SPECTRUM ALLERGY TREATMENT
The Spectrum Advantage
Proudly Tested Over 1 Million Pets Since 1989
Spectrum Veterinary isn’t just known for its accurate allergy testing, but has also made a name for our comprehensive approach to treatment. Since there is no known “cure” for allergies and the prospect of avoiding all the things your patients react to is unrealistic, we turn to hyposensitization to help us most effectively manage animal’s allergies.
Elimination of allergens
The elimination of allergens aims to completely avoid contact with the allergens. This method is the fastest way to get results, but is often not an option; this is certainly the case if there is hypersensitivity for multiple antigens or in the case of hypersensitivity to grass, tree pollen or house dust mite which are very difficult if not impossible to avoid, for example.
Symptomatic Treatment
The group of drugs that are used to treat only the symptoms of the allergy is called symptomatic medications. Examples of this type of medications are antihistamines and corticosteroids.
Duration of effectiveness
Drugs to treat the inflammation, such as corticosteroids (prednisolone) and cyclosporine, are excellent at suppressing the allergic reaction. However, these medicines do have significant disadvantages, especially when they have to be given as long-term therapy over an animal’s lifetime as is the case with allergies. For that reason, it is advisable only to administer these medications for short periods.
Corticosteroids and antihistamines
Anti-histamines are not very effective in dogs: 10-15% effectiveness.
Symptomatic therapies
Can be useful for the following categories of patients:
-Season-related atopy during only a few months every year.
-Animals of which one suspects the presence of Atopy, but in which the causal allergens cannot be identified also known as atopic-like dermatitis
Essential fatty acids
Essential fatty acids will help to optimize the coat of your pet and has an anti-inflammatory effect.
Immunotherapy
Allergen-specific immunotherapy tries to make the patient less sensitive or not sensitive at all to the substance to which it is allergic by injecting the animal with the allergens in increasingly larger doses and at increasingly longer intervals.
Patients that have symptoms for more than 3 months can be considered for Allergen-specific immunotherapy. The owner needs to be made aware that this is a lifelong treatment in which the animal is never completely cured, but rather the disorder is kept under control.
Results
The proportion of dogs that respond well to the treatment alone is about 75%. It will take time for the treatment to have any noticeable results. Results can also be amplified in done in conjunction with dietary modification based on our results (increasing success rates up to as high as 90%).
Hyposensitization
Hyposensitization is the gold standard of medical treatment for some types of allergies. Our treatment sets are custom built based on your pet’s allergy profile, containing allergenic extract designed to gradually introduce your pet’s immune system to the offending allergens and increasing their tolerance. It is available in sublingual oral spray or subcutaneous injections.
Drops
Sublingual allergy drops are a great solution for pet parents who prefer a needle free option and/or have pets that have had issues tolerating allergy injections in the past. Proper and consistent administration are key.
Injections
Each set contains 3 vials of increasing potency: green, blue, and red. It is important to note that allergy treatment requires lifelong maintenance, which consists of 1 injection per month. Compliance is the key to success with allergy injections! In order to help you remember when to give injections, be sure to download our App or build a custom calendar online.