Most of my patients with chronic skin disease only need infrequent antibiotic therapy as opposed to year-round treatment with potent and expensive medications.

Why?

Simply because the holistic therapies we use to heal the skin usually work very well. First, for pets with chronic skin infections, I always make sure an underlying problem such as allergies, food intolerance, or hypothyroidism is not the cause of the problem Assuming a pet does not have any of these issues, a holistic approach makes sense. Using frequent bathing to cleanse the skin, feeding a natural diet, using various supplements including antioxidants, fatty acids, and various herbs and homeopathics, most pet owners will find that they are able to reduce the pet's need for antibiotics. While some pets treated with only conventional medications such as antibiotics require lifelong therapy, I have yet to encounter a pet with Staph skin infections that does not respond to a more holistic approach.

The good news is that while not an overnight success, most pets will likely improve with time and the correct treatment. As a worse-case scenario, lifelong antibiotic therapy would be a last resort (and even then, if combined with immune-boosting supplements I bet that lower doses of the antibiotics could be used.)

Dr. Shawn Messonnier is the author of 8 Weeks to a Healthy Dog, The Allergy Solution for Dogs, and the award-winning The Natural Health Bible for Dogs & Cats. Dr. Shawn is the medical consultant for Pet Togethers, a pet supplement company.

http://www.pettogethers.net/healthypet

http://www.petcarenaturally.com

Eczema is a frustrating and uncomfortable ailment that affects more people that most know. It is thought that up to 20% of the children of the world have eczema and that about 8% of the adults of the world also suffer from eczema. The thing is that most of the affected individuals do not know that they have eczema since they have not had an outbreak. Even the majority of the persons that have had an eczema outbreak did not know that they had an eczema outbreak. The reason is that not all of the persons with eczema have severe cases. Eczema can come in any severity along the spectrum from really mild eczema to extreme eczema. To make matters worse there are a number of different types of eczema, about seven types. These seven types of eczema are caused by different things and knowing which you have and what causes it is half of the battle. We have covered other types of eczema in previous articles and in this article we will cover allergic contact dermatitis. Take this eczema information as a supplement to you other research. If you feel that you have eczema consult with a doctor to find out for sure. Do not use this as medical advice since it is not.

Allergic contact dermatitis is a type of eczema that occurs when your body reacts negatively to something that is in regular contact with your skin. This type of eczema develops over along period of time and happens after consistent and repeated contact with the bothersome items. The things that can cause this type of eczema are things like specific metallic things, certain fabrics in clothing or linens and other materials like latex. Latex is a very common material that causes the allergic contact dermatitis version of eczema. Costume jewelry can often be a culprit of the eczema type allergic contact dermatitis.

An easy way to stop this form of eczema is to discontinue contact with the affecting material. If you notice that a particular watch is causing your outbreak then switch watches to a different type made of a different material to see if it eliminates your allergic contact dermatitis. Allergic contact dermatitis seems to be an easy type of eczema to get rid of and seems not to needs any crazy medication or doctors assistance. If this is the type of eczema you have then we are happy for you as there are many worse types of eczema to have.

Two of the most common skin conditions are the presence of moles and dermatitis. Moles can have more serious consequences than the irritation of dermatitis.

Moles occur when the cells in the skin that give it its pigment, called melanocytes, grow in clusters. These cells normally grow throughout the skin, but when too many grow in the same place a mole occurs. Most moles appear before the age of 25, but some may appear much later. Moles can remain static or change over time. Although most are not dangerous, some can be malignant and lead to melanoma. Any mole that oozes or becomes painful or sensitive should be checked out by a dermatologist. Moles that suddenly appear after the age of 25 or begin to change or grow should also be evaluated.

When evaluating your moles, keep the following in mind. Moles should be round. If your moles are asymmetrical, or irregular in shape, have it evaluated. If you find a mole that is larger than ?", mention it to your doctor or dermatologist. If you find that your mole has an irregular or jagged edge, or is not all one color, have your doctor look at it. Finally, any mole that is red or blue may be cause for concern.

Treating moles is not difficult. If a mole is embarrassing, or becomes irritated under your clothing, you may ask your doctor to remove it. Moles can be frozen with a chemical, after which they dry up and fall off. Other moles can be simply cut off of the skin. Often, doctors will remove entire moles that seem suspicious and test the tissue for cancer. If any malignancy is found, they may cut out a slightly larger area of skin and then suture the site closed.

Check your skin regularly for changes in your moles. If any seem suspicious, or any changes have occurred, let your doctor know. Preventing a problem is as easy as going on "mole patrol."

Claire Bowes is a successful Webmaster and publisher of Eczema Causes & Cures. Claire provides more information on her site about Dermatitis & Moles that you can research at home.