What Qualifies as a Dermatologic Pet Emergency?

If your pet is experiencing an allergic reaction or a yeast or bacteria infection, their symptoms can range from mild to severe:

• Difficulty breathing is considered “RED” – or true emergency– on our Fast Track Triage system. We advise you seek immediate veterinary care. Please call ahead of your arrival so the veterinary team knows to expect you!
• Facial swelling, hives, and wounds caused by itching are considered “YELLOW” – or semi-urgent case – on our Fast Track Triage system. We recommend having your pet evaluated by your family veterinarian or local animal emergency hospital within 24 hours. Call ahead of your arrival so the veterinary team knows to expect you, and if your pet’s condition worsens, call the team back to inform them of the status change.
• Hair loss and red eyes, skin, and ears are considered “GREEN” – or non-urgent cases – on our Fast Track Triage system. This means emergency care isn’t needed, but your pet should be evaluated by your family veterinarian within the next few days.
  • Note: If it’s hot out and your dog has been exercising in the heat, red eyes, skin, and ears may be a result of heat exhaustion instead of allergies. Learn more about heat risks here.

It can be difficult to determine if your pet needs to go to the emergency room with dermatologic skin/ear disease or if they can wait until your family veterinarian is available. There are several cases where seeing an emergency veterinarian is essential to keeping your pet healthy.

Cases that need to be seen on an emergency basis:   

• Severe Allergic Reaction

  • Signs: Facial swelling, hives, difficulty breathing, vomiting, and collapse
  • Common Causes: Insect bite, environmental (pollen) allergy, food sensitivity, drug reaction 
  • Testing/Treatment: Injections to reduce inflammation and treat the allergic reaction 

•  Skin Necrosis or Sloughing

  • Signs: Skin developing a black and leather-like appearance, and loss of skin with open lesions
  • Common Causes: Severe heat or cold, chemical burn, spider bite, drug reaction 
  • Testing/Treatment: Hospitalization, pain medications, blood tests, and possible surgery to remove diseased tissue 

• Rapidly Developing Focal to Multifocal Swelling 

  • Signs: Acute onset development of severe skin swelling with possible pain or lethargy 
  • Common Causes: Insect or spider bite, tumor, immune system changes, infection 
  • Testing/Treatment: May include hospitalization, dermatology consult, biopsy, blood testing, and possible x-rays, ultrasound, and injectable or oral medication 

•  Bruising 

  • Signs: Multifocal pinpoint to large areas of red discoloration with no raised skin lesion and no recent history of trauma. Other signs include blood on/in the gums, urine, stools, or vomit.
  • Common Causes: Rodenticide exposure, immune system changes, tick borne infection, congenital condition
  • Treatment/Testing: Blood testing, x-rays, ultrasound, injectable or oral medication 

• Ear Infection with Neurologic Disease 

• • Signs:  

• • • Vestibular Disease 

• • • • Incoordination, head tilt, rapid eye movements 

• • • Facial Nerve Paralysis 

• • • • Face droop, inability to blink 

• • • Horner’s Syndrome 

• • • • Elevated third eyelid, asymmetric pupil size 

• • Common Causes: Middle ear infection, inner ear infection 
  • Testing/Treatment: Anti-nausea medications, referral to dermatology for future CT or MRI scan, and middle ear flush 

 Cases that should be seen by a family veterinarian or board-certified veterinary dermatologist: 

• Chronic Itching 

  • Signs: Itching, scratching, biting, chewing, rubbing, rolling that is now new or dramatically changed
  • Common Causes: Food hypersensitivity, environmental allergies, parasites
  • Testing/Treatment: Food trial, allergy testing, allergen-specific immunotherapy (allergy shots), anti-itch medications, bathing, treating secondary infections 

•  Skin Infection 

  • Signs: Rash, redness, hair loss, greasy or scaly coat, and increased itching 
  • Common Causes: Bacterial infection, yeast infection, parasite 
  • Testing/Treatment: Skin cytology, skin scraping, bathing, oral antibiotics/antifungals. If this is recurrent, investigation into the primary cause may be recommended.  

•  Ear Infection 

  • Signs: Head shaking, scratching, odor, discharge, or redness
  • Common Causes: Bacterial infection, yeast infection, parasite less likely
  • Testing/Treatment: Ear cytology and topical medication. If this is recurrent, investigation into the primary cause may be recommended. 

•  Hair Loss  

  • Signs: Reduced hair that may also be accompanied by a rash, redness, greasy coat, scaling, lethargy, weight gain, and increased thirst, hunger, or urination 
  • Common Causes: Bacterial infection, yeast infection, parasite, allergies, hypothyroidism, Cushing’s Disease, immune system changes 
  • Testing/Treatment: Skin cytology, skin scrape, blood testing, and biopsy 

Sometimes, dermatological concerns may not warrant immediate treatment, but the way they affect your life (or your pet’s) does. For example, your dog scratching his ear all night keeps you awake and can cause damage to his ear. Or, perhaps your pet can’t get an appointment with your family veterinarian or board-certified veterinary dermatologist soon enough. In these cases, it would be appropriate to bring your pet to a veterinary urgent care facility. They can help relieve your pet’s symptoms until he can be seen by your family veterinarian or dermatologist for testing and a personalized treatment plan.  

We hope this information arms you with the confidence to better evaluate your pet’s dermatologic symptoms and decide how to seek treatment. When in doubt about whether to go to the ER or urgent care for your pet’s dermatologic symptoms, you can always call us, and our triage team will help determine the best course of action. When working with your family veterinarian or a board-certified veterinary dermatologist on your pet’s dermatologic symptoms, we recommend asking about any specific potential symptoms that warrant an emergency visit verses an urgent care visit versus waiting for the next available appointment.  

More Reading: 

• Four Concerns for Your Pet’s Skin This Summer (aercmn.com) 
• Managing the Cause of Your Pet’s Itch | Tips from a Pet Dermatologist (aercmn.com) 
• Signs of Allergies in Your Pet and Therapeutic Options (aercmn.com) 
• Understanding the Different Types of Allergies in Pets (aercmn.com)