Itching, skin redness and papules, coughing and rhinitis – these and other symptoms can unfortunately be caused by our four-legged friends.
- Take your sample at home – conveniently and discreetly
- Receive a state-of-the-art laboratory analysis
- Benefit from specific recommendations to reduce pet hair allergy symptoms
- Receive the result within a few days after your sample’s arrival at the laboratory
Information on pet hair allergy testing:
Take a blood sample
Using our pet hair allergy test kit, extract a few drops of blood from your fingertip painlessly with the lancets provided. Collect this blood on the dried blood spot card provided.
Activate yourPet Hair Allergy Test online
Activate the test ID listed on the test ID card in your secure My cerascreen® user profile on our website or on our app. You will then need to answer a few questions, so that we can send you personalised recommendations.
Send your blood sample
Send your sample to our laboratory free of charge in the enclosed return envelope. Your sample will be analysed in the medical laboratory.
Laboratory analysis
In our medical laboratory, Your sample will be analysed for the number of IgE antibodies specific to dog and cat hair allergies.
Results report
You will receive a personal report of the results, which will tell you whether you are sensitised to dog and cat hair and give you concrete advice on how to reduce the symptoms of pet hair allergy and improve the quality of your life around dogs.
High quality standards
The samples taken with the cerascreen® send-in tests are analysed in specialised diagnostic laboratories, with which doctors and clinics work as well. All of our laboratory partners meet our high quality standards.
Why test for an animal hair allergy?
One in three households has at least one cat or dog at home. But if you have an allergy, pets can cause discomfort and even increase the risk of asthma.
With the cerascreen® Pet Hair Allergy Test, you get a professional laboratory analysis, just like you would if you took an allergy test at your doctor’s – but without the waiting time and the appointment! With the cat and dog hair allergy test, you can take your sample discreetly and comfortably at home.
Benefit from our expertise: cerascreen® is the market leader for medical sample and test kits in Europe, with eight years of experience in test development and analysis. We have developed more than 50 approved send-in test kits (medical devices), evaluated 250,000 samples and serve 19 countries in Europe – and now the United States!
Your results report
We will inform you by email as soon as your Pet Hair Allergy Test sample has been analysed. You will receive your individual results report via the My cerascreen app or by logging in to your account on our website. View the report on your smartphone, tablet or computer, or simply print it out.
The lab test can tell you whether certain IgE antibodies in your blood indicate an allergy to dog or cat dander. Learn how to reduce the discomfort of a pet dander allergy in your everyday life with concrete recommendations and tips. And read about what happens to your body when allergies to dogs and cats develop.
FAQs about the Pet Hair Allergy Test
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Why get tested for animal hair allergies?
Dogs and cats are the most common pets. Our four-legged friends live together with humans in many households around the world. There’s a downside to this: allergies to pet hair are also very common.
If you want to get a pet, it is therefore worth checking whether you are allergic to pet hair. If you already have a cat or dog, allergies can reappear and cause discomfort. Even in this case, it is a good idea to get to the bottom of the allergy symptoms and be able to do something about them.
Untreated allergies that cause recurrent symptoms can increase the risk of allergic asthma.
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How does the Animal Hair Allergy Test work?
For the Animal Hair Allergy Test, take a small sample of blood from your fingertip with a lancet. The sample is sent to our specialised laboratory on the dried blood spot card provided in the test kit. The laboratory analyses your blood to determine the number of IgE antibodies that the immune system releases against dog dander and cat epithelium.
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What do the pet hair allergy test results tell you?
The Pet Hair Allergy Test results report indicates whether and to what extent you are sensitised to dog and cat dander.
If you are sensitised to pet dander, your immune system reacts to certain allergens by releasing more IgE antibodies. This does not automatically mean that you have an allergy. If additional symptoms appear when you encounter dogs or cats, you can assume that you have an allergy to animal hair.
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What recommendations will you receive after the pet hair allergy test?
If you do have an allergy, allergists generally recommend leaving your pet in good hands or not adopting one into your family if you are allergic.
Unfortunately, people who are allergic to cats usually react to all cats. You may have better luck with dogs: reactions often differ from one dog breed to another, and even from one animal to another. Some dog breeds are specially bred to shed very little hair and are less likely to cause allergic reactions. However, even with these hypoallergenic dogs, there is no guarantee that you won’t experience an allergic reaction.
The results report will give you advice on how to deal with an allergy to pet hair if you do not want to part with your pet or if you have to deal with cats or dogs regularly for other reasons. This mainly involves preventing pet dander from entering your bedroom and taking specific hygiene measures.
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What happens if you have an animal hair allergy?
If you suffer from an allergy, your body triggers an immune reaction when it encounters certain substances that are in fact harmless.
Strictly speaking, an allergy to animal hair is not an allergy to the hair of the animal itself. In dogs, you react to the dog’s dander. In cats, you react to the epithelium, the proteins in the saliva and the dander. In both cases, allergens attach themselves to the hair and are dispersed along with it.
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What are pet allergy symptoms?
Allergies to dogs and cats generally trigger the same symptoms. Allergy to pet hair is considered a respiratory allergy. Symptoms usually appear immediately or shortly after inhaling pet hair or getting it on the skin.
Typical symptoms of animal hair allergy are:
- itchiness, papules and redness on the skin (hives)
- red, itchy and watery eyes
- rhinitis, coughing and an itchy throat
In the long term, an allergy to animal dander can develop into allergic asthma – the risk is higher if you encounter the allergens often.
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How can I treat cat and dog allergy symptoms?
For temporary encounters with cats or dogs, you can take medication – antihistamines can suppress allergic reactions.
The only way to really treat an allergy is through hyposensitisation – also called specific immunotherapy. Doctors administer the allergen repeatedly over a period of two to three years. If the treatment is successful, your immune system becomes accustomed to the cat or dog dander, and you will no longer experience many allergic symptoms.
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For whom is the Pet Hair Allergy Test not appropriate?
The blood test is not or only partially suitable for certain groups of people:
- People with infectious diseases such as hepatitis and HIV should not perform the blood test.
- Pregnant and breastfeeding women should only perform the Animal Hair Allergy Test under medical supervision. Reference values and recommendations do not apply. You should therefore obtain recommendations on the test result from your doctor.
- The test is not suitable for children under the age of 18.
It is not intended to diagnose illness. If, for example, you suffer from severe pain, consult a doctor."
