Animals have allergies too.

You’re probably familiar with the symptoms of human allergies that include sneezing, wheezing, runny nose and watery eyes. What you may not know is that your pet can suffer the same discomfort in different ways, most commonly an incessant itching, skin irritation or ear infection caused by a sensitivity to a specific allergen.

Allergens are substances that trigger an inappropriate response from your pet’s immune system. An estimated 1 out of 5 domestic animals, such as dogs, cats and horses, suffer from some form of allergy.
 

Ask your veterinarian if your pet is allergic  

If your pet exhibits symptoms of allergies, talk to your veterinarian about testing and treatment options. Your veterinarian can test with a simple blood sample or skin test.

If it’s allergy, there are ways to alleviate your pet’s peeve.

If tests confirm your animal is suffering from allergies, you have three options: 

Immunotherapy is a safe, long-term treatment that builds your pet’s immunity to allergens [substances that cause allergies] through injections with increasingly larger doses of a serum specifically formulated to your pet’s sensitivities.  This option is effective for treating atopy but not recommended for flea and food allergies.

Avoidance of all environmental allergens is virtually impossible. However, avoidance can decrease exposure and may lessen your animal’s symptoms. This option is most effective for flea and food allergies but impractical for atopy.

Symptomatic treatment addresses animals’ symptoms with steroids, antihistamines or fatty acids but does nothing to stop the progression of the allergy.

Your veterinarian will help you decide which treatment option is most appropriate for your pet.

Steroid use is commonly used to relieve animals from the everyday discomfort caused by allergies.  This approach, although effective, merely hides the symptoms and can cause serious side effects.  There are new advances in medicine, such as immunotherapy, that can lessen or eliminate your pet’s allergies.  As with children, studies show that if started at an early age, immunotherapy can have a much greater impact.

Immunotherapy is an investment
in your pet’s health

Immunotherapy addresses your pet’s needs with treatment vials specially formulated to treat for the specific allergens causing your pet’s discomfort.  Unlike medications that “cover up” your pet’s abnormal immune system, immunotherapy works to normalize the immune response.  In the long term, it is often more effective than many medications and has been shown to have no long-term side effects.

The comforts of home
With immunotherapy, you can give your pet treatments in the comfort of your own home. Your veterinarian will guide you through the process of administering injections and caring for your pet in other ways, such as the use of topical treatments, baths and appropriate diets.

Relief in sight
All pets respond to immunotherapy differently.  Although some improvement may be noted within the first month of therapy, most pets will show improvement after three or four months, with some taking up to a year to improve. 
 

By selecting immunotherapy you have chosen to take an active role in your pet’s life.  Treating pet allergies is a delicate and time sensitive process, requiring special attention on your part.  Your pet’s offending allergens have been identified and a specific treatment and schedule have been formulated.  You will administer the treatment through injections.  Starting with the weakest concentration, injections are given according to the standard dosage schedule unless a reaction is observed, in which case the schedule is formulated to fit your pet’s individual response.  Your veterinarian is available to help you if you are unable to give the injections yourself.

Allergies are a lifetime problem that can be controlled but not cured.  Once your pet’s symptoms are controlled, you may find that you can extend the time between injections.  Let your veterinarian and pet’s symptoms determine the best schedule.

Improvement

It takes time for your pet’s system to build necessary antibodies. If, after one year, immunotherapy is deemed helpful, it is typically continued for 3-5 years or more, often at a decreased frequency.  When evaluating how your pet is doing, it is important to compare same season to same season, such as last fall to this fall rather than this summer to this fall.  Immunotherapy is a long-term treatment with long-term results.

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