I would almost bet money that these symptoms are not fully indicative of food allergies. Most likely he is allergic to something environmental, however, when there is an allergic reaction to something, say, cotton, their system will be more sensitive to other aspects of their lives which they may have some reaction to. Does that make sense? If they are are highly allergic to a certain variety of grass, it will exacerbate the immune response to a more mild allergy.
Most likely, the allergies are environmental. However, if it is food allergies, it can take up to three months to completely notice a decrease in symptoms by changing the diet. The good news is there is a great allergy medication called Atopica (cyclosporine), which is a non-steroid medication that targets the immune sytem which is being aggravated by the allergy.
You need to get him to a vet, and together decide the best way to go about treatment. There are skin and blood tests, but recent veterinay research has gone to the blood tests, which are incredibly accurate through Biomedical Services. The skin tests are fairly invasive and uncomfortable to the pet. Don't do allergy desensitization, new research has found it to be very ineffective, and again, uncomfortable. Your vet may just prescribe the Atopica based on the symptoms, but I would do a thorough exam and full panel to rule out other common skin ailments, such as mites. Whew! That's a long one! |