 After discussing your pet’s clinical history and environmental surroundings, your vet may prescribe the ACTT Allergy Management Program, which includes a simple blood test for allergen identification, followed by immunotherapy treatment.
TESTING
To begin, your veterinarian will draw a small amount of blood from your pet and send it to Bio-Medical Services for testing. Also known as “serum IgE” testing, the ACTT Allergy Test detects elevated levels of IgE antibodies that occur in the blood when an allergic dog or cat comes into contact with allergens.
Your pet’s serum can be tested for sensitivity to a panel of outdoor allergens (such as grasses, trees and weeds) specific to your geographic region, as well as common indoor allergens (such as dust mites, tobacco and dander.) Insect and food allergy testing are also available.
ALLERGY EXPOSURE ROUTES - Four ways your pet can be exposed to allergies.
1. Inhaled allergies
Your pet can be allergic to the same inhaled allergens that cause humans to suffer. These include pollens, molds, and mites (house dust and storage). Pollen allergens often occur seasonally, such as ragweed, cedar, and grass pollens. However other allergens are with us year round, such as molds, dander and dust mites.
- grasses, trees, weeds
- molds, mites, insects
- indoor and environmental allergens
2. Contact allergy (percutaneous)
Up to 70% of pet allergy exposure is by contact with the skin. For your pet, contact exposure is the leading source of irritation and allergy to a substance. Animals with allergic disease have many small cracks, invisible to the naked eye, on the surface of their skin.
When an affected pet comes into contact with pollens in their environment, the allergens gain entry to the body through these small openings. Because our pets are not bathed daily, offending allergens can remain on the skin for days and weeks at a time, causing continued irritation, itching and other allergy symptoms.
3. Flea allergy
The most common type of allergy in both dogs and cats is flea allergy. This allergic reaction is caused by the saliva of the flea, and can often lead to severe hair loss, itching and secondary skin infections. One flea bite on an allergic pet can cause intense reactions. Flea allergy can often be managed through avoidance with flea deterrent products currently on the market; however flea desensitization can also be extremely effective in reducing the pet’s reaction when an occasional flea bite occurs.
4. Food allergy
Food allergy is the most likely cause of allergic symptoms in animals less than 1 year of age. Food allergies also manifest themselves with ear inflammation/infection (which can lead to head shaking), feet licking, face rubbing and itchy skin. Rarely, symptoms may include vomiting, diarrhea, and behavioral changes.
Many people do not suspect food allergies as the cause of their pet's itching because their pet has been fed the same food all its life and may have just recently started having symptoms. However, animals can develop allergies to a substance over extended periods of time. Dramatic improvement in allergy symptoms can be seen by simply by changing your pet’s diet. Included with every food test result will be a computerized list of acceptable foods for your pet, based on their test results.
What are the advantages of using Bio-Medical Services?
- Any veterinarian can submit your pet's blood sample to BMS.
- No shaving or sedation is required of your pet.
- With the food test you will receive a list of recommended diets specific to your pet's needs.
- Individualized treatment, based upon your pet's allergy results.
- In the long run, you will have a happier and healthier pet!
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