How common are food hypersensitivities?

RE: How common are food hypersensitivities?

Neil Wheadon — Thu, 17 Nov 2016 22:59:18 GMT

[quote user="Braden Collins"]We work on around 10% of skin dogs being food allergy. It's a low percentage but definately worth ruling in or out early. [/quote]

From London Vet Show

It's 8-12% in referral practice

Unsure in general populations (as above results are skewed)

Arno will sort out a prize

Neil

RE: How common are food hypersensitivities?

grumpyoldman — Wed, 16 Nov 2016 05:41:09 GMT

I have no idea how common it is , but several times a year I find clients reporting temporary resolution of or improvements in Atopy cases following dietary changes. Whether that is about allergens in the diet or different amounts or availability of omega-3,Zn, etc I have no idea. These responses are often temporary and the atopy reverts to a seasonal problem from a year round one.

Its often more noticeable with the pleasant cooperative diligent clients who keep up with excellent parasite and worm control, have really nice cars ,and probably very nice clean homes. You wonder about the hygiene theory and whether their dogs T-cels are just a bit bored and keep finding new things to have a punch up with.

RE: How common are food hypersensitivities?

Braden Collins — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 22:40:19 GMT

We work on around 10% of skin dogs being food allergy. It's a low percentage but definately worth ruling in or out early.

RE: How common are food hypersensitivities?

Rob Loxley — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 19:43:16 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"] It has currently been off Atopica for 3 whole seasons but we haven't been brave enough to do a dietary challenge trial yet.[/quote]

Clearly sounds like a response to diet change, but without re-challenge can we be sure?: I'm sure a lot of the cases that people claim are cured by diet are maybe cured by concomitant parasite control, say, though we have a number that do seem true food-responsive dermatoses.

RE: How common are food hypersensitivities?

Anthony Dennison — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 17:11:24 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]I currently have 5-6 albeit half are cats but unlike Anthony I'm too lazy to recall them.[/quote]

The one's I've listed are just 5 I can remember - I've discussed diet on many a weekend consulting at branches I'm only at 1 in 8 weekends, so there could be many more!

RE: How common are food hypersensitivities?

Martin Atkinson — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 16:48:19 GMT

[quote user="Bob Russell"]Most of us can think of a case that miraculously improved on a hypoallergenic diet but how many can think of 2 or 3 or 4?[/quote]I currently have 5-6 albeit half are cats but unlike Anthony I'm too lazy to recall them. However, one was a nailed on atopy: 18 month onset, chewing feet, erythematous pinnas, scratching axillae and inguinally. Atopica worked wonders within days but true to my policy of reducing antigenic load I also put it on a novel protein diet and EFA supplements. It has currently been off Atopica for 3 whole seasons but we haven't been brave enough to do a dietary challenge trial yet.

RE: How common are food hypersensitivities?

Anthony Dennison — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 16:00:08 GMT

Of course, I'll extrapolate.

Small little cross-breed lhasa/shi tzu looking thing. Has black and white fur, and weirdly only the skin under the white fur was affected. Red, scurfy and sore. Bad ears. Switched to RC Anallergenic, not looked back. This month we're trying to switch to RC Mini Adult, see if it stays controlled

Chocolate Labrador, after a recent change of food became intensely pruritic, steroids would hardly touch it, having recurrent AG issues. Spent 2 months with a bald back end. Put back on to the original food, been fine since.

Westie - rehomed with skin issues. On apoquel and wasn't helping so add to use low dose steroids as well. Switched food to a salmon and potato based diet, able to wean off the preds. Skin still isn't great, but I'm only seeing the dog every now and then rather than every couple of weeks now.

Dandie Dinmont Terrier - recurrent bilateral OE, switched to salmon and potato based diet and ears settled down

German Shepherd with pyoderma due to self trauma from pruritus. Treated with antibiotics and steroids but kept coming back every time treatment finished (and was on antibiotics for 2-3 weeks) . Switched to a grain free diet (was on Butchers) and things settled down.

RE: How common are food hypersensitivities?

