Connection between dandruff and diabetes?

Dr. Marie replied:

Hi Dianne and thanks for your question!

It sounds like you are doing a very good job. It is sometimes hard to maintain a dog with diabetes.

I have seen a number of dogs with diabetes who have flaky skin. However, I usually find that once we have the diabetes well controlled with insulin the coat gets better.

Another thing you could ask your vet about is to test Mariah for hypothyroidism. This condition is very common in Labs and can cause flakiness in her skin. If she is hypothyroid most dogs are controlled quite well with medication.

Another thing to test for is to have your vet do a fecal exam to look for roundworms. It would be uncommon for a dog of this age to have roundworms but these parasites can be a cause of flaky skin.

And one other possibility is cushing's disease. Dogs with cushing's can have similar symptoms to dogs with diabetes (increase in thirst and urination and increased appetite) and can have skin problems as well. Hopefully it is not cushing's as it is often hard to manage a dog who has cushing's plus diabetes. The test for cushing's is a day long blood test that can be a little expensive. However, a less expensive screening test is the urine cortisol creatinine test which is relatively good in telling us if Cushing's is there.

I hope this helps!

Dr. Marie.


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Dr. Marie replied:

It sounds like your vet is doing a very thorough job! If all of these things are normal then I am afraid there may not be much more you can do.

However, I am just thinking of a product we sell at our practice and the name escapes me right now. It is a topical product that you apply a few drops to the skin and it supposedly helps with a dry coat. I have not prescribed much of it but my employer sells lots of it.

I am on vacation this week but I will look up the name of it when I get back and then respond to you.

Hope all goes welL!

Dr. Marie.

Dr. Marie replied:

Thanks so much for the bonus Dianne! It is greatly appreciated! I'll let you know when I find out the name of that product. It certainly won't hurt to try it!

Dr. Marie replied:

Hi there Dianne...the product that I was thinking of is called Dermoscent. You can see if your vet can order it in for you!

Hope all is well.

Dr. Marie.