# Fantastic remedy for Sweet Itch!



## Cazzabombazza (21 July 2011)

Hi, I have know idea how many people are aware of this already but anyone who has a pony suffering from sweet itch ought to know  

We have a Shetland pony who is 22 years old and she has had horrible sweet itch for as long as I remember, it was always horrible to see (This was before we had her, she is the family pony) and she recently came to us and soon enough her mane was scaly and bleeding from her rubbing 
But, We have some of my old Exema (Spelling?) creme down at the yard, and i put that on - liberally - her rubs and withing two days the skin was fully healed! It soothes their skin and aids the healing and works really well as Exema and Sweet Itch are very similar.

Thought everyone ought to know this - I know how awful it is to see a pony or horse suffering from it so much


----------



## Cazzabombazza (21 July 2011)

Should probably add that it is avaliable from any Pharmacy and you don't need a prescription


----------



## intouch (21 July 2011)

That's great that it has worked for your pony - what is it?  Some exczema creams contain steriods which might end up thining the skin and making it more liable to breaking down.


----------



## Cazzabombazza (21 July 2011)

the label says Betnovate Ointment, active ingredient is betamethasone, contains White Soft Paraffin and Liquid Paraffin.

I Tried it on a smallish patch of rubbed and slightly bleeding skin to see what the outcome would be and it turned out great in only a few days and only one application, so I then put it on all the rest of the sores.


----------



## Mugsgame (22 July 2011)

Would say that its great to hear its working for your little one so far, but people should probably be cautious about laminitis etc, due the steroid content of the ointment!!


----------



## alsiola (22 July 2011)

Ditto above on lami, especially in a Shetland, although topical steroid isn't absorbed very predictably.  It is a prescription only cream though.


----------



## lady lou (22 July 2011)

Yes I'm very careful with my pony, with steroids and laminitis. I'm using a product which contains benzyl benzoate, after my vet said this works extremely well. I got it from the Internet. Sweetitch.net I think. A lot cheaper than kill itch. I would highly recommend this and so does lady


----------



## hayley123horses (22 July 2011)

Sounds excellant will have to try it, My 10 year old coloured mare has a total of 18 allergies and thankfully they are kept under control through desensitisation injections provided by My vets but adminstered at home  however I have a little shetland as a companion who gets the itches and it is a nightmare trying to locate something without steroids as this opens another can of worms with laminitis, it is surprising how quick they can get a sore patch so its good news all round if this cream can clear it up rapidly, thanks for the advice


----------



## Sarah Sum1 (22 July 2011)

I used to have betnovate for when I had psoriasis, but was told to use very sparingly and as little as I could cope with as it contains a steroid and prolonged use will thin the skin, not sure about animals. But I wouldn't be slathering it on. But if it's worked that's good.

Just be careful.


----------



## popularfurball (22 July 2011)

Yeah it will thin the skin in horses too.

Flamazine cream is pretty soothing for raw wounds.

There was another excema cream recommended which was over counter can anyone remember what it was?


----------



## katherine1975 (22 July 2011)

Get some benzyl benzoate from www.hyperdrug.com


----------



## TrueColours (23 July 2011)

Ok - you guys over in the UK seem to really know your stuff on Sweet Itch. Is this waht I am dealing with, with my poor mare???







She has always been inundated with those little black midgey things and she got pea sized hard bumps under her skin - always in the chest area, so for the last few years, like clockwork, she gets SWAT all over her chest every single day and then fly sprayed as well (thats what the pink tinge is on her). Is it possible I missed doing an inch here or there at times? Yes - entirely possible but I probably get 99% of it 99% of the time

The last few weeks she has developed the little pea sized lumps again and then yesterday I noticed the filling starting under her chest (which has never happened before) and some of her chest area was rock hard in this same area - almost like a whack of scar tissue in certain areas

Today was "Hay Day" and put on the usual SWAT and kicked everyone out and then brought them in early because of the heat and bugs and then I noticed 2 of these areas had opened and were almost weeping and she has a HUGE soft hanging flap between her forelegs under her chest. Now its possible that she is itching so much she is rubbing herself raw or is it possible that these "hard areas" have popped open from the inside out???

