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THE IMPORTANCE OF HEALTHY SKIN

First broadcast on www.provet.co.uk  


This information is provided by Provet for educational purposes only.

You should seek the advice of your veterinarian if your pet is ill as only he or she can correctly advise on the diagnosis and recommend the treatment that is most appropriate for your pet.

Healthy skin isn't just important for cosmetic reasons - it is also important for general good health

The skin is an important organ which has several functions, including :

  • Protects against water loss from the body
  • Protects against the loss of nutrients from the body
  • Protects the body against microbial infections
  • Protects against physical injury from the environment
  • Protects against chemical injury from the environment

In addition healthy skin contains sensors to detect :

  • Touch and pressure
  • Environmental temperature - hot and cold
  • Painful stimuli
  • Itchy stimuli

A hairy layer on top of  the skin is important in insulating the animal against environmental temperatures - as well as providing an additional protective layer against damage.

If the skin is diseased these functions may be compromised resulting in serious consequences for the animal. 

Skin cells are shed from the surface all the time, and the skin cells are continually being renewed. The key to a healthy skin and coat is good nutrition:

  • Protein - it has been calculated that up to 30% of protein in the food is used to renew hair growth in long haired small breeds of dog. Protein is also important for normal skin cell growth
  • Fats - Essential polyunsaturated fatty acids are needed to maintain healthy skin, and if the diet is deficient or if the animal has a problem digesting and using fats the skin will be come dry and scaly, and prone to develop disease. In some species eg guinea pigs and mice the essential fatty acids must be provided by their ration or be manufactured in their liver  because they lack the necessary enzymes in the skin to produce their own.
  • Minerals - some  minerals are essential for healthy skin , including copper (important for skin and hair structure and hair colour) and zinc (important for normal skin function). A proper balance of minerals is important because if minerals are present in too high quantities they can interfere with the availability of other minerals from the ration.
  • Vitamins - Vitamin A, vitamin E and Vitamin B-complex are all important for normal skin but fortunately deficiency of these nutrients is unlikely to occur in animals fed commercially available "complete" pet foods.

Looking after the coat and skin is also important to maintain health, so contamination with dirt and chemicals should be removed by regular washing (using a medicated shampoo recommended by your veterinarian) and by grooming. Regular grooming is important to remove dead hairs and debris that may accumulate in the coat.

Finally, sometimes  disorders of the skin are secondary to other internal diseases - for example many hormonal disorders (eg Cushings Disease, Hypothyroidism) affect the skin and hair causing signs of disease - including hairloss (alopecia). In these cases abnormalities of the skin act as important indicators of internal disease.

So if your pet develops any signs of skin disease, including :

  • Hair loss
  • Matted coat
  • Dry scaly skin
  • Greasy scaly skin
  • Itchiness - biting or scratching
  • Thickening and black pigmentation

ask your veterinarian for his/her opinion on what the cause might be and how to manage the problem.

 

Updated October 2013