Has anyone ever used AniHist and had it make their horse itch even more?

Question

My mare is basically allergic to summer (terrible itching and reactions to bugs and pollen). A fly sheet has solved much of the problem, but I also thought I'd try AniHist. I just started her on it this morning. This evening, she seems to be even more miserable and itching like crazy. Perhaps this is normal and the antihistimine will kick in after a couple of doses? Anyone else experience this?

Answer 1

Okay folkies, here I go again!  

Nope, never tried the stuff.  When I have a horse with "sweet itch", "summer itch", "Spanish itch" or "Sarcoptic Mange", I normally paint them with motor oil then leave them be for about a month.  (No riding).

However, if you so choose to ride, WASH your horse first with a good shampoo because the oil will be absorbed by anything LEATHER or material.  Then AFTER the ride, paint it again with the motor oil..

I didn't tell one poster that and it didn't dawn on me she'd ride her horse with it on it...(Ewwwwww)....  She got it all over her tack and her boots!  She did acknowledge that the motor oil did clear up all the itch.

Answer 2

idk but one of our horses  is on it and it works great check the side effects and talk to your vet if she gets worse

Answer 3

I've used it for years and never had any side effects. Ours didn't itch though just had spring allergies that caused runny noses, watery eyes and coughing. Usually took around 48 hours for it to have any noticable effect on these.

It's possible she could be allergic to the Guaifenesin, but still with the Pyrilamine Maleate being an antihistamine it should counteract any mild allergic reactions (like itching) even if she was allergic to the other ingredient.

At a guess, I don't think the itching is a result of the AniHist. I'd be looking for something else as the cause but just to be on the safe side stop useing it. If it was allergies to the Ani-Hist, it is totally gone from the system in 72 hours (loses it's effect long before that but can't even be found on a standard blood test after 72 hours).

If she was mine I'd go ahead and call your vet. Just discuss it with him. As long as you have a good relationship, he won't mind the call and he might be able to give you some advice or recomend putting her on Corticosteroids until it clears up.

Anihistimines aren't as effective for itching in horses as they are in humans so if she's developed Sweet Itch the AniHist alone isn't going to have a noticable effect on the itching.

There are many helpful treatments for Sweet Itch but the main thing is to keep the gnats that cause it away, be diligent regarding fly spray daily and any areas of the skin affectred need to be treated.

M-T-G works really well on those areas, it has skin emolients to help sooth and heal the skin and also repells insects. Many people don't like it though as it does have an icky smell. You might also want to try this on the areas that need to be specifically treated:

Combine the following ingredients and apply the mixture to sweet itch sores twice daily.

8 oz. of Gold Bond Medicated Body Lotion (Extra Strength, in green bottle)

4 oz. Aveeno Anti-Itch Concentrated Lotion

4 oz. Benadryl Itch-Stopping Gel

4 oz. Avon Skin So Soft (increase up to 8 oz. if the gnats are bad).

Answer 4

I've had lots of really GOOD luck using AniHist for horses.  We use it for horses that have coughing as a result of allergies, and its usually cleared up the problem pretty well within a week.

If you're bathing your horse a lot, shampoo will really dry out their skin, and cause itching.  If you hosed her off recently, or gave her a bath, its possible its just a coincidence that she's itching worse today.

I would give it a day or so and see if there is any improvement to determine if it has anything to do with the AniHist.  My horses have never had a reaction to it, but there's a first for everything!