July 2004

Make A Sweet Itch “Potion”

You’ve got to soothe the itch, stop the flies and heal the lesions.

Notice the typical areas of scaling intermixed with oozing and hair loss. The inflammation was severe enough to cause prominence of the veins along the belly.

Midline dermatitis is the technical term for that “line” of bites you sometimes see underneath your horse’s belly. It’s also called “sweet itch.”

Whatever the name, this angry inflammatory reaction includes hair loss, swelling, redness and often open, oozing areas. Primarily a fly-season problem, midline dermatitis is caused by an allergic reaction to biting flies or midges, usually Culicoides.

It may also be complicated by the insect bites introducing larvae of the parasite Onchocerca into the wound, with further allergic and/or inflammatory reactions to the larvae. …