Allergy Test

[KeiraGirl]

I have been doing a trial and error the past few months with Keira (with her vet) to try and determine her food allergies, with no luck. She had her surgery almost 3 weeks ago and since then we have had so many issues due to her allergies and her healing properly.

So, I contacted the local dermatologist and she has her first appointment with him tomorrow. Does the allergy test have good results? I haven't really heard much about it.

[kayboxer]

Is this a people dermatologist or dog dermatologist? I've heard mixed reviews on this. I would give it a shot and see what they come up with. At least you get a good starting point and a little bit of info on where to go with the food. I am thinking about having it done with Buster, but I think his allergies are environmental. I'm interested in hearing what your dermatologist says, keep us posted.

[KeiraGirl]

He's a vet dermatologist. What I've read these tests are great for environmental allergies, some people say they are not usually recommended for food allergies.... (mostly due to price I'm guessing)


I'll let you know tomorrow though.

[kayboxer]

I figured it was a vet dermatologist, but I thought I'd check to be sure.

[Cami]

My girl suffers from severe allergies.
Some foods, a lot of seasonal allergies, contact, environmental, inhalent, the cat and herself, (allergic to her own yeast)!

We have been to a dermatologist and had allergy testing. We did NOT have any food allergy tests run per the derm. since he told us they were not always accurate.

For my girl food allergies result in hives, no itching.
Seasonal allergies give her running eyes, snotty nose and itchy ears.
All others make her itch.

Her food allergies started when she was less than a year old. She is allergic to honey and pineapples. The vet said this was very odd. But it is what it is. Within 10 minutes of ingesting either she would break out in hives. We have to watch all food ingredients!

Her other allergies presented at age 3. She is now five years old and is doing wonderfully with a lot of due diligence on her parents part.

If it is a true food allergy it is very easy to figure out (not FAST to figure out). Far less expensive than testing. Elimination diets can be done without buying a prescription food. We did try the kangaroo food and it lasted for about 3 days. She didn't like it, it stunk to high heaven and it wasn't HEALTHY. I bought it in a weak moment but came to my senses.

While the testing we had done was very expensive we learned a lot of things that she was allergic to that we had no clue about or even thought of.

For example:
She is allergic to feathers and we had a down comforter. She sleeps with us, under the covers and was breathing that in and having it touch her daily.

Allergic to two different types of storage mites. We were storing her food in a plastic bin where they are prevelant. The plastic makes them far worse than buying smaller bags and leaving the food in them.

A lot of things can't fully be avoided (allergic to pine trees, neighbors have them in their yards), but we were able to turn her constant itching around. If you were to spend time with her you would have no idea that she has allergies.

I hope you get some good news at the dermatologist.

[kayboxer]

Originally Posted by Cami

Allergic to two different types of storage mites. We were storing her food in a plastic bin where they are prevelant. The plastic makes them far worse than buying smaller bags and leaving the food in them.

That is very intersting. I had no idea about the storage mites in the bins. I store food in a plastic bin. What if you leave it in the bag but put in in the bin? Also, what do you do for your girl's seasonal allergies? Do you give Benedryl or something else? Thanks for the info!

[KeiraGirl]

I went to the vet this morning....It went great! He's actually going to be my new regular vet as well. Keira LOVED him, she ran right up to him and started kissing him.

First off, he started with asking the usual question. Got the probe that attaches to the TV to see her ears, says they look good. Just a small amount of redness, the right ear is far worse than the left, but both are good and clean. He actually says according to her skin and my accounts of her itching, he doesn't believe her allergies to be food, he thinks she has atopy. (My other vet didn't even try to figure it out, she just prescribed junk food!)

Also, he took a look at her leg where the tumor was removed. He said that he wanted the histo report as soon as he could get it, because if it actually was a mass cell tumor, he wouldn't have removed it so quickly (to spare her from being under, he likes to avoid that when possible.) and he was looking at her and noticed she still had her stitches in, which should have been removed over a week ago. So he offered to take them out, it took him almost 30 minutes to remove them, the vet had so many and had just gone crazy with the way she stitched. They were so deep in the tissue he had a hard time getting them out, he actually had to leave one in because he could not find the end to it, and it wouldn't pull out.

She also has two medium sized deep scabs in the front of her leg, which were caused by the bandages being wrapped too tightly and cutting off circulation. (The other vet just shrugged them off, after me asking numerous times what they were.)

Anyways, back to the allergies. He is putting her on prednisone to try and calm her allergies. Starting with 1 pill a day for 4 days, then 1 pill a day every other day for 4 days, then 1/2 a pill every other day after that. She goes in for a follow up on May 7.

[sandy's mom]

Napoleon has terrible allergies too, sometimes I think he is allergic to everything. Most grasses, trees, bugs, carpet, dust, cats, etc.

We had the blood testing done last October and he has to take two shots about once per month. They really make a difference. He still has flare up's but it is nothing compaired to what it used to be. Right now he is having a hard time because everything is blooming and he wants to be outside all day.

We had tried the pred, anithistimines, sprays, baths, everything with little results.
He is also on allergy food, fish and sweet potato, no grains, fillers, etc.

Hopefully your baby will start feeling better soon. Keep us posted...

[kayboxer]

Sounds like you found a good doctor for your baby! Keep us posted with the progress, I'm interested in the treatment he does.