Cessorex is a herbal blend that can be a pivotal part of improving the frustrating problem of skin disease in dogs.
To understand how Cessorex is best used, it is important to talk about nutrition.
There are many reasons why most integrative veterinarians recommend a diet based on whole foods rather than kibble or cans. The main problem though with commercial kibbles and cans is that they contain a very high percentage of carbohydrates. In the body, these carbohydrates are rapidly broken down into sugars causing a significant glycaemic spike. Through various biochemical pathways, this “over nutrition” leads to inflammation in various parts of the body, including the skin.
Redness, itching and recurrent ear infections are all common signs of skin inflammation which can be directly influenced by diet. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, this is “Damp Heat” which is often a good description of what we see in our patients. These dogs have hot, sticky lesions such as “hot spots” or moist ear infections. Dogs with “Damp Heat” skin issues, will usually start to improve within weeks when their diet has been changed to a real food diet. This is why one of the first steps Integrative
Veterinarians take in addressing skin disease, is to address the diet.
Whilst at least 50% of dogs with skin disease seem to
improve on a diet change, not all dogs with skin itch have “Damp Heat” problems. Those that don’t respond to a change in diet are more likely to have a true immune dysfunction rather than runaway inflammation. These dogs often need some herbal help to moderate their immune systems as well as a real food diet.
The immune dysfunction in these itchy dogs appears to originate from a dysbiosis in the gut. Having the “wrong” species of bacteria in the gut leads to local inflammation and an increase in gut permeability. This means, that the immune system gets to” look” at all sorts of things that should be locked away in the gut. The consequence of this is an immune system which treats more and more things as “dangerous”. This immune dysfunction can lead to
autoimmune diseases and a ramping up of systemic inflammation to anything and everything. Contact allergens, yeast and bacteria can all induce excessive immune based inflammation which results in red and itchy skin.
This is where Cessorex can be very useful, as it is based on the Chinese Herbal Formula, Minor Bupleurum. Minor Bupleurum is
one of the world’s oldest and most used Chinese herbal formulas and is viewed as a true immune modulator. It can reduce excessive systemic inflammatory responses (as do Prednisolone, Apoquel and Atopica), but unlike the western medicines, it is also able to increase the local immune response to pathogens such as yeast or bacteria. This ability to both increase and decrease the immune response where needed is one of the reasons it is so useful in skin disease.
To get the maximum benefit of using Cessorex, it should be given with a diet that supports a healthy microbiome. A real food diet should be given, but with particular care that the diet contains about 20-30% plant matter. This plant matter is required to feed bacteria in the gut which is critical to maintaining a healthy microbiome. As Steve Marsden (the creator of Gold Standard Herbs) writes,” it's important to remember a dog's immune system is like a bicycle wheel. When you flip a bike over and start it spinning, it can take a ong time to wind down. The same with your dog's immune system. Cessorex helps 'speed up' the 'winding down', but it still takes time.” Having said that, there are many owners who have had great results reducing itching and skin disease in their dogs within
weeks of starting Cessorex. Cessorex may be useful to pair with the other Gold Standard Herbs Galvanex or Immunobalm.
Cessorex is safe to use with other vet prescribed skin medications and may allow their use to be reduced or discontinued.
**Please note, Vets are taught, common things occur commonly. In this case, Cessorex, in combination with an appropriate diet is almost always going to be a good idea for an itchy dog who has not responded to a real food diet, however there are exceptions. A hands-on visit with your integrative vet will help refine the herbs best for your pet.