Poor girl - I scrubbed her down with Betadine and put more SWAT on her. I am limited in what I can give her orally or drug wise as she has been bred and will be checked a week today to see if she is in foal and if a topical ointment has steroids in it, that could affect the pregnancy as well

Ive never had to deal with this with any of my horses - this is a brand new one to me ...

Thanks for any suggestions!


----------



## Leah3horses (23 July 2011)

Hi True Colours, no it doesn't look like Sweet Itch on your mare, Sweet Itch as we know it here affects the mane and tail mainly, and is an allergy to a certain bug bite.  Can see your mare might have naturally pale skin in her white coloured areas..this is always more sensitive to allergens etc than dark coloured skin..I'm a bit cautious about this,as in the USA you have some serious bugs and also different diseases to what we have in the UK..but if there is lymphoedema involved (the fluid you describe, and the swelling in the pic) then I'd get the vet out as it does seem quite an extreme reaction.The sores don't look typical for a 'rubbing' type irritation. Hope your mare is back to normal asap!


----------



## deicinmerlyn (23 July 2011)

I rang around the local chemists for Benzyl Benzoate and was given prices ranging from from £6 to over £30 for a 500ml bottle.

I bought one from our local chemist for £6.00 

It is the only effective product that actually works.


----------



## popularfurball (23 July 2011)

I can see the pic very well as am on mobile phone. Have a look for my auto immune thread - I think I put some pics on there of my ponies chest swelling. Would also look at pigeon fever - I dot know much about it as we don't get it here really but worth a google.

Have you tried rugging  her? We have snuggy hoods which would cover her there really well to help see if it was something landing on her or something inside er causing the reaction. 

I also find sunlight makes all our symptoms worse - especially on pink skinned bits


----------



## popularfurball (23 July 2011)

That was supposed to say can't not can see it well


----------



## cptrayes (23 July 2011)

deicinmerlyn said:



			I rang around the local chemists for Benzyl Benzoate and was given prices ranging from from £6 to over £30 for a 500ml bottle.

I bought one from our local chemist for £6.00 

It is the only effective product that actually works.
		
Click to expand...

Added to the cheapness you can water it down to 1 in 3 (add tap water, twice as much again) so that you get 1500 ml for £6 and it works brilliantly in daily application. It can make a spray clog, so best sponged on. 

I'm amazed by what people pay for sweet itch treatments. I've nevr known benz benz fail yet. 

For really severe ones who itch in the stable too, try taking them off grass. I had one with it who had to be rugged head to foot 24/7 in or out. I had to remove him from grass for other reasons and the sweet itch completely disappeared. I posted on here to see if other people knew about this and several people were aware of horses whose sweet itch was reduced or cured by reducing how much grass they were eating.


----------



## popularfurball (24 July 2011)

cptrayes said:



			Added to the cheapness you can water it down to 1 in 3 (add tap water, twice as much again) so that you get 1500 ml for £6 and it works brilliantly in daily application. It can make a spray clog, so best sponged on. 

I'm amazed by what people pay for sweet itch treatments. I've nevr known benz benz fail yet. 

For really severe ones who itch in the stable too, try taking them off grass. I had one with it who had to be rugged head to foot 24/7 in or out. I had to remove him from grass for other reasons and the sweet itch completely disappeared. I posted on here to see if other people knew about this and several people were aware of horses whose sweet itch was reduced or cured by reducing how much grass they were eating.
		
Click to expand...

Grass is big factor for us  Interestinly I was clearing out my bedroom at parents, and sifted through a load of horsey magazines from like 2000-2002 and found an article on sweet itch suggesting grass is a big factor for a lot of cases.


----------



## giveitago (24 July 2011)

Is grass a factor due to the food or is it a factor because there's more midgies living in it?