Neil Wheadon — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 15:25:10 GMT

[quote user="Anthony Dennison"]I've had 5 in the past year.[/quote]

Any more details?

Neil

RE: How common are food hypersensitivities?

Anthony Dennison — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 15:15:18 GMT

[quote user="Bob Russell"]Most of us can think of a case that miraculously improved on a hypoallergenic diet but how many can think of 2 or 3 or 4?[/quote]

I've had 5 in the past year.

RE: How common are food hypersensitivities?

Bob Russell — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 14:48:54 GMT

Most of us can think of a case that miraculously improved on a hypoallergenic diet but how many can think of 2 or 3 or 4?

Are we missing loads or are they really very uncommon compared to other allergic triggers? Is poor owner compliance one of the reasons they get missed?

I have heard figures of 4% or so at referral level which seems to suggest 96% at least are not.

RE: How common are food hypersensitivities?

Thomas Johnson — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 14:35:11 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]

[quote user="Clare Tapsfield-Wright"]I would have agreed with you were it not for the case of my brothers Labrador[/quote]But it takes more than one swallow to make a summer. I doubt there are many true food intolerance/hypersensitivity/allergy cases that don't have some GI tract involvement. I see a number of cats which have characteristic lesions around the head and face which seem to respond to exclusion diets, in which the owner didn't report squidgy poos but as cats generally crap outside many wouldn't know anyway.

[/quote]

I saw a dog a few years ago as a second opinion from a neighbouring practice. It had a 2-3 year history of skin problems and had been treated intermittently with antibiotics and prednisolone, but no one had done any sort of work-up on it. When I saw it most of its hindquarters were devoid of hair with large areas of erythematous skin. Having ruled out parasites and given it some more pred to make it comfortable I switched it to hypoallerginic diet, its skin returned to normal and it grew back all of its hair. It had no further skin problems until its owner decided to try it with a different diet 6 months later, straight back onto hypoallergenic diet and the problems disappeared. It was euthanased a couple of years having had no further skin problems.

I agree that food allergies are less common than environmental allergies, but they are out there.

RE: How common are food hypersensitivities?

Martin Atkinson — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 14:03:27 GMT

RE: How common are food hypersensitivities?

Clare Tapsfield-Wright — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 13:57:59 GMT

I would have agreed with you were it not for the case of my brothers Labrador which has horrendous ears and seems to be controlled by strict dietary control. Purely anecdotal I know but has made a slight chink in my scepticism about allergies and how ubiquitous they seem to be in everyone nowadays.

RE: How common are food hypersensitivities?

Rob Loxley — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 13:38:55 GMT

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]My answer is probably more than we realise but not as many as some people think[/quote]

I'd agree. I had an interesting chat with a dermatologist a few years ago about how he was much more sceptical about food-associated dermatoses than his dermatology colleagues at the same institution, and lo and behold saw less positive response to diet change in his share of the derm cases. Maybe his more enthusiastic colleagues enthused the client to adhere more strictly to the diet trial and got better results; good example of the placebo effect?

RE: How common are food hypersensitivities?

Martin Atkinson — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 13:06:31 GMT

My answer is probably more than we realise but not as many as some people think. Plus what is the cross-over of definition from intolerance to hypersensitivity to allergy? Atopic dermatitis is by definition an allergy to an environmental allergen rather than food albeit I often put atopic dogs on a hypoallergenic diet as well as improve parasite control to lower the overall immune system load.

Allergy testing is useless for food allergies/intolerance/hypersensitivity the only thing that works is an exclusion trial.

A lot of this is driven by the obsession for fad diets and and excuses for dietary failings in humans. Lactose and wheat allergies are probably massively over 'diagnosed'. Still it makes money for the purveyors of quinoa and soya milk.

RE: How common are food hypersensitivities?

Neil Wheadon — Tue, 15 Nov 2016 11:04:20 GMT

I agree with Bob.

How common are these? The figure I read was 15% of atopy cases, in reality far lower?

Any thoughts? Lots of allergy testing out there, any feelings on this?

Neil