Sunburn Protection For Your Pet
People love the sun. In fact, people go the distance to acquire a great tan. Your pets can’t resist the sun too, the outdoor are especially attractive to them. Dermatologists constantly warn people to be careful of spending too much time under the sun. Veterinary dermatologists also advice pet owners to guard pets from the dangers of too much exposure to sunlight.
Sunlight is healthy for everybody-people and animals. It promotes production of Vitamin D in the skin. Vitamin is not readily available for body consumption, sunlight is needed to jump start its secretion in order to help balance metabolism and the level of calcium in the body. But like they always say, everything should be in moderation. Too much of something can be extremely harmful and this applies to sunlight as well. Long exposure to ultraviolet rays is the culprit of solar dermatitis or what we normally call sunburn.
Solar dermatitis in pets begins as redness and loss of hair on the tips of the ears, nose bridge and stomach area. This can result to skin ulceration, infection and carcinoma. If your pet already has skin problems, too much sunlight can aggravate the problem further much to your pet’s discomfort.
There are particular breeds of canines and felines that have tendency to develop sunburn. Light-colored cats are more susceptible and they don’t need to be running outside to get solar dermatitis. UV rays easily pass through uncovered window panes. Dogs with pale and short hair are also pre-disposed to sunburn. It usually develops first on the nose bridge, stomach area, genital area and inside of the fore and hind legs. The belly of a dog is prone to sunburn because the heat from the ground directly heats that area.
Solar dermatitis and frequent exposure to UV radiation is a prime cause of skin cancer among pets. Squamous cell carcinoma is such skin cancer. And there are dog breeds like Boxers and Weimaraners that are pre-disposed to cancer so they should be given more attention when it comes to sunburn.
Skin ulceration can also result from sunburn. This condition leaves the skin an open target to bacterial, parasitic and fungal infection. Too much sunlight was also discovered to aggravate autoimmune skin conditions wherein the immune system attacks otherwise normal skin cells. When skin cells die because of damaged skin, proteins are release onto the skin that can trigger the immune system.
Applying sunblocks is a great way of protecting your pet from the harmful effects of sunlight. But remember to apply them in the susceptible areas mentioned above and along the fur part of the head and back. A dog can also wear spandex-type suits designed to block UV rays. This is particularly playful dog whereas a sunblock is sufficient to a more behaved cat.
