If you have ever had a dog with severe dog allergies (redness, swelling, compulsive licking of an area .. you will definitely know of cortisone being prescribed …

Here are a few more details behind why your dog is using such a powerful steroid.

Firstly   what your dog is actually getting is a class of drug called Corticosteroids – its just that everyone has shortened the name to –  steroids or cortisone.

what you may not know is that this chemical is also naturally produced in the human and dogs body and it serves many functions, some of which are:

• immune system response
• control of inflammation
• stress response
• nutrient metabolism
• maintenance of blood electrolyte levels.

As you can imagine Corticosteroids are mostly prescribed for dogs to control inflammation, or as an anti inflammatory.

However when they are given in high doses, Corticosteroids (cortisone)  ALSO act as immune-suppressant drugs.

Thus they are prescribed for the dual action of reducing the dogs body’s reaction to an allergen in the first place (that causes the swelling) and they reduce the swelling that is present that is causing the pain that is causing the dog to lick, which causes pain, annoyance and can cause secondary infections.

What steroids are prescribed for dogs

Once upon a time natural cortisone from animals could be used, but due to limitted supply and ethical considerations, cost etc  synthetic cortisone that are many times more powerful are now used.  Here are some of the best known ones:

• dexamethasone
• prednisone
• prednisolone
• methylprednisolone
• triamcinolone