Allergies: They're NOT Just
for Humans Anymore
Whether in human or companion animals, recent
research (Rastall, 2004) has shown that allergies are the result of both
genetics and environment. Genetics (DeBoer, 2004) predisposes a human or pet
to suffer from allergies, but the deal is clinched if they are raised in a
modern Westernized home. What does modernization have to do with allergies?
We will see that the cleanliness (comparatively speaking) and
energy-efficiency of the home has a direct influence on the development of
allergies in both humans and pets.
Although most of the published research in companion animal atopy, or
allergy, has been done in dogs, it can occur in cats, albeit, less often.
Research with dogs generally correlates to that done in humans (Rastall,
2004).
The development of the immune response in prenatal humans and dogs
A newborn baby or puppy is basically a clean slate, immunologically
speaking, everything is new and friends and foes have not been established
yet. The immune system builds a vocabulary, if you will, of ‘self’ and
‘non-self’ as it is bombarded with microorganisms and large protein
molecules from food. Eventually, the body learns to identify what organisms
in its body and environment are non-threatening, and screens these out.
Those non-threatening microorganisms and proteins do not set the innate
alarm bells clanging. Further modifications become necessary as the baby or
pet is weaned and begins to eat solid food.
Enter Westernization and increasingly energy-efficient homes.
Research (Leynaert et al., 2001; Douwes and Pierce, 2002; von Mutius, 2001)
has shown that humans or pets raised on farms, especially those that produce
livestock, have a lower incidence of asthma, which is also caused by
allergies. Why? Livestock farms are teeming with all kinds of microbial
life, children and pets continually come in contact with these
microorganisms, and as they do, their immune systems learn to see them as
non-threatening.
Compare this scenario to the modern middle-class home in America. Although
some homemakers are more obsessed than others regarding cleanliness, the
average home is cleaner than a livestock barn. Many children raised in
cities or suburbs never even get close to a cow or pig, unless it is in the
kitchen or on the grill. Any potentially beneficial or pathogenic bacteria
have (hopefully) been left at the plant.
With increasing energy costs, many have tried to either improve the current
efficiency of their homes, or moved to newer, more air-tight housing. This
means that even those microorganisms that may be in the neighborhood are
kept at bay. Add to this the habitual use of household cleaners, and you
have a home that is close to sterile in some cases.
Sum it all up and you have young children and puppies who only encounter a
limited number of microorganisms and proteins. In other words, their immune
system's ‘vocabulary’ is limited, and anything off this short list sets
immunological alarms blaring.
Food allergies (DeBoer, 2004) are provoked by large proteins, such as those
in meat, dairy products, fish, and some cereal grains. Generally, humans and
dogs are only allergic to one, or sometimes two, proteins or groups of
proteins.
Allergic reactions often mimic those of an insect infestation. Food
allergies in dogs manifest on the skin. Chronic itchiness leads to constant
scratching and biting, which destroys the skin’s natural defenses. Hair
loss, scaly skin, and yeast infections often begin as a simple food allergy.
Sometimes skin scrapings reveal the presence of parasitic insects such as
mites, and treatment misprescribed based on these finding, even though
allergies came first. Unless they are identified and the offending proteins
eliminated, any veterinary prescribed treatment will fail to cure the
problem.
Short and long term solutions
Allergens, both environmental and food, can be identified and avoided, if
possible. Environmental allergens are more difficult to avoid, but are
usually seasonal. These types of allergies may require regular steroids to
control the symptoms. Since protein is the culprit in food allergies, limit
your dog’s diet to one protein source (beef, pork, chicken, etc.) at a time
and watch how they react. The most common allergens are beef and dairy
proteins, followed by pork, chicken, fish, eggs, and cereal grains. You and
your pet will be much more comfortable once the offending protein(s) have
been identified and eliminated from the diet.
