STUDENT(S): Ciara Milicevic
FACULTY MENTOR: Dr. Johnathan Canton
EXTERNAL MENTOR: Dr. Becky Valentine

Environmental allergies are on the rise — in part, due to climate change and urbanization, impacting pollen count and air quality. However, allergens can be found in pet owners’ homes, such as pollen, dander, molds, and cleaning solutions. Prescribed drugs are utilized for such allergies, like steroids or specific anti-allergy drugs (Atopica, Apoquel, or Cytopoint). These medications help soothe symptoms of allergies, but don’t solve the underlying problem. In fact, over time, they stop working as effectively, and symptoms can recur. In addition to the expense of medications, pet owners are at a disadvantage for long term treatment. Allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT) is a drug-free method to reduce (or get rid of) environmental allergies. This involves identifying what the patient is allergic to, then giving small doses of these allergens via an allergy shot. Over time, the immune system develops a tolerance and no longer reacts to the allergens. Initially, ASIT is expensive, and it can take up to a year to see improvement, however it is the only long-term/permanent solution to environmental allergies. Considering cost of allergy medications across a pet’s lifespan, ASIT could be cheaper long term. Additionally, ASIT is shown to have fewer side effects compared to allergy medications.

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