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Animal allergies: what if your diagnosis is wrong?
10 avril 2026
By Ana Espino | Published on April 10, 2026 | 3 min readAllergies to domestic animals—particularly cats, dogs, and horses—are a major cause of allergic rhinitis and asthma, especially in children. Exposure to allergens is frequent and widespread, even in the absence of direct contact with animals, due to passive transfer mechanisms. Diagnostic strategies mainly rely on skin tests and specific IgE
By Ana Espino | Published on April 10, 2026 | 3 min read
Allergies to domestic animals—particularly cats, dogs, and horses—are a major cause of allergic rhinitis and asthma, especially in children. Exposure to allergens is frequent and widespread, even in the absence of direct contact with animals, due to passive transfer mechanisms.
Diagnostic strategies mainly rely on skin tests and specific IgE measurements, but these approaches have significant limitations. They cannot reliably distinguish between primary sensitization and cross-sensitization, increasing the risk of diagnostic errors.
Allergies to domestic animals—particularly cats, dogs, and horses—are a major cause of allergic rhinitis and asthma, especially in children. Exposure to allergens is frequent and widespread, even in the absence of direct contact with animals, due to passive transfer mechanisms.
Diagnostic strategies mainly rely on skin tests and specific IgE measurements, but these approaches have significant limitations. They cannot reliably distinguish between primary sensitization and cross-sensitization, increasing the risk of diagnostic errors.
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Scientific reference
Koçali B, et al. Cat, dog, and horse allergies: emerging new insights. Turk J Pediatr. 2025 Sep 1;67(4):445-454. doi: 10.24953/turkjpediatr.2025.5754. PMID: 40925039
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