As you may recall, we unsuccessfully tried this, that and the other, and nothing helped Nemo much. The next step was no turnout for a whole week, and a blood draw to see exactly what Nemo is allergic to. I learned they can also do allergy patch testing on horses, similar to humans, but the blood test was recommended to us as less problematic. You know what? The boy who prefers to live outside was perfectly content to stay inside 24/7. He was that miserable. Staying inside allowed the inflammation to calm down. Nemo progressed to daily 2 hour morning turnout that went on for weeks. With the cooler weather we finally increased his turnout to half days. He had his first full day turnout last weekend. So far his allergy symptoms have not resurfaced!!!!
ACTT Allergy Program from ALK tested two sets:
Set 1: trees, grasses, weeds, epithelia & fibers
Set 2: molds, mites & insects
Nemo's results revealed he is allergic to four things. From Set 1: Box Elder/Maple Mix, Crowngrass, Timothy Grass and from Set 2: Candida (a yeastlike, parasitic fungus that can sometimes cause thrush).
Apparently this was good news as some test results come back with lengthy lists, some with 30 things on them. Of course the more allergens the harder it is to treat.
Nemo's immunotherapy treatment arrived on Thursday, and holy moly it is detailed and goes on for months!! Different doses, different intervals, different colored vials x2 sets. It will all be worth it in the end, if it works. Assuming it does, Nemo will need an allergy shot once a month forever. We haven't seen the bill yet, no doubt it will continue proving Nemo is Brad's million dollar horse. In more then one way.
3 comments:
Oh my! Sure hope this proves to be helpful to Nemo. Nothing is ever simple is it? Eagle is allergic to those little gnats and flies and gets a rash on his underside that turns itchy and like a leathery patch. I wonder how they pin it down to figure out what he's allergic to, out of all the millions of possibilities. Interesting.
Good question. They probably test the most common allergens for the region, and it looks like they group some related allergens. With a patch test, you apply the allergen & watch for a reaction. I can only assume the blood reacts to the allergen in a somewhat similar fashion. We were told the blood testing is not as accurate (but still very good) and patching was hard on horses. I can only imagine the patch testing ordeal...staying in a controlled environment, likely shaving multi spots, leaving on for X amount of various days (oops it fell off, try again) with each & every allergen - and then trying to decipher the various results, which also likely differ. We all agreed hands down blood testing was the way to go. I know allergy shots work well with humans, hoping for similar with Nemo. We should be done with the treatment series in April, no later then May.
I think it's good to know what he's allergic to and be able to treat it. At least there is some relief in sight for him. Hope it makes him feel much better. I know allergy shots worked for my husband, son and daughter. Good luck.
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