----------



## Rosie Round The Hills (24 July 2011)

Interesting thread.  My mare doesn't have Sweet Itch, thank goodness, but she is allergic to Grass, and the grass family includes all the cereals.

Her life/diet is this:-

Winter, turnout all day, unlimited hay, no cereals.  Hard feed consists of chaff, linseed, peas, sugarbeet and a vit & min supplement.

Spring and Summer (started when the first allergic reaction lumps appear) is about 2 and a half hours out on grass each day, then inside to the stable and diet as above but reduced as appropriate.

Growing-grass on the ex-dairy pasture that we're on is too rich for her - I suspect that if she lived on a rough common-type grazing she'd be able to be out for much longer.

Prof. Knottenbelt at Liverpool is an expert on these allergic problems.  He was kind enough to have a half hour telephone conversation with me after I'd e-mailed my mare's symptoms and history to him.  His diagnosis and advice was spot on.


----------



## popularfurball (24 July 2011)

I too have contact Dr Knottenbelt about my little girl.

She does have underlying sweet itch, but has an auto immune disease. 

She is worst in long grass - partly because it tickles her legs, partly because there are more flies about in it and partly because of the grass.

I can only assimilate it to us getting hot and sleepy after a big meal - she gorges on the rich grass and then she itches like mad. Even in the sheep field which is quite small, she gets itchy and that is well grazed.

She thrives on scrubland ad her need to itch is greatly reduced. At the moment she is on a bare field with 2% body weight of hay in total for 24hr period. She has half that hay at night. 

Controlling her body temperature, and keeping her dry are two other things - she gets itchy when she over heats and has too much sunshine and then when she is warm and damp it magnifies ten fold. 

Also I find being overweight doesnt help either.


----------



## kerilli (24 July 2011)

I've found that Carr and Day and Martin's KillItch is the best, it contains benzyl benzoate but works better than bb on its own, totally stops my girl from rubbing her tail.


----------



## cptrayes (24 July 2011)

giveitago said:



			Is grass a factor due to the food or is it a factor because there's more midgies living in it?
		
Click to expand...

It's the food. The horse I had with sweet itch has access to plenty of midges. As long as he does not also get to eat grass he has no sweet itch at all. And yet he has scars where he rubbed himself raw before he was taken off grass when he came to me. 

If you keep barefoot horses it becomes obvious just how many horses have a problem with carbohydrates in grass, because they show it immediately in their sensitivity to stones underfoot. In my experience it's around half need some restriction in their grazing to stay completely healthy through the spring and summer and early autumn, though  keeping them in during the daytime when the sugar levels are highest is enough for most. Some are ultra-sensitive to it and one now and then can't take it at all. 

The evolved to eat scrub, not rich green grass, and still less fertilized ryegrass grown for cows on dairy farms converted to livery stables.


----------



## RutlandH2O (25 July 2011)

Hi TrueColours, I was reading a very long thread last night which may be applicable to your mare. Go to New Lounge and find the thread called Pig Oil & Sulphur. The link is in the second post. I think this could be very helpful. (I'm not suggesting you use pig oil and sulphur, it's just the name of the thread). The link comes from the Chronicle of the Horse forum. You may be familiar with it as it comes from the States. I'm quite surprised we, as horse owners, have not been made more aware of the damage and discomfort caused by neck thread worms and their possible eradication. Good luck.


----------



## alsiola (25 July 2011)

cptrayes said:



			It's the food. The horse I had with sweet itch has access to plenty of midges. As long as he does not also get to eat grass he has no sweet itch at all.
		
Click to expand...

This might sound like I'm being overly pedantic, but if he is around midges and doesn't itch, but does itch when he goes on grass then my opinion would be that he doesn't have sweet itch.  More likely would be atopy from an unknown (grass?) allergen.  You have done the best diagnostic test yourself - exclusion from dietary allergens resulting in resolution of signs, followed by a dietary challenge resulting in a recurrence.
I think sweet itch, as in classic midge hypersensitivity is overdiagnosed in this country - any equine that itches at any point from March - October is often diagnosed with sweet itch, but there are many other reasons for summer itching, as you have found, that have dramatically different management strategies.


