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Why are people allergic to dogs?
It might feel as if your dog allergy starts in your eyes or nose but it’s actually your immune system. The immune system is there to protect your body from bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. Sometimes it overreacts and mistakes a harmless substance like dead skin shed by a pet for a threat. It produces antibodies called Immunoglobulin E (IgE) ready to fight back the next time you meet the allergen. When you do, the antibodies trigger the release of chemicals including histamine, leaving you with allergy symptoms.
Have you stopped visiting someone because you always sneeze at their house and think it might be their pet? Do the kids come home with the sniffles or a blocked nose after playing with a friend’s new puppy? And still pester you to get a puppy too? If so, this article is for you. Read on to find out more about dog allergies: what causes it, the symptoms and how to reduce your allergic reactions.
Allergic to dogs: common symptoms
Your dog allergy symptoms might feel like yet another cold. One that doesn’t disappear after a week or so. It’s called perennial or persistent allergic rhinitis. Breathing in dog allergens causes inflammation in the lining of your eyes and nose. This is what it could feel like:
People with allergies may find a blocked nose disrupts sleep. That can leave you low on energy and struggling to focus at work or school.
But you might have a different experience to someone else who is also allergic to dogs. It may not take much to trigger an allergic reaction. A simple scratch from a dog or a lick could cause skin rashes. You may get itchy eyes after petting a dog and then touching your eyes. Symptoms might appear very quickly or a few days later, depending on allergen levels and how sensitive you are.
What is allergyimmunotherapy exactly?
What is allergyimmunotherapy exactly?
Am I Allergic To Dogs? | Humain Health
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Allergies to cats and dogs are common, and symptoms range from mild to severe. These symptoms can include hay fever, asthma and hives. While avoiding exposure is the simplest solution, treatment can help you manage your contact with pets.
Pet allergies occur when the immune system reacts to the saliva, dead skin cells (dander) or urine of pets.
About 1 in 5 people have a pet allergy. Most are allergic to cats or dogs, but you can also be allergic to other domestic animals, such as guinea pigs, mice, rats, horses and birds. Allergies are particularly common in people who handle pets as part of their job. Some people are allergic to more than one animal.
People with a pet allergy are also likely to have other allergies — for example, to pollen and dust mites. Pet allergies can develop at any time during childhood or adulthood, but some people will grow out of them.
Pet allergens (the substances that cause the allergic reaction) are most concentrated in homes with pets. But they are also found in buildings and public spaces without pets.
The main source of dog allergen is saliva, either directly from licking or from being transferred to their dander or hair. Cat allergens mainly come from glands in their skin and are spread through licking and grooming.
Pet allergens are sticky and can remain for months or years after a pet has gone. They can become airborne and attach to clothes and hair.
People can become sensitive to, or have an allergic reaction to, cats or dogs without ever having owned a pet.
Symptoms might appear as soon as you pat a cat or dog, or they might take a few hours to appear.
Pet allergies are rarely life-threatening. But if you think someone is having a severe reaction such as anaphylaxis, and their breathing is affected, call triple zero (000) and ask for an ambulance.
A diagnosis of pet allergy is made based on your medical history and a physical examination. Your doctor might refer you to an allergy specialist for a skin-prick test or blood test for confirmation.
Avoid online or over-the-counter allergy test kits or other unconventional allergy tests. Many are not evidence-based, and don’t provide accurate results.
In particular, avoid unproven tests and treatments such as applied kinesiology, the Vega test, hair analysis, serum-specific IgG tests, Nambudripads Allergy Elimination Techniques (NAET), and cytotoxic tests such as ALCAT, FACT and Bryan’s test.
The best solution to pet allergies is to avoid exposure — for example, by not having a pet in your home. Often, the only solution is to find the pet a new home. You should also avoid smoking, as this makes allergies more likely to develop.
Washing the pet, restricting it to one area of the house, using high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) cleaners and removing carpet haven’t been shown to work.
If you have a pet allergy, always wash your hands after touching the animal and never let it into your bedroom.
If you can’t avoid exposure, you might be able to treat the symptoms with medication, such as:
Another option is immunotherapy, which is also known as desensitisation. Its offered by a specialist known as an immunologist, and takes 3 to 5 years to complete.
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