Little cat with girl

UNDERSTAND ALLERGIES TO PETS

Pet and Animal Allergies

Pets are considered part of the family but may be a source of allergy symptoms. Learn how to identify an allergy to furry animals—such as cats, dogs or horses—with a simple blood test to help create an allergy management plan.

Allergy Test Menu

Pet and animal allergy testing information for providers

Improve your patients’ quality of life

As pet ownership has increased, the prevalence of animal sensitization continues to increase. Cat and dog allergens are everywhere and can be found in homes, classrooms, workspaces and other areas where pets have never been as people often carry pet allergens on their clothing.

A pet allergy can be stressful to manage and may trigger allergy symptoms like sneezing, wheezing, red or itchy eyes, nasal congestion, rashes and swelling. More serious cases can trigger breathing difficulties and asthma attacks that can result in an emergency room visit.

Component-resolved diagnostics assist with better patient management and pet selection

90% of people with a pet allergy are sensitized to multiple pet extracts. The risk for and severity of respiratory diseases increase with the number of pet allergen components to which a person is sensitized.

Testing at the component level provides a clearer picture of a person’s allergic sensitization—to help determine the risk, severity and predict disease development—and can help identify whether the patient’s symptoms are caused by singular species or cross-reactive sensitization.

Get actionable information for your patients.

An IgE blood test can help assess predictive risk to pet allergens and inform allergy management plans for your patients.1-5

Practice parameters, guidelines and testing interpretation

Animal Allergen Profiles With Reflex Components

The pet allergen reflex provides a clearer picture of a person’s allergic sensitization pattern at the component level and can help enhance your management strategies.

Number Name
607021 Allergen Profile, Cat and Dog, IgE, With Reflex to Components
606650 Allergen Profile, Cat, IgE With Component Reflex
606659 Allergen Profile, Dog, IgE With Component Reflex
606656 Allergen Profile, Horse, IgE With Component Reflex
607016 Allergen Profile, Cat, Dog and Horse, IgE With Component Reflex

Concerned you might have a pet allergy?

A blood-based Dog and Cat Allergy Test can measure your sensitivity to common allergens like dog and cat dander, urine and saliva. Purchase your test directly and share your results with your healthcare provider.

Get Tested

Did you know?

Major Risk Factor


Animal allergies are a major risk factor for the development of asthma and rhinitis.6,9

70%

About 70% of people have at least one pet at home, most commonly dogs and cats.6

10-20%

About 10-20% of the people in the world have allergies to dog and/or cat allergens.1

Pet and animal allergy testing information for patients

Understand the source of your symptoms

If you’ve noticed the following symptoms after being around a dog, cat, or horse, you may have an animal allergy.10

  • Sneezing
  • Runny or stuffy nose
  • Facial pain (from nasal congestion)
  • Coughing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, and wheezing
  • Watery, red or itchy eyes
  • Skin rash or hives

It can feel overwhelming to try to avoid all possible triggers of your allergy symptoms. Before you consider rehoming or avoiding animals, you should understand which pet(s) may be contributing to your allergy symptoms. For example, some people are allergic to male dogs but not female dogs. Or if there may be other triggers such as mold, grass or pollens that are contributing to your symptoms.  

Your primary care provider can help create a personalized allergy action plan that improves your quality of life.

Get answers from your healthcare provider

Animal allergies can be complex—and not all animal allergies are alike.

The first step is to schedule an appointment with your primary care provider and ask if blood-based allergen-specific IgE testing can help provide answers. This allergy test is:

  • Appropriate for anyone (age 3 months and older)
  • Not affected by prescription or over-the-counter medications

Along with a medical exam and discussion with your provider, the results of a pet allergy blood test can help your primary care provider or specialist:

  • Control your allergy symptoms
  • Determine which type of animal may be causing your symptoms
  • Identify if other allergens are contributing to your symptoms
  • Determine how to best manage allergy triggers
  • Prescribe medication, such as antihistamines, decongestants and/or immunotherapy
 

Labcorp can help meet your allergy needs

Contact a Labcorp representative to learn more about how we can help meet your allergy testing needs

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References

  1. Nordlund B, Konradsen JR, Kull I, Borres MP, Önell A, Hedlin G, Grönlund H. IgE antibodies to animal-derived lipocalin, kallikrein and secretoglobin are markers of bronchial inflammation in severe childhood asthma. Allergy. 2012 May;67(5):661-9.
  2. Konradsen JR, Nordlund B, Onell A, Borres MP, Grönlund H, Hedlin G. Severe childhood asthma and allergy to furry animals: refined assessment using molecular-based allergy diagnostics. Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2014 Mar;25(2):187-92.
  3. Patelis A, Borres MP, Kober A, Berthold M. Multiplex component-based allergen microarray in recent clinical studies. Clin Exp Allergy. 2016 Aug;46(8):1022-32.
  4. Dávila I, Domínguez-Ortega J, Navarro-Pulido A, Alonso A, Antolín-Amerigo D, González-Mancebo E, Martín-García C, Núñez-Acevedo B, Prior N, Reche M, Rosado A, Ruiz-Hornillos J, Sánchez MC, Torrecillas M. Consensus document on dog and cat allergy. Allergy. 2018 Jun;73(6):1206-1222.
  5. Asarnoj A, Hamsten C, Wadén K, Lupinek C, Andersson N, Kull I, Curin M, Anto J, Bousquet J, Valenta R, Wickman M, van Hage M. Sensitization to cat and dog allergen molecules in childhood and prediction of symptoms of cat and dog allergy in adolescence: A BAMSE/MeDALL study. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2016 Mar;137(3):813-21.e7.
  6. Perzanowski M et al. J Allergy Clin Immunol 2016;138:1582-90.
  7. Preventing Asthma in Animal Handlers, January, 1998. DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 97-116. http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/97-116/
  8. Borres MP, Ebisawa M, Eigenmann PA. Use of allergen components begins a new era in pediatric allergology. Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2011 Aug;22(5):454-61.
  9. Konradsen JR, Fujisawa T, van Hage M, Hedlin G, Hilger C, Kleine-Tebbe J, Matsui EC, Roberts G, Rönmark E, Platts-Mills TA. Allergy to furry animals: New insights, diagnostic approaches, and challenges. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2015 Mar;135(3):616-25.
  10. American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. https://acaai.org/allergies/types/pet-allergy  Accessed 25 Sept. 2022