Reduce the allergens and your symptoms
If you are allergic to your pet and your reactions aren’t life-threatening, there are many ways to reduce indoor allergens and allergy symptoms so you and your pet can live together more comfortably.
If your or a family members allergies are simply miserable, but not life-threatening, take these five steps to reduce the symptoms:
1. Create an “allergy free” zone in your home—preferably the allergic persons bedroom—and strictly prohibit the pets access to it. Use a high-efficiency HEPA air cleaner, and consider using impermeable covers for the mattress and pillows.
2. Use HEPA air cleaners throughout the rest of the home, and avoid dust-and-dander-catching furnishings such as cloth curtains and blinds and carpeted floors. Clean frequently and thoroughly to remove dust and dander, washing articles such as couch covers and pillows, curtains, and pet beds.
3. Bathe your pet on a weekly basis to reduce the level of allergy-causing dander (shed old skin cells). Cats can get used to being bathed, but its critical to only use products labeled for them; kittens may need a shampoo safe for kittens. Check with your veterinarians staff or a good book on pet care for directions about safe bathing, Its a good idea to use a shampoo recommended by your veterinarian or other animal care professional.
4. Dont be quick to blame the family pet for allergies. Ask your allergist to specifically test for allergies to pet dander. Many allergy sufferers are sensitive to more than one allergen. Reduce the overall allergen level in your environment by concentrating on all of the causes, not just the pet allergy.
5. Try treatments. Additional treatments for allergies to pets are include immunotherapy (allergy shots), steroidal and antihistamine nose sprays and antihistamine pills. It is important to find an allergist who understands your commitment to living with your pet. A combination of approaches—medical control of symptoms, good housecleaning methods, and immunotherapy—is most likely to succeed in allowing an allergic person to live with pets.
How can I prevent pet allergies?
The best way to prevent pet allergies is to avoid animals that trigger allergic reactions. You can also take antihistamines daily to help control your pet allergy symptoms and reduce your allergic reaction.
If avoiding pets isn’t possible, the following tips can help prevent symptoms or reduce the severity of your symptoms.
In severe cases, you may need to find a new home for your pet.
What can I expect if I have pet allergies?
Living with a pet allergy can be challenging. Most symptoms are mild, but some may cause breathing problems. Most people can control their pet allergies with medications.
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Allergies in pets can be quite like those in humans. They are an overreaction of the immune system again commonly encountered things in the environment. These can include pollen from grass and trees, fungus in the surroundings, house dust mites and animal dander within our houses to name a few common “allergy triggers”.
Symptoms exhibited can vary from one individual to the next. Skin itchiness, skin rashes, respiratory signs, water eyes are some possibilities. Some pets may show all these symptoms, as well as additional signs such as hives and ear infections. Dogs are especially more prone to skin infection and ear infection from allergies, as compared to humans and cats.
In dogs and cats, allergies can be seasonal and restricted to one or two seasons of the year. Or, allergy symptoms may be year-round!
Pets with year round allergies will exhibit year round allergy signs. The symptoms do not have to be equally mild or severe throughout the year though! Often, year round allergic pets will have seasons of “allergic flares” where their symptoms tend to worsen, compared to the rest of the year.
Seasonal allergies can be just that—seasonal. This means they occur only during certain times of year. Do keep in mind that seasonal allergies may progress from seasonal to non-seasonal. Also, if a pet exhibits allergy related problems in one season, this does not rule out milder allergies in other seasons (also called, subclinical symptoms; or symptoms that do not necessarily need medical help). To figure out what may be causing allergy symptoms in a pet, looking at the exact time of year in which your pet’s allergies occur can be helpful.
Tree pollen allergies are most relevant in the spring season. And these allergies can be quite intense, as tree pollen can be flying everywhere! Grass and weed pollen are “warm weather” allergens, as these plants pollinate in the warmer months including early fall. Environmental molds can be strictly seasonal, or may be a year round allergen, depending on where you live.
Mild and moist weather such as in Vancouver and Surrey can mean environmental mold is a year round problem, though worse from fall through spring. It is a more seasonal problem in Victoria and strictly seasonal in Saskatoon and Winnipeg, coinciding with snow mould!
House dust mites and human dander (as well as dander from other pets) are year round allergens. These form a normal component of our and our pet’s environment, no matter how clean the house may be! In certain home environments, these allergens may be most impactful during fall and winter months.
If your dog or cat has more than one of the above allergies, their allergies naturally become more complicated. It will become tough to follow and predict the season in which their allergy triggers and allergy flares happen. Your pet may transition from one allergy to another, without change in their symptoms. To further complicate allergies, inflammation from itchiness and skin infection can also limit your ability to follow seasonal changes.