FaunaClassifieds - View Single Post - Can I Develop Allergies to Reptile or Amphibian? The Answer is actually yes!
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Old 02-01-2010, 02:01 PM   #12
Olexian Pro
As for immune hypersensitivity, one of the current treatment modalities would by that of immunotherapy where the goal of therapy is desensitization. To achieve this, the patient is subjected to intradermal skin testing where bleb injections are administered beneith the skin containing antigens that have been isolated from a variety of substances, some of which may be known to cause clinical signs of hypersensitivity in that individual. Positive and negative controls are also applied concurrently. Once administered, a given period of time is allowed to elapse and the bleps that form on the surface of the skin are then measured to see if swelling has occurred as a result of allergic inflammation.

Once the eliciting substances have been identified, vaccines are prepared for subcutaneous injection containing the same antigens which have been diluted so much, that the concentration present is not high enough to elicit a strong/dangerous immune reaction. These vaccines are then administered over a given period of time and the concentration within the vaccine is gradually increased as time progresses. Doing so allows the hosts immune system time to develop a tolerance to the antigens. As the concentration of the antigen contained increases, so does the bodies tolerance to that antigen, until the individual becomes so tolerant that they no longer react when exposed to the antigen that previously caused an allergic reaction.