----------



## alsiola (25 July 2011)

RutlandH2O said:



			Hi TrueColours, I was reading a very long thread last night which may be applicable to your mare. Go to New Lounge and find the thread called Pig Oil & Sulphur. The link is in the second post. I think this could be very helpful. (I'm not suggesting you use pig oil and sulphur, it's just the name of the thread). The link comes from the Chronicle of the Horse forum. You may be familiar with it as it comes from the States. I'm quite surprised we, as horse owners, have not been made more aware of the damage and discomfort caused by neck thread worms and their possible eradication. Good luck.
		
Click to expand...

I haven't read the post you mention, but thread worms (those that can affect horses anyway) don't occur in the UK.


----------



## galacasinoking (25 July 2011)

emulsifying ointment is available from boots too


----------



## RutlandH2O (25 July 2011)

Alsiola, Apparently, both threadworms (Strongyloides westeri) and neck thread worms (Onchocerca cervicalis) do occur in the UK. I wasn't sure about the latter, but since I was addressing TrueColours, who was posting from Canada, I know they occur in North America. I have since done some sleuthing and found a paper on neck thread worms found in horses in several abbatoirs in the UK. What is most interesting is the fact that O. cervicalis is transmitted to horses from the Culicoides midge. O. cervicalis lives in the main ligament in the neck. O. reticulata inhabits nodules, tendons and suspensory ligaments mostly in the front legs. The use of ivermectin (double dose Equimax in two doses two weeks apart) has been shown to reduce the incidence of this parasite, with certain caveats.


----------



## cptrayes (25 July 2011)

alsiola said:



			This might sound like I'm being overly pedantic, but if he is around midges and doesn't itch, but does itch when he goes on grass then my opinion would be that he doesn't have sweet itch.  More likely would be atopy from an unknown (grass?) allergen.  You have done the best diagnostic test yourself - exclusion from dietary allergens resulting in resolution of signs, followed by a dietary challenge resulting in a recurrence.
I think sweet itch, as in classic midge hypersensitivity is overdiagnosed in this country - any equine that itches at any point from March - October is often diagnosed with sweet itch, but there are many other reasons for summer itching, as you have found, that have dramatically different management strategies.
		
Click to expand...

He was "cured" by rugging from head to foot with a sweet itch rug to prevent midge access  and leaving on grass.

He was also cured, properly this time, by removing him from grass while allowing him access to midges. 

Sounds like a midge bite allergy to me, the rugs didn't stop any allergy to the grass but they stopped him itching.

From him, and from other HHO posters with the same experience, it is my impression that access to too much grass can render some horses MUCH more reactive to midge saliva.  A research project would be good, but of course there is no money to be made selling a sweet itch cure that does not require anyone to buy an expensive feed or supplement or rug, so it's unlikely to happen I guess


----------



## Cazzabombazza (26 July 2011)

Quick update regarding the use of exema cream on Bluebell the shetland...
I've only had to use it once on each bad sore for that patch of her skin to heal, and she has stopped itching so much now (I don't know if this is down to the cream or the new fly spray we have bought). Thank you for the advice on the prolonged use of the exema cream I will definitely be more careful when applying it in future 

Regarding the Benzyl Benzoate, I found it to e ineffective in the first year of using it on my Connie because I didn't begin applying it before the midges came out. However i've found it effective if you begin applying in the spring and continue applying it every day through the summer. We also invested in a Boet Sweet Itch Rug which really helped as well! (It is a bit big for the shetland though  ) 

I hope that everyone is doing well in coping with sweet itch this year!!


----------



## lady lou (26 July 2011)

Defo found sweet releif the best so far it's better than bb as it contains other soothing agents, it also Acts as a barrier to prevent the little midges attacking the area giving the area chance to heal.. Reconmended it to my friend abc this year is the 1st year her young horse has a mane. Bless. Site called sweetitch.net


----------

