Pet and Animal Allergies

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

• Component-resolved diagnostics in pet allergy
• ImmunoCAP Pet Allergen Component Interpretation Guide

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.

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.