Nutritional support for allergy treatment

Allergies, while common, are frustrating for vets as well as pets and their people.  They require ongoing, multimodal management strategies. Successful management relies on making it as easy as possible for owners to comply with your therapeutic plan, and with all the options available it can be easy to overlook the importance of including nutrition in your treatment plan.

Owners of allergic pets commonly reach out for virtual care appointments and Vetster is a perfect match for providing this type of service:

• The convenience of having the pet seen at home
• Our easy scheduling, especially when multiple rechecks are necessary
• The need to adjust the treatment plan over time/seasons
• Seamless access to therapeutic options through Vetster Rx
• Our ever-expanding library of client education content

With allergy management being so complicated, it’s easy to overlook the role of nutrition in your therapeutic plan. While the incidence of cutaneous adverse food reactions isn’t completely understood,approximately ⅓ of atopic dogs are estimated to experience them. This means it’s important to consider the possible benefit of a limited-ingredient or hydrolyzed diet for all atopic pets. Clients are keen to hear your advice and want to make the best decisions when choosing their pet’s food, so we encourage you to provide this valuable and in-demand service.

When you provide virtual care to allergic pets on Vetster, it’s easy to see the pet frequently, engage in a 2-way exchange of information with the owner, provide valuable client education, monitor progress, and adjust the treatment plan. VetsterRx online pharmacy fulfilled by PetMedsⓇ makes it even easier to provide your clients with a top-tier virtual experience and drive value through nutrition coaching.

Clients want convenient access to the products they need to keep their pets happy and healthy, so if you’re reaching for VetsterRx to recommend allergy medications like Apoquel, Atopic, prednisone, or hydroxyzine, remember to also consider the role nutrition plays in the management of allergic skin disease.  We offer a variety of hydrolyzed and limited ingredient therapeutic diets that may be beneficial for your allergic patients.

Your clients want the best for their pets with allergic skin disease, and nutritional management with hydrolyzed and novel protein diets is one of the keys to success. Be sure to discuss the nutritional options available through VetsterRx with your clients as many of them are keen to hear your advice on the topic.  Remember also to take advantage of our quick and easy in-app feature to request a recheck so you can provide the ongoing support pet owners need to succeed.

Still hungry for more nutrition and allergy information? Check out these great stats and sources curated by our medical director, Dr. Matt Spiegle:

• Approximately 90% of animals with food allergies will respond to a hypoallergenic diet trial within 8 weeks.
• The most common food allergens in dogs are chicken, beef, and dairy.
• The most common food allergens for cats are beef, fish, and dairy.
• A hypoallergenic diet can significantly reduce itchiness and the need for medications in dogs with environmental allergies.
• Studies have shown that the only reliable test for a food allergy is a diet trial with a hypoallergenic diet.
• Dermatology cases make up 21.4% of cases presented to veterinary clinics and are second only to wellness/vaccine appointments.
• Olivry, T., Mueller, R.S. & Prélaud, P. Critically appraised topic on adverse food reactions of companion animals (1): duration of elimination diets. BMC Vet Res 11, 225 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-015-0541-3
• Watson, A., Rostaher, A., Fischer, N. M., & Favrot, C. (2022). A novel therapeutic diet can significantly reduce the medication score and pruritus of dogs with atopic dermatitis during a nine-month controlled study. Veterinary Dermatology, 33(1), 55-e18. https://doi.org/10.1111/vde.13020
• Hill PB, Lo A, Eden CA, Huntley S, Morey V, Ramsey S, Richardson C, Smith DJ, Sutton C, Taylor MD, Thorpe E, Tidmarsh R, Williams V. Survey of the prevalence, diagnosis and treatment of dermatological conditions in small animals in general practice. Vet Rec. 2006 Apr 22;158(16):533-9. doi: 10.1136/vr.158.16.533. Erratum in: Vet Rec. 2006 Jun 3;158(22):763. PMID: 16632525.