07/04/2025
🦠🐾 WHY DUST MITES ALWAYS APPEAR IN THOSE "ALLERGY" TESTS...AND WHY TOPICAL PROBIOTICS CAN HELP 🦠🐾
We see it all the time. Very inflamed little dogs that go for allergy tests (saliva or otherwise) and the readings come back with pollen and dust mite allergies.
Thus begins the downward spiral of product usage 📉 - anti-histamines, non-steroidals anti-inflammatories to cool the itch, various creams and shampoos, maybe even immunotherapy, and always some magic kibble that never does anything to resolve the issue for the patient.
As we always say, and as studies very much show us, much of this inflammation, from atopic dermatitis to recurring ear conditions, is resolved with a focus on dietary shift and gut health. It's certainly the first step.
And it makes sense. 80% of your immune system is around your gut so when that is antagonised or overactive, it's like leaving the radiator on inside the dog.
Switch it off via decent food and some natural additions (maybe get rid of a hidden yeast infection) and P**F all your dust mite "allergies" suddenly evaporate.
(See the free Step 1-5 vids over on drconorbrady .com for more).
But we didn't get rid of all the dustmites. With a true allergy, that's what you have to do. Got a peanut allergy? You must stop eating peanuts. Nothing else is going to help you.
Instead, by simply addressing the thing that had the immune system in a tizzy, we cool things off, boosting the dog's immune-threshold (ability to deal with stuff). Now, with gut and thus skin biome recovering, dust mite poops are no longer an issue.
But know that t's not the little mites themselves that cause the trouble, it’s their poo. Dust mites are ubiquitous. They're everywhere. It contains cysteine enzymes like Der p 1, which the mite uses to digest all the yummy dead skin and organic debris about the place, but they also poo a fair bit of it out too.
In dogs with poor skin - hot, itchy, inflamed skin, stemming from the problem in their gut - this little enzyme can cause havoc, breaking down tight cysteine-based junctions in the skin barrier.
This allows allergens, microbes, and irritants to pe*****te more easily, triggering the immune system in the skin to react with all the itchy stuff (mast cells, histamines, cytokines).
It's not that your dog has suddenly got a dust mite allergy, it's that your dog has suddenly lost basic skin function allowing dust mite poo to be an issue.
While we're trying to fix these dogs, I find topical probiotics work great to help get that skin flora back into some sort of shape.
First and foremost, they eat organic debris for sustenance. So letting them feast on dustmite poo is a very good idea right now. And when they do, by force of sheer numbers, they crowd out the more inflammatory bacterial groups likely blooming at that time, like Staphylococcus pseudintermedius.
They also strengthen the skin barrier by modulating immune responses, cooling off inflammation and promoting ceramide and antimicrobial peptide production.
The attached study shows that topical probiotic strains were highly effective at reducing itching and inflammation in dogs with atopic dermatitis
👨⚕️ BOTTOM LINE: Dust mite droppings irritate via enzyme-driven skin disruption, but ONLY in dogs whose skin biome is malfunctioning in the first place. That is where your focus should be, starting with the gut. While you're doing that, topical probiotics can restore the skin's natural defences, offering some natural, drug-free relief.
