Sneezing and itchy eyes after a shift in the pig barn, or a cough that only shows up on the farm? Pig skin and hair carry allergens, but a pig house holds plenty of other irritants too. Our test checks your blood for IgE to pig epithelium as part of 300 allergens and allergen components, next to cattle, storage mites, moulds and pork.
Pigs shed tiny flakes of skin and hair, called dander. In a closed pig house these mix with feed dust, dried manure, bacteria, ammonia and mould spores. The result is a dusty, irritating atmosphere.
Not every cough or runny nose in a pig barn is allergic. Organic dust and ammonia can irritate the airways of anyone who breathes them in for long enough. An IgE result helps separate the two: it shows whether your blood reacts to pig proteins specifically.
People sensitised to pig commonly report sneezing, a runny or blocked nose and itchy, watery eyes in the barn. Some get itchy skin on the hands and arms. People with asthma may notice cough, wheeze or a tight chest that improves on days away from the farm.
Feed and bedding bring storage mites, grain dust and moulds into the barn. These are known farm allergens in their own right and sit on the same panel.
Breathing in pig dander and eating pork are different exposures. Most people sensitised to pig dander eat pork without trouble.
There is one known link. Pork contains pig serum albumin, which looks a lot like cat serum albumin. Some people sensitised to cat albumin react to pork, mostly to undercooked or dried pork. This is called pork-cat syndrome. The panel reports pork serum albumin and cat albumin on their own lines, so the pattern is visible in one report.
From your finger-prick sample, the lab measures IgE to a pig epithelium extract as part of 300 allergens and allergen components. A positive result shows sensitisation, not a confirmed allergy. Your report gives the value a class from Negative to Very high. If you have symptoms at work, take it to your occupational health service or a doctor.
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One finger-prick sample checks IgE to 300 allergens and allergen components, from birch and peanut to cat and house dust mite. Post it to the lab, and about 5 days after it arrives you get a value for every one. Our plain-English guide shows you how to read them. €399 in total, €1.33 per allergen.
Yes. Pig dander carries proteins that can cause sensitisation, which matters most for people who work with pigs. A blood test shows whether you have IgE to pig epithelium. A doctor puts that next to your symptoms.
Pig houses contain organic dust, ammonia and bacterial particles that can irritate anyone's airways. An IgE test shows whether your blood reacts to pig proteins specifically. For symptoms at work, see your occupational health service or a doctor.
Most people sensitised to pig dander eat pork without problems. The known exception is pork-cat syndrome, linked to serum albumin. Our panel reports pork serum albumin separately, so you can see it next to your pig dander result.
