Turquoise Animal Hospital offers allergy testing and hyposensitzation treatment for canine and feline allergies.
More than 30% of all skin irritations in these animals can be attributed to allergies. Allergens cause reactions through skin contact, inhalation or ingestion. Allergic animals contain antibodies to the specific irritating allergen that cause changes in the body to produce allergy symptoms resulting in scratching, feet licking and chewing, face rubbing. If allergies become more severe, the chewing may eventually lead to bacterial skin infections and large open sores.
Food allergies can also cause skin problems, but may also lead to vomiting and diarrhea. Seasonal allergies are very common and result from the increase in allergens you pet is allergic and exposed to during certain times of the year. Your pet is going to be allergic to pollen for example throughout the entire year, but as spring and summer approach, the pollen count dramatically increases and therefore increases your pets exposure and send them over their limit of what their immune system can handle.
How do you diagnose allergies?
After a thorough examination, you vet will decide if allergy testing is an appropriate option for your pet. Having ruled out all other possible causes, a blood sample will be taken and submitted to Heska Labs for diagnostic evaluation. There it will be tested for sensitivity to inhalants such as certain pollens, food types used in commercial dog/cat foods and treats, and potential environmental allergens such as grasses, house dust and smoke.
What is the treatment involved?
The best form of treatment for allergies is avoidance of the offending allergen(s). In most cases this is not possible and steroid drugs are often used for SHORT TERM relief of symptoms. Use of steroids does contain side effects so hyposensitization (allergy shots) is another alternative. Treatment sets are developed and formulated specifically for your pet based off of the allergy blood testing done earlier. The treatment injections are given in increasing concentrations all in effort to build up your pets tolerance to the allergens involved. The goal is to enhance the immune system to the allergies so your pet can be more comfortable without the worry of side effects.
How effective is treatment?
There are some allergies that decrease with time and treatment. Other times a pet may need continued allergy shots to maintain tolerance to the specific allergens. Improvement in most cases is seen within 3-5 months of treatment at which injections are only given monthly. Food allergies need to be carefully scrutinized by the owner since they cannot be hyposensitized by allergy treatment. Heska Labs will supply a list of food recommended for their specific allergies.
Note: All content provided is meant for educational purposes only on health care and medical issues that may affect pets and should never be used to replace professional veterinary care from a licensed veterinarian. This site and its services do not constitute the practice of any veterinary medical health care advice, diagnosis or treatment.