In the case of infants and puppies, research (Benyacoub et al., 2003;
Bracken et al., 2002; Nowak-Wegrzyn, 2003; Warner, 2004; Wood, 2006)
indicates that oral treatment with hypoallergenic probiotics such as
MSE
Hypo Defense can help teach the nascent immune system to be less
over-sensitive to ‘strange’ proteins. In effect, daily dosing with
probiotics from birth can emulate the variety of organisms and proteins that
might bombard a child or pet on a farm, but in the comparatively sterile
urban/suburban environment. There are other immune benefits from feeding
benign microorganisms such as Lactobacillus acidophilus (DeBoer, 2004;
Duggan et al., 2002).
If one or both parents of an infant or puppy have allergies, there is a good
chance that the offspring will be predisposed to them as well. In these
cases, preventative use of oral probiotics can mitigate the expression of
that predisposition. This must start within the first few weeks of life,
when the nascent immune system is still identifying friend and foe.
Allergies are serious business, they can open the flood gates of disease in
an otherwise healthy human of pet. They cause stress from chronic
discomfort, cause physical damage from scratching and/or biting, and occupy
the immune system when it needs to be looking out for more serious problems.
Diagnosis is often confused by secondary infestation, and may postpone
treatment for the initial problem. If the condition is caused by a food
allergy, the owner or parent can do the sleuthing themselves and discover
which item(s) provoke reactions. Both you and your pet will appreciate a
relief from all that scratching and digging.
References
DeBoer, D. J. 2004. Canine Atopic Dermatitis: New Targets, New Therapies. J.
Nutr., 134: 2056S - 2061S
http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/134/8/2056S
Douwes, and Pierce. 2002. Asthma and the westernization ‘package’. Douwes
and Pierce. Int. J. of Epidemiology 31:1098-1102.
http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/31/6/1098
Duggan, C., Gannon, J., and Walker, W. A. 2002. Protective nutrients and
functional foods for the gastrointestinal tract
Am. J. Clinical Nutrition, 75: 789 - 808.
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/75/5/789
Benyacoub, J., Czarnecki-Maulden, G. L., Christoph Cavadini, C., Sauthier,
T., Anderson, R. E. Schiffrin, E. J., and von der Weid, T. 2003.
Supplementation of Food with Enterococcus faecium (SF68) Stimulates Immune
Functions in Young Dogs. J. Nutr., 133: 1158 - 1162.
http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/133/4/1158
Bracken, M. B., Belanger, K. B., Cookson, W. O., Triche, E., Christiani, D.
C., and P. Leaderer, B. P. 2002. Genetic and Perinatal Risk Factors for
Asthma Onset and Severity: A Review and Theoretical Analysis. Epidemiol.
Rev., 24: 176 - 189.
http://epirev.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/24/2/176
Leynaert, B., , Neukirch, C., Jarvis, D., Chinn, S., Burney, P., and
Neukirch, F. 2001. Does Living on a Farm during Childhood Protect against
Asthma, Allergic Rhinitis, and Atopy in Adulthood? Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care
Med., 164: 1829 - 1834.
http://ajrccm.atsjournals.org/cgi/content/full/164/10/1829
Rastall. J. 2004. Bacteria in the gut: Friend or foe and how to alter the
balance. Nutr. 134:2022S-2026S.
http://jn.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/134/8/2022S
Nowak-Wegrzyn, A. 2003. Future Approaches to Food Allergy
Pediatrics, 111: 1672 - 1680.
http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/111/6/S2/1672
von Mutius, E. 2001. Infection: friend or foe in the development of atopy
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http://erj.ersjournals.com/cgi/content/full/18/5/744
Warner, J. O. 2004. The early life origins of asthma and related allergic
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http://adc.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/89/2/97
Weiss, S. T. 2002. Eat Dirt — The Hygiene Hypothesis and Allergic Diseases.
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http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/extract/347/12/930
Wood, R. A. 2006. Prospects for the Prevention of Allergy: A Losing Battle
or a Battle Still Worth Fighting? Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med, 160: 552 - 554.
http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/extract/160/5/552
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