.

What Does it Look Like? 

The white fur becomes patchy and the skin below becomes red and irritated. In contrast, if there are adjacent patches of dark fur, the coat is lush and normal with no patchy hair loss and the skin underneath is not inflamed. Passing your fingers across the fur from white to colored will yield a dramatic difference in skin texture as the colored fur is protective against the sun.

Treatment

 As long as skin cancer has not actually cropped up, treatment focuses on inflammation and reducing sun exposure.

Antibiotics
Most actinic dermatitis cases have a hefty secondary Staphylococcus infection and need a couple of weeks of antibiotics.

Topical Steroids
If the skin has a lot of inflammation and discomfort, a week or so of topical steroids can relieve this. Be sure to use a product made for animals as human products are not made with the expectation that they will be licked.

Vitamin A
Protocols using daily Vitamin A have been shown to reduce the development of skin cancer and lessen damage from the sun. Your veterinarian can tell you what to get.

Visit: https://veterinary-conferences.pencis.com/

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