Allergen Blood Testing..experiences?

[redangel]

In the ongoing saga that is my itchy poodle the veterinarian has advised a blood test for allergens. It is quite a cost (approx $500+) so I am wondering how common and /or experiences with this test. Were the results of any help or was it non specific?

[Christina]

Not sure about dogs but lots of experience in people, including myself & all 4 children.

Generally if the allergy is to a common allergen & the reaction is severe it will show up but it can't be done for everything & sometimes it may not show in the test but there is still an allergy or more often an intolerance.

Allergy shows as anaphylaxia, rashes, welts, hives, wheezing, swollen/weeping eyes, sneezing, face swelling & raised IGE blood levels.

Intolerance is more likely to be less obvious & can be mistaken for other causes as in headache, stomach upsets, itching but no rash, mood changes & is less easy to pinpoint.

It can be very complex or may be something glaringly common & obvious so all you can do is ask what exactly they test for, how reliable & accurate is the test & then decide.

[redangel]

Thanks Christine. Due to the skin inflammation she is not able to have the skin prick test. I am just aware that after much of the money I have spent that has been not very effective that I am not throwing money at yet another inconclusive test. All up with collection is $600.00 and with having spent over $300.00 last week with her skin issues I am becoming very distressed/frustrated at not finding the cause or a suitable treatment. Poor Zoe is not yet two years old and has had to endure much on this allergy rollercoaster...having never owned an allergy affected dog in my many years of dog ownership I have a whole new sympathy with those with similarly affected pets. It is horrible to see your pet so uncomfortable with so little options.

[Guest crazydoglady99]

Have you tried bathing in calendula tea? There's a huge thread about it. Might give at least a little relief while figuring other stuff out.

Edited January 27, 2015 by crazydoglady99

[Guest crazydoglady99]

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Edited January 27, 2015 by crazydoglady99

[redangel]

Animal lover i am aware of the calendula rinse and yes it is good for the itches..even used castor oil diluted to her skin. It did reduce the yeasty scent...but her skin lesions did not lessen....they didnt get worse however.

[Guest crazydoglady99]

Bummer. Sorry to hear.

[Bullmastiffmum]

Hey there redangel,

Just going off our personal experience, our boy had flare ups skin issues, rashes, yeasty areas etc with his skin over about a 2yr period, on and off, with no noticeable reason/ contact/ allergy/ season etc, trying all suggested options from the vet, he was very hesitant on blood test, until we had finally went enough is enough for our poor fella, we had to sort it out.

He said we should visit a specialist, have a chat and go from there.

Wish we had done it soooo sooner.

Seen Linda at sash, and she was amazing, each case would be different,but we didn't need a blood test, just a management plan, but it's been over a year now with very very minimal skin issues, and we should have done it sooner, as even though it was a little costly, atleast we know where we are at, and what to do, everything else was good to try, but really a waste of money, as she could of got us on the right path sooner, and a more comfortable life for our boy.

Good luck with it.

[stellnme]

Redangel, I had a dog in foster care with itchy skin, lesions and a yeasty smell. First vet suggested allergies and put the dog on a special kibble, no treats, malaseb baths (which made things worse). The foster carer is a nurse who strongly suspected it wasn't an allergy and tried gentle, human treatments like oatmeal baths, etc. - a little relief but no cure.

In desperation we took the little dog to another vet who took one look at the lesions and diagnosed a Staph infection. One lot of antibiotics and we had a totally cured dog, no smell, itching or lesions after the course finished. The foster carer has since adopted the dog and no further problems one year on.

I realise that this may not be the case with your dog, but just thought I would share my experience. Best of luck, it is a frustrating journey.

[redangel]

Bullmastiffmum my vet was hesitant about specialist referral but after consultation with the specialist of my choice we are going on with the bloods as she has been off medications for the prescribed time and the test was designed by that same specialist to reflect my region. She has started on low dose pred in addition to the antibiotics for her skin pending the results....mainly to bring her comfort. I will get informed by my vet of the results and most likely if indicated attend the specialist as the next step. For a two yr old she has a file over an inch thick of tests. We have also done a blood profile to check her organs as she doesn't do well on meds...to keep a check on kidney/liver function. Stellnme I too have had mixed results with the malaseb...lol and yes Ive done the oatmeal, goat soap, holistic rinse path.

Only when it goes wrong are we reminded that the skin is the biggest organ and at times diagnosis is complex!

I have had dogs for many many years.....all breeds and I have to say this skin condition has been a real heartbreak for me as opposed to any other illness I have experienced frustration wise. I will let you know how the journey progresses.

[Erny]

As most here know, my dog's experienced a myriad of problems that have erupted as *skin conditions*. I didn't bother with looking *outside* of the dog to discover what might be causing the issues. Instead, I focused on the *inside* of the dog and concentrated on getting his system to work as optimally as possible so it could deal with allergens that might have been impacting on him as well as dealing with internal toxins that could not otherwise be managed by a system with imbalance.

[redangel]

Update : well the results were less than interesting....she reacted to none of the allergy perimeters. So we are none the wiser....other than we know the things she doesnt react to :)

[karly101]

Sometimes you get lucky and the test can give you results to do an allergy vaccine.. my dog not so.

He has only stabilized since being placed on atopica. It's not cheap medication but returned his quality of life and he doesn't even look like a skin dog anymore. I would suggest seeking a dermatologists advice. Normal vets can do skin work ups but a specialist does this all the time and I found once I started seeing on the diagnosis and then treatment plan was clear. From being a regular visitor to the vet my boy now only goes every 6 months to get a repeat for his meds.

