Allergen, Individual-Animal Horse Dander Test

Contact with animals has long been recognized as a source of various allergies. The common symptoms are allergic rhinitis, wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath and asthma. In rare cases it causes urticaria, angioedema, dermatitis and sometimes anaphylaxis. Treatment of horse allergy is based on the symptoms that a person is experiencing. It is same as the treatment of allergies caused by other allergic triggers. Allergy shots or immunotherapy, has been shown to be safe and effective for the treatment of horse allergies where allergen avoidance is not possible. A proper diagnosis of the horse allergy can be made based on skin prick test.

Since the first step for every kind of allergy is to avoid the allergen. Therefore, the person should try to avoid the allergen as much as possible. Since horse dander can travel long distance in the air therefore there should be other precautions taken like grooming of horses by non allergic person far away from the allergic person. A proper diagnosis is crucial for proper management of the allergen. Therefore skin prick tests should be done. There are no such preparations needed for Skin Prick Test.

In skin prick tests if- The tests are positive if there is a wheal or a raised white bump surrounded by a small circle of itchy red skin. If no wheal appears than the person is not allergic to the tested food. After the kind of allergy is known the allergen should be avoided. Usually, medicines given to a patient is to curb the symptoms of the allergy such as injectable epinephrine and anti- histamines, they however, do not remove the allergy. Therefore, other methods like immunotherapy or allergy shots are used to immune the person from the allergen and hence the allergy itself. In Immunotherapy there can be mild reactions initially that consist of mild to moderate swelling, itching at the site of the injection, hives and runny nose. These reactions do not require any change in the treatment. A large swelling may require an adjustment of the immunotherapy dosage or a change in the frequency and amounts of the shots.

The kind of allergy is detected by skin prick test, which includes- Placing a drop of solution containing the food allergen on forearm or back. Scratching or pricking the skin to allow a tiny amount of solution to enter just below the surface. The procedure for immunotherapy- Injecting small doses of the allergen that will not cause an allergic reaction. Slowly advancing the dosage until the person becomes tolerant to large amount of the extract. This therapy is continued for 3 to 5 years total.