Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, Dr. Tobin. Happy Holidays. I wanted to see if you have any information, or recommendations on the product YUCCA INTENSIVE. I found it while browsing through the 1800-Pet-Meds website, and this is what information is given: "Yucca Intensive is an outstanding, safe, all-natural supplement that is given for a number of reasons, including for the joints, skin, and digestion. Yucca is a purified extract derived from the Yucca plant, which is thought to promote symptom relief similar to steroid medications with none of the side effects. Yucca is given internally for joint health and digestion but must be diluted before being administered." They also go on to say that it helps with the "itch" of allergies, and could eliminate the use of other steroids such as the dreaded PREDNISONE. From the reviews I read, people swear by the product and says the results have been nothing short of a miracle! I would like your advice. My dog has severe allergies which then he gets massive secondary infections (yeast, bacterial, fungal, etc). My vet recommends that he should be on Prednisone for life. To me, that seems like a death sentence almost. What's your experience with Yucca? Are their any side effects? Thank you in advance.

I don't have much experience with yucca, but I know that it has been used to relieve inflammation in joints, and to remove offensive odors (that is, more than usual) from very smelly stools, probably by helping with digestion or by promoting proper intestinal bacterial growth. I haven't heard of it being used in allergies, but there would likely be no harm in trying it.