[sas]

Update : well the results were less than interesting....she reacted to none of the allergy perimeters. So we are none the wiser....other than we know the things she doesn't react to :)

That isn't right, your Vet should ask for a re-test. All dogs would react to something. It happened to us and got a re-test.

Also, the thing about the blood tests is they're not that accurate, especially the food portion, you'd be better getting intra-dermal done and then you know what you're dealing with.

I have to say I was quite disappointed in this thread people suggesting you should use rinses on your dogs rather than going down the diagnostic route at least to begin with. We need to stop touting calendula rinses as a miracle cure and suggest them as supplementary to actual diagnosis.

[trinabean]

Update : well the results were less than interesting....she reacted to none of the allergy perimeters. So we are none the wiser....other than we know the things she doesn't react to :)

That isn't right, your Vet should ask for a re-test. All dogs would react to something. It happened to us and got a re-test.

Also, the thing about the blood tests is they're not that accurate, especially the food portion, you'd be better getting intra-dermal done and then you know what you're dealing with.

I have to say I was quite disappointed in this thread people suggesting you should use rinses on your dogs rather than going down the diagnostic route at least to begin with. We need to stop touting calendula rinses as a miracle cure and suggest them as supplementary to actual diagnosis.

Yes, I agree with this. My dog had allergy-testing done by a dermatologist which involved skin-prick testing for common environmental allergens, plus blood serum testing. The reactions were ranked (0-4, 4 being the strongest reaction) and it gave us the information to work out what to desensitize against. The derm clinic then get a vaccine made up to target the worst allergens.

They also helped us work out which foods were problematic by guiding us through elimination diets and food re-challenges. While time-consuming, apparently there is no reliable blood test to work out food allergies in dogs. I also agree the calendula rinses may be a useful complimentary treatment, but are no substitute for diagnosis. It offerered little relief to my highly allergic dog. In fact, if the skin prick test showed that a dog was allergic to daisies, you'd be doing more harm than good with calendula rinses.

See if you can get a referral to a dermatologist Redangel. They've helped us far beyond what my regular vet could (and he is good enough to know his limitations, - he suggested the dermatologist to us). :)

[redangel]

Thank you for your responses.

The biggest issue faced is that allergy testing requires at least 8 weeks no meds...we were hoping to do skin test but had to do serum tests as there was not really a sq cm of clear skin to do the testing Currently on pred & antibiotics...Atopia is the next suggested med. Issue is that my dog reacts to pred badly (gastrointestinal issue) so dose is just holding...has anyone an opinion on Atopia/side effects?? It was mentioned that it may be better than the pred long term. Currently I am told that if she is long term on any medication....6 mthly liver kidney tests will be recommended to check that no damage is being done....not the kind of future you want for your no yet three year old dog.

I am now considering re-pushing for referral as your responses have given me hope for another chance of finding an answer...this whole thing has left me feeling quite defeated.

[karly101]

I strongly urge you to push for referral - it will give you the clearest option on where to go from here. I go to MVSC and see either Greg Burton or David Robson. My dog has been so stable now though he hasn't gone there for ages as I have a clear plan of what to do when he does have a flare up my normal vet can take care of any issues.

My boy can't have pred too due to the stomach upset too. He went on to atopica but developed a allergy to gelatin (beef/pork products), fortunately they make a feline version which is just the liquid so he has been on that and been stable ever since the switch. The most common side effect is vomiting or diarrhea. It is a immune suppressant (but so is pred) and also can cause lumps - my dermatologist tells me though in dogs it is very well tolerated and initially they were doing blood tests every 6 months but now have relaxed as its not as bad as they thought. In my boys case I still do blood tests at least yearly just to be sure and his last one one was fine and he has been on the drug since 12 months and is now almost 4 years of age.

Atopica isn't the only other drug option available now though so be sure to get the referral to discuss different options - working in the industry I haven't heard of anyone unhappy they have gone to see one as they do lay out really clear treatment options and their reasoning behind it sometimes its good to get the extra input.

[sas]

Thank you for your responses.

The biggest issue faced is that allergy testing requires at least 8 weeks no meds...we were hoping to do skin test but had to do serum tests as there was not really a sq cm of clear skin to do the testing Currently on pred & antibiotics...Atopia is the next suggested med. Issue is that my dog reacts to pred badly (gastrointestinal issue) so dose is just holding...has anyone an opinion on Atopia/side effects?? It was mentioned that it may be better than the pred long term. Currently I am told that if she is long term on any medication....6 mthly liver kidney tests will be recommended to check that no damage is being done....not the kind of future you want for your no yet three year old dog.

I am now considering re-pushing for referral as your responses have given me hope for another chance of finding an answer...this whole thing has left me feeling quite defeated.

I understand, my (RIP) Dane who was highly allergic was not able to be off meds long enough to get intra dermal, we did do both types of blood allergen testing and desenstising injections with no luck sadly. He lived on a low dose of Cortisone.

[Erny]

Update : well the results were less than interesting....she reacted to none of the allergy perimeters. So we are none the wiser....other than we know the things she doesn't react to :)

I have to say I was quite disappointed in this thread people suggesting you should use rinses on your dogs rather than going down the diagnostic route at least to begin with. We need to stop touting calendula rinses as a miracle cure and suggest them as supplementary to actual diagnosis.

I agree that ANY topical application ("rinses") should not be "touted ... as a miracle cure".

I don't think that's been the case here though, nor in most of other posts written of it - posts I've read and also those I've written, suggest it as an aid to provide some relief whilst investigations to diagnosis are conducted. Where has it been suggested that calendula rinses are a miracle cure and that they should be used rather than going down the diagnostic route?

Edited March 2, 2015 by Erny