The global allergy and dermatology partner for pet parents
All pets scratch, lick, bite, and rub. However, it should never interrupt activities such as playing or eating, cause hair loss, skin damage or be often enough that it causes discomfort for your pet and for you. Frequent or constant scratching, licking, biting, scooting, and/or rubbing are most often signs of an allergic skin disease.
The immunological mechanisms underlying allergy in dogs, cats and horses are essentially the same as in humans. Allergy is a condition of hypersensitivity to substances which are common and harmless to most animals. The hypersensitivity is caused by a dysfunction in the pet’s immune system. The substances that cause allergy – allergens – include pollens, dust mites, molds, dander, insects, fibers and foods.
Treating the root cause of allergies
There is no known “cure” for allergies and the prospect of avoiding all the things an animal reacts to is unrealistic, we turn to hypo-sensitization to help us most effectively manage allergies in dogs, cats and horses. The only treatment that can make the animal’s immune system stronger and stop it from reacting to environmental allergens is hypo-sensitization (also called allergen-specific immunotherapy). This is a tailored treatment for your pet or horse, designed to stop allergy symptoms from affecting its overall health, comfort and quality of life.
Hypo-sensitization Therapy
Hypo-sensitization is the gold standard of medical treatment for some types of allergies. Our treatment sets are custom built based on your animal’s allergy profile, containing allergenic extract designed to gradually introduce your animal’s immune system to the offending allergens and increasing their tolerance. It is available in sublingual oral spray or subcutaneous injections.
Hypo-sensitization is treatment containing just the allergens that your pet or horse is allergic to. To begin with, the amount of each allergen is very small, but with each dose this amount increases, until a ‘maintenance dose’ is reached. The goal is to is to increase tolerance to the allergens in the treatment, and therefore symptoms, decrease or disappear.
Hypo-sensitization is effective and safe for long-term use, and your pet or horse may be on it for the rest of its life in order to keep the disease under control.
What to expect from Hypo-sensitization Therapy?
Before starting this treatment, it is important for your pet to be comfortable, with its symptoms under control. If that is not the case, short-term medication can help during the initial treatment period (work-up phase). You should ask your vet about the best options for short-term allergy relief that can be used in conjunction with immunotherapy.
Every animal responds differently to medications, but Hypo-sensitization Therapy has proven to be successful and very effective. Around 75% of pets & horses show improvements and most show improvements within a few months. Sometimes, it can take up to 12 months to see results.
Should your pet or horse experience an increase in symptoms, you should reach out to your veterinarian to discuss treatment concerns. Regular follow-up appointments are important, especially during the first year of treatment. It may be necessary to change the dosage and interval.
