Allergy testing

A while back, I had written a blog post about dealing with allergies and an elimination diet.

Link here

Although our elimination diet was working, it seemed like every single protein we introduced caused a reaction.

If you’ve done an elimination diet, then you know how frustrating this is.

We decided to try allergy testing and we were honestly shocked at the results. Rémi is sensitive to so many unavoidable environmental allergens, but on top of that, he is also sensitive so many proteins that we were feeding him. I’m so thankful for our results because they give us a guideline on what we can and can’t feed. They also showed us what household items we have to clean out of our house (example, cotton was one thing he reacted to and all of our sheets (including his dog bed) contain cotton).

People say allergy testing is never accurate, be we decided to try it anyway in order to help us better understand Rémi’s reactions, and to help us speed up the process. We really had nothing to lose.

Before I begin, let me just clarify that there is a difference between an allergy and a sensitivity. Both allergy tests that we got done test for sensitivities and NOT really allergies.

What’s the difference? A real allergy is an immune system response and is automatic, whereas an intolerance or sensitivity is not. Symptoms of a sensitivity generally appear after being exposed to a certain allergen over a longer period of time (our testing said 48 hours or more).

We did testing through two separate companies:

Allergy Test My Pet

First, we tried testing through a company called Allergy Test My Pet (AT my pet for short). This test uses saliva in order to test for sensitivities.

What do they they test? AT my pet tested against 100 different allergens, both food and environmental.

How to I get my test? The company mailed us their testing, along with forms and a return package. It was a fairly easy process, except for the actual saliva collection (we had a hard time to collect enough saliva). We received our results online.

Pros:

• Affordable ($99 on website, $89 on Amazon)
• Accessible, you can purchase from their website or from Amazon
• Results were east to read and understand

Cons:

• Less allergens analyzed
• Not as accurate
• Hard to collect enough saliva for a sample (I would say nearly impossible for small breeds)

Website link: here

Amazon link: here

Affordable testing by 5Strands

We did our second allergy testing through 5Strands Affordable Testing. This company uses hair follicles in order to test for sensitivities.

What do they test? They test for 300 different allergens (200 food, 100 environmental). You also have the option to purchase the food sensitivity testing or the environmental testing separately.

How do I get my test? Like AT my pet, 5Strands sends you their kit in the mail (forms and return envelope included). Their sample collection process is much easier, as you only have to collect a few pieces of hairs. You send in your samples, along with the forms received and they email you the results. They also have an app so that you always have access to your results.

In my opinion, this testing was much more accurate.

Pros:

• Accessible, you can purchase from their website or Amazon.
• Easy to collect sample
• App makes it easy to access results
• More accurate
• Results were easy to read and understand

Cons:

• More expensive ($144 website, or $187 on amazon)

Website link: here

Amazon link: here