Allergy Testing

Don’t Let Your Pet Suffer with Allergies

An allergic reaction occurs when the body’s immune system identifies something as a threat. The resulting symptoms are actually the body’s attempt to protect itself from common allergens. With pets, allergic reactions usually come from one of these sources:

  • Additives, dyes, and preservatives in food
  • Inhaled triggers, such as cigarette smoke, dander from another animal, perfume, and cleaning solutions
  • Shampoos, fleas, dust mites, insects, parasites, and other things that come in contact with your pet’s skin

Common allergies in pets

The most common cause of allergies in dogs and cats is flea bites. Animals in Newport Beach, CA, who are allergic to fleas will scratch and chew their skin excessively. This causes hair loss and inflammation, which can also happen with other allergens that affect the skin. Allergies to one or more ingredients in pet food is also common, especially soybean, rice, beef, dairy, eggs, and wheat. Environmental allergies such as pollen, grass, ragweed, mold, and dust mites are problematic as well.

Veterinary allergy testing in Newport Beach, CA

Newport Center Animal Hospital performs allergy testing to determine if your pet has allergic reactions to inhaled triggers or skin irritants. We do not normally test for food allergies. However, we would be happy to recommend a specific brand of food if we determine your pet has developed a sensitivity. Your pet’s allergy testing will consist of one or both of the following:

  • Serum allergy testing: After taking a small blood sample from your pet, we analyze it to determine which allergens are causing mild, moderate, and severe reactions as well as which cause no reaction at all.
  • Intradermal skin testing: It is necessary to shave a small patch of your pet’s fur for this test. This allows us to inject trace amounts of each suspected trigger and observe the way your pet responds to it. Common reactions include redness, itching, and hives.

Your pet doesn’t have to suffer with allergies another day. Contact Newport Center Animal Hospital at (949) 644-5460 to schedule allergy testing immediately.

Veterinary Services
Our Other Services