• Non allergic skin disorders often begin as a rash or eruption and then become itchy due to secondary changes.
• Atopic dermatitis is the most common form of non-parasitic allergy in dogs and cats.  Approximately 15% of the population have a propensity to develop atopic allergy.  A significant percentage of atopic cats will present only with bronchio-respiratory (asthma) symptoms.
• Parasites and infection (bacterial and yeast) can cause prolonged itching in non allergic animals and as a secondary phenomenon in allergic cases.

Atopy is a genetically programmed disease in which the patient becomes sensitized to inhaled or cutaneously absorbed environmental allergens (antigens) usually derived from pollens, dusts, molds and insects.  Clinical signs often appear seasonal at the onset and may become year-round and more intense with age.
 

• VARL Liquid Gold serum allergy testing technology provides the veterinarian a convenient method to successfully test and treat atopic patients; and hyposensitization provides SAFE and EFFECTIVE long term relief with little or no cortisone required.

 ALLERGY TESTING
- of -
CANINE and FELINE PATIENTS
 

FIRST establish a clinical diagnosis with appropriate rule outs.

                                 THEN select a test to identify offending allergens.                             

• ALLERGIC DERMATITIS - ATOPY
• FOOD ALLERGY
• FLEA ALLERGY
• OTHER INSECT HYPERSENSITIVITY

ALLERGIC DERMATITIS

- IgE antibody-mediated disease.
- May begin as a seasonal pruritic dermatitis.
- Paw licking, axillary scratching, face rubbing and eventually whole body scratching.
- Age of onset - 3 months and up.
- Often become year-round problem.
- Caused by allergens, inhaled or absorbed percutaneously.
- Usually respond favorably to corticosteroid therapy at the outset.
- Response to corticosteroid often declines with long term use.
- Flea allergy is a factor in up to 80% of atopic dogs and cats (fleas can interfere with a hyposensitization program).
- Classical atopy may be overlapped by insect hypersensitivity and food allergy.
- These added factors may influence threshold for onset of symptoms.
- Atopic patients are more likely predisposed to secondary pyoderma and yeast infection.

The keys to success with hyposensitization are:
 
 1.  Selecting the right patients by ruling out other causes of pruritus e.g.
             a.  Scabies. 
             b.  Bacterial pyoderma - allergy may be the underlying cause of recurrent bacterial pyoderma.
             c.  Yeast dermatitis.
             d.  Demodectic infection.
             e.  Primary seborrhea
 2.  Selecting appropriate allergens for testing and therapy.
 3.  Give clients realistic expectations and follow each individual case
                carefully to control complications
 
 -  Safest long term therapy -  DOES NOT WORK EVERY TIME!!
 - 70 to 85% of patients will show favorable response to allergen
    injections or have their requirement for cortisone reduced significantly.
 -  Response is slow - expect to see improvement in 4 to 6 months.
 - Do not give up hope for 1 year.
 - Most patients will require treatment for life. Stopping allergen therapy on patients that have responded will result in reoccurrence of signs and symptoms of atopic disease in 90% of patients.
  
      

Each Case Must Be Managed Individually

SKIN TESTING vs In Vitro TESTING

Skin Testing - Many variations determined by the tester.

• Intradermal injection of diluted allergens selected by the clinician administering the test.
• Immediate results scored by the clinician - subjective interpretation. Usually requires sedation and clipping of hair.
• Corticosteroid and histamine cause serious interference.
• Some patients have "reactive skin" and show clinically insignificant reactions.
• Fresh test solutions of appropriate allergens must be prepared often - once a month recommended.
• REFERRALS ARE REQUIRED TO MAKE SKIN TESTING PROFITABLE IN A VETERINARY PRACTICE.

In Vitro Testing 
(Blood Sample Sent To Lab)

- Testing the patient’s serum for levels of IgE antibodies specific for environmental and food allergens.
- Much more convenient than skin testing.
- Sedation and clipping of hair not required.
- Drugs like antihistamine and corticosteroid do not interfere with VARL Liquid Gold test.
- New VARL Liquid Gold technology has improved reliability.

Two categories of serum allergy tests are available  commercially in the U.S.A.  Both categories measure serum allergen-specific IgE levels.

1.   VARL Liquid Gold                            2.   ELISA/RAST

VARL Liquid Gold is the next generation of serum allergy testing developed after a decade of experience with ELISA and RAST indicate that a new and better technology was needed to overcome the high incidence of false positive results notorious with ELISA/RAST allergy tests.

Liquid Gold may not have been the first allergy test, but it is the first liquid-phase test where you can be certain that you will not be treating false positives.

Some labs test routinely for less than 25 allergens; others test for more. Testing for individual allergens is preferred over testing for allergen groups. VARL Liquid Gold routinely tests for 40 individual allergens that are selected based on zip codes for each geographical region.  Comprehensive panel of individual food allergy tests are also offered for a more complete work-up.

FOOD ALLERGY

- Onset at any age
- Not apt to be seasonal
- Small percentage of cases respond favorably to corticosteroid
- Otitis is common early finding (up to 80% )
- Intense pruritus about head and neck in cats (many reports)
- Signs involving other body systems are occasionally reported (GI signs, seizures, behavioral changes, etc.)
- May be present in conjunction with other allergies and will contribute to the pruritic threshold i.e. level of allergen load above where clinical signs result.
- “New Food” is seldom the cause of food allergy.  In proven food allergic cases, the offending foods have been fed for 3 to 12 months.
- No such thing as “Hypoallergenic Diet”.  Many special or “limited allergen” diets are available. 
- Consider the importance of good nutrition to skin health.

Food Allergy Testing            Much more complex compared
                                                     to environmental allergens. One
                                                     reason is that foods undergo changes 
                                                     during processing and digestion.

- Elimination diets lasting 6 to 12 weeks is considered to be the method of choice.  Feed a single protein source and a single carbohydrate source that the patient has not eaten before.  Very frustrating for both clients and practitioners!  Skin testing for food allergy not reliable.

- VARL Liquid Gold food allergy testing uses epitopes of cooked/denatured proteins and has proven to be helpful in selecting appropriate elimination diets. VARL Liquid Gold offers a comprehensive panel of individual food allergy tests for a more complete work-up of allergic dogs and cats.

FLEA ALLERGY

- Hyposensitization for flea allergy is of questionable value.  Attempts at hyposensitization with flea allergen might make some cases worse!

- Complete flea control is attainable with products now on the market.

- Many cases of flea allergy will require at least some steroid.

- If atopy is controlled by hyposensitization, the flea allergy component will be more easily controlled.

With  VARL  Liquid Gold
You Will Not Be Treating False Positives ...
GUARANTEED !