Allergy Tests

[stormie]

Jen - I'm surprised that you had the testing done before doing the elimination diet?? Usually everything else needs to be ruled out first and once you've done that, you do the testing, otherwise the results aren't really valid.

Do you know which test you did? We did two different blood tests - the SPOT test and the Heska Allercept. We got stuff around a bit with the Heska test because prior to doing it, we checked with the lab whether there was a drug withholding period required before taking blood and were told no, so we went ahead and tested and ended up with all negative results. Turns out you are meant to withhold cortisone and antihistamines etc so thats why we got a false report. Thankfully though, whilst the results were classed as negatives, we still got readings on some of the antigens, albeit low ones, but they matched the positives that we got on the first test.

[zayda_asher]

Does anyone know where to find exactly out what is tested for in the Intradermal Test?

It depends on what area you're in as they test for the universally most common (like dust mites) and the most common to your location (specific plants for e.g.). Broadly speaking intradermal testing normally includes plant pollens, mould spores, & some insects (including mites).

Ask your vet to contact the Derm for the records, they should be able to get them. I'd also consider a referral to a more user friendly Derm, you can take the records from the previous derm with you once your vet has gotten them for you (or ask the new derm to get them)...

I assume other problems that can cause skin complaints, like thyroid issues, have been ruled out?

Edited May 11, 2010 by zayda_asher

[Erny]

Erny can you pass on details of the Naturopath you saw or how to find a good one?

I go to Jacqueline at Natural Animal Solutions . She visits a couple of areas (or more). One of the places she practices from is at All Breeds Boarding Kennels 325 Westernport Highway, Lyndhurst (which is really handy because that's also my formal training grounds and also where I do B&T). I'm not sure where you are located, but if it is not around my way in the south eastern suburbs, then Jacqueline might have a different location where she can meet with you that might be more convenient. But don't quote me on that - just worth checking with her.

I actually met Jacqueline at the All Breeds' Christmas party. My boy's issues haven't been easy to conquer and he continues to be a work in progress, but there has been excellent improvement and so far I've found Jacqueline to be quite on the mark with her suggestions, advice and treatments.

If you have pet insurance, get a referral to her from your Vet. Depending on the terms of your insurance, you might find that you will be entitled to claim your consults with Natural Animal Solutions. I'm with PetPlan and they have confirmed to me that they do cover homeopathic consults with Vet referral. I just have to lodge my claim now. I didn't have the easiest run with PetPlan regards my initial Veterinary claims, but they did get sorted (via review) and I'm hoping that it won't be so difficult this time around.

Edited May 11, 2010 by Erny

[TerraNik]

Here's some pics of Jedi's ID test - in case you wanted to see what it looks like. I won't post the photos here just in case people don't want to see.

The day of the test: 12 hours after: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2731/418750..._3e32890f15.jpg [the red at the bottom right corner is from him scratching. The other red dots are from the injections themselves. His reactions were in the top left - they were raised lumps - you can't see them on the photo]

After the skin reactions had gone down: http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2658/418750..._dd3ac7648c.jpg

Edited May 11, 2010 by TerraNik

[Jen21]

I think it's extremely odd for a dog to come up as negative to all allergens, was it the blood allergen test rather than the Intradermal one where the allergen is injected into the skin?

No it was definitely the Intradermal Test - where they put him to sleep, shaved his side, put all the little blue dots on him and then injected him with a series of things. The Vet took me in while he was still asleep and showed me that the only thing he had responded to was the histamine (which they are meant to react too), no other bumps or reactions. Apparently about 70% of dogs show their allergies this way, so I was in the unlucky lot and $500 poorer.

Jen - I'm surprised that you had the testing done before doing the elimination diet?? Usually everything else needs to be ruled out first and once you've done that, you do the testing, otherwise the results aren't really valid.

Why wouldn't they be valid? The "Skin" vet only comes out my side of town occassionally, and we waited over a month to see him (after our normal Vet had tried lots of different option to no avail), so he pushed me to do it at our appointment, and I figured it was worth a go.

Ask your vet to contact the Derm for the records, they should be able to get them. I'd also consider a referral to a more user friendly Derm, you can take the records from the previous derm with you once your vet has gotten them for you (or ask the new derm to get them)...

I assume other problems that can cause skin complaints, like thyroid issues, have been ruled out?

I tried that but all they had was a Case History, which was a list of the things done beforehand and that the intradermal test was negative to all allergens. Not sure how to find a new Derm, as he was meant to be the best???

I don't think any of the vets we've seen have looked at thyroid though? Just tried different drugs, shampoos, food, etc. The drugs they wanted to put him on for life was Cortivance...

Thanks for the link Erny - I'm in Sth East Melb too, so will call and make an appt tomorrow.

[Miz J]

This might not help you much but my male boxer Henry got a contact allergy. I was a bit naughty and thought I might have a go at finding the cause before I took him to the vet. It started out with the tiny lumps under his neck then the belly and then the scratching started. This was over a week. No change in food at all so it was unlikely to be systemic and the rash was localised to his belly and chest, he did get red ears though. I started him on antihistamines, bathed every 2 to 3 days with aloveen, he went on fish oil. Then the hunt in the yard began. I scoured through this website to see if we had any plants that commonly caused issues and we didnt. We got down to one plant near the fence where he frequently goes to annoy the teeny dogs over the back. It was like a thorny asparagus fern thing ( plant knowledge is not too good!!). we removed it and continued with the antihistamines for 7 days after that and its all settled down so I havn't taken him to the vet. I guess if he reacts to something else I should get him assesed. He did get a nasty oedema when he was playing with a bee and it left the sting in his mouth thats when I learned about antihistamines from other DOLers!!

