Pemphigus Foliaceus (autoimmune skin disease)

Veterinary care required

This condition belongs in veterinary diagnosis and treatment. Compounds are at most supportive.

Priority · vet & management

Diagnosis requires a veterinary skin biopsy with histological examination (possibly additional immunostaining) to distinguish pemphigus from other skin diseases. Treatment is strictly veterinary, often with immunosuppressive medication (e.g. corticosteroids — prescription-only) and is frequently long-term; protection from sun and insects is important alongside.

Possible causes

• · autoimmune reaction against surface proteins of the keratinocytes
• · trigger usually unknown (idiopathic)
• · rarely co-triggering by medicines or other diseases discussed
• · no contagious or purely feeding-related cause

Supportive compounds · supplementary feed, not medication

Prevention

There is no true prevention; however, early-detected and vet-accompanied cases can usually be managed better than far-advanced ones.

Equiterna's take

Equiterna treats pemphigus foliaceus as a textbook example that not every skin disease is allergic or infectious — here the immune system turns against the horse's own skin, and the skin biopsy is the diagnostic key.