Taming Your Allergies to Your Pets

With more than 100 million cats and dogs in the United States, and an estimated 25 million Americans who are allergic to them, it is no surprise that there's a whole lot of sneezing going on.

People can develop allergies to any furred animal, including such common pets as dogs, hamsters, gerbils, rabbits, and horses. Cats are rightly blamed for many allergies because cat allergens are especially potent, and because people have such close contact with cats.

Don't Blame the Hair
Allergies are caused by exposure to proteins that are normally present in the animal's saliva or urine, or in secretions from glands in the skin. That's why an allergic person should never clean the pet's litter box. Contrary to popular belief, the animal's hair or dander do not themselves cause allergies, although they do make excellent airborne carriers for the offending proteins. Many experts say there is no good evidence that short-haired animals cause fewer allergies than long-haired, or that one breed is better than another.

Prevention is the Best Treatment
Allergists agree that the best treatment for animal allergies - as for all types of allergy - is avoiding the things that cause allergic reactions. But avoidance need not always mean living without pets, especially if the allergies are moderate. In his recent book, "Taming Asthma and Allergy by Controlling Your Environment", Dr. Robert A. Wood, director of the Pediatric Allergy Clinic at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, offers a simple avoidance strategy for those who have moderate animal allergies but don't want to give up their pets.

Although he recommends that the best tactic for eliminating as many animal allergens from the home as possible is to keep pets outside, this may be difficult in areas where animals cannot be kept comfortably or safely outdoors, or in households where there are already indoor pets.

Recommendations Include:

• Keep the pet outside whenever possible;
• Don't allow in carpeted areas of your home;
• Eliminate carpeting and upholstered furniture as much as possible, especially in your bedroom;
• Keep your bedroom door closed;
• Provide good ventilation;
• Use an air cleaner;
• Leave combing, grooming, and litter box clean up to non-allergic family members;
• Leave dust-intensive cleaning activities, especially vacuuming, to those family members who don't suffer from allergies.

Strategy 1: Avoid Allergen Exposure
Reduce the overall allergen burden in your home by restricting your pet to a non-carped area that is easily cleaned. Keeping the pet out of the bedroom and especially off the bed is a sensible strategy because that is where you spend the most time. Applying those rules consistently will make it easier for your pet to understand and learn them. Remove carpets and upholstered furniture. Once allergens get into them, they may remain as long as six months.

Strategy 2: Remove Allergens From the Air
Good ventilation and a high efficiency, whole house air cleaner help remove allergens already in the home. Vacuuming is not usually a good strategy for removal of allergens. In fact, if you are allergic you should not even be present during vacuuming; it can stir up more tiny allergy-causing particles than it removes.

Strategy 3: Groom Your Pet Regularly
You can help make your pet less of an allergy source by keeping him or her groomed and clean. Regular combing and bathing is recommended. Have a non-allergic person comb your pet with a fine-toothed comb away from the allergic person's sleeping area every day. A couple of minutes should be enough for a cat or small dog if you comb your pet regularly.

In addition, cleaning your pet once or twice a week with distilled water will help reduce the number of allergens it sheds. And, yes, even cats can have these simple baths. It's not as hard as it sounds!

Allergies can be a serious illness. See your doctor. You may be relieved to learn that your allergies are not caused by your pet at all, but by something else entirely.

This information is from information from Space-Gard, a company that makes high efficiency air cleaners.