Quote:
Originally Posted by Ellie May  An elimination diet instead of trying to maintain on steroids is, without a doubt, the best way to go if possible, but that doesn't mean steroids don't ever work in this case. Cyclosporine is just for environmental. |
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* Steroids offer anti-inflammatory benefits -
no matter the inflammation's / allergy's source (any allergy causes an inflammatory response); while steroids also suppress the immune system, they are powerful anti-inflammatory agents, for
all types/sources of inflammation
* Atopica (cyclosporine), I agree, offers benefits just for enviro - as it is an immunosuppressant (and not an anti-inflamm.)
* "Testing for Food Allergies" refers to an elimination diet,
only. For an elimination diet to be effective, it should not contain any previously fed ingredients.
* "Testing for Enviro/Seasonal Allergies" refers to blood testing/allergy testing - which may be worthwhile if the dog is young, and IF you plan on doing the hyposensitization shots (btw, a dog can be on Atopica before/during allergy testing, but *must* be off any steroids 2-6 wks, depending on steroid, before testing)
* Just to reiterate: 10-15% of allergies are due to food, the rest are due to enviro