[zayda_asher]

I tried that but all they had was a Case History, which was a list of the things done beforehand and that the intradermal test was negative to all allergens. Not sure how to find a new Derm, as he was meant to be the best???

I don't think any of the vets we've seen have looked at thyroid though? Just tried different drugs, shampoos, food, etc. The drugs they wanted to put him on for life was Cortivance...

Your vet should be able to contact the Derm in question and find out what things they routinely test for then, but you should be able to get a copy of your test results, regardless of what the actual outcome was.

I find it very odd that he got an absolutely blank panel and not even some low responses - was he on cortisone or antihistamines at the time? This may cause such a result.

Perhaps you need to discuss with your vet the possibility of trying some of the blood tests that test for allergies: my derm uses the intradermal test and the HESKA Elisa blood panel in conjunction with each other now, because they can get a clearer picture in some cases this way. I'd also talk to them about the possibility of other diseases that cause skin complaints. Your vet should be able to refer you to another dermatologist, you may just need to travel to get to them... I find it very odd that a derm would do the testing, get such a result and go "oh well, that's it for you"... did they mention no other options at all?

[stormie]

Jen - I'm surprised that you had the testing done before doing the elimination diet?? Usually everything else needs to be ruled out first and once you've done that, you do the testing, otherwise the results aren't really valid.

Why wouldn't they be valid? The "Skin" vet only comes out my side of town occassionally, and we waited over a month to see him (after our normal Vet had tried lots of different option to no avail), so he pushed me to do it at our appointment, and I figured it was worth a go.

My understanding, from what 3 separate Derms have explained, is that you can only truly diagnose Atopy through a process of elimination. It was said that you could actually perform either the blood tests, or intradermal tests on completely healthy dogs with no signs of skin disease, and see positive reactions, however just because they're positive doesn't mean the dogs react via scratching, if that makes sense?

So that's why I was told it was important to rule out every other potential cause for the scratching first, so that you know when you finally come to doing the actual testing, you can me more sure that the positives you get are going to be whats causing the problem.

[Jen21]

I find it very odd that he got an absolutely blank panel and not even some low responses - was he on cortisone or antihistamines at the time? This may cause such a result.

Perhaps you need to discuss with your vet the possibility of trying some of the blood tests that test for allergies: my derm uses the intradermal test and the HESKA Elisa blood panel in conjunction with each other now, because they can get a clearer picture in some cases this way. I'd also talk to them about the possibility of other diseases that cause skin complaints. Your vet should be able to refer you to another dermatologist, you may just need to travel to get to them... I find it very odd that a derm would do the testing, get such a result and go "oh well, that's it for you"... did they mention no other options at all?

Yep the whole experience has been rather odd I must say.....

But no he wasn't on drugs at the time of testing and hadn't been for a while, and the skin Vet didn't say "that's it for you", just that my dog should go on Cortivance, which is expensive and for life, and I didn't want to go that way for an 18 month old dog, who otherwise is perfectly happy and healthy.

I suggested the elimination diet and he was all for it, mainly I think because I made it clear that I didn't want to medicate unless we knew it was going to help, and I was quite upset to put him through the allergy testing for nothing (since he's little it took him well over 24 hours to recover from being put to sleep).

My understanding, from what 3 separate Derms have explained, is that you can only truly diagnose Atopy through a process of elimination. It was said that you could actually perform either the blood tests, or intradermal tests on completely healthy dogs with no signs of skin disease, and see positive reactions, however just because they're positive doesn't mean the dogs react via scratching, if that makes sense?

So that's why I was told it was important to rule out every other potential cause for the scratching first, so that you know when you finally come to doing the actual testing, you can me more sure that the positives you get are going to be whats causing the problem.

Wow it is confusing then?

I've gone back to my original Vet now, and he's happy to try some other things if the diet doesn't help, so I'll give it a few more weeks then see if he'll do some of the blood tests. I'll also try to get in to see the naturopath too.

Thanks for all the help ;)

[sas]

Cortivance the spray is only meant to be used short term, Cortisone the pill is suitable for long term.

[Jen21]

Woops just realised that the drug of choice for the skin vet was Cyclosporine, the Cortivance was another option, but with not as good a successful rate apparently, so he just listed it as a possible option for the future.

[Monah]

I can only mention my own experiences. went to a specialist, Mike Shipstone and he did an intradermal when I went for a consult, he was great and offered to do it there and then Results in aboutt half an hour, vaccine made up during the following fortnight and since then, 2 years, NO allergies at all

[Kelly_Louise]

Thankfully Chloe's reaction has settled - and she is pretty much bounced back better than I thought. She was on the antihistamines for about 5 - 6 days, after that it just seemed to dissipate. Still unknown what it was that was causing it, but she was on antibiotics and eye cream at the time - and these brands have now been recorded on her veterinary records as 'do not give' just in case it was those that triggered it. I don't think it was, but I'd rather be safe than sorry, and avoid any further reactions.

She's looking fantastic actually - still has a little chunk missing from her eyelid where she kept rubbing her face on rough surfaces (I had to take up all the feet wiping mats etc as the course texture was doing damage). Otherwise, she's doing great right now and I'm really pleased.

Thanks for all the advice and info guys, and I'm glad that others have found useful info on here too