How Do You Get Rid of Animal Dander?
If pet dander is so easily spread, how do you get rid of it? You can get rid of pet dander by grooming the pet to reduce the amount of dander produced, vacuuming frequently, using a HEPA air filter, Austin Air makes an air purifier just for pets, use anti-allergen sprays, and limiting where the pet goes.
Why isn’t everyone allergic to dogs?
Why isn’t everyone allergic to dogs if this Can f1 protein is so troublesome? Well, the immune system is a complex thing. What causes it to go into fight mode in some people barely registers a blip with others. To put it simply, some people’s immune systems do not consider the Can f1 protein harmful and just ignore its presence.
Children are more susceptible to developing allergies than adults since their immune systems are developing. Ironically, however, emerging research hints at lower rates of allergies in children aged 7 to 9 when they are exposed to pets from infancy.
Why is Pet Dander a Problem?
For people with allergies, pet dander is a real problem. Many people suffer from pet dander allergies. The dander contains a protein that causes allergic reactions.
In addition, the protein is also found in the urine and saliva of these animals as well. So, every time the animal empties it’s bladder the protein from the urine can stick to the skin.
Even if you take your dog outside and down the street to do its business, you are going to bring some of that allergen back inside in the form of tiny droplets of urine that touch the skin. Once that bit of skin is shed, it has a double dose of the protein that causes the allergic reaction. Dose one is the skin itself and dose two is the protein from the urine.
But wait, there’s more! The protein that causes allergic reactions is also found in the saliva of the animal too. Now every time the cat or dog (or rabbit or ferret) licks, it spreads the protein.
Since our pets bathe by licking their fur and skin, they add more of the allergy-causing protein. The skin that was groomed by the pet has a double dose of the protein thanks to the saliva.
When you inhale these tiny particles of skin, skin + urine, or skin + saliva your immune system thinks it is under attack by germs.
In allergic people, the immune system misidentifies these harmless proteins as evil invaders. It creates a specific antibody for the protein. The next time it sees the protein, it cues the antibody to start stimulating mast cells.
A cascade of reactions occurs and the result is one or more of these symptoms:
Now that is a problem. For as long as the exposure continues, the reaction continues. A prolonged allergy attack caused by the pet dander can lead to a secondary infection such as bronchitis, sinusitis, or otitis media (ear infection). Allergies can also trigger asthma.