Pet allergy elegy

There is a wide range of known hypersensitivity ranging from mild irritating signs such as an itchy skin to near life-threatening symptoms such as breathing difficulty requiring urgent medical attention. It is, thus, disconcerting to be an animal lover and exhibit any symptom that makes life unbearable when in close contact with a dog, horse, rat or cat.

The allergy may be to the pet’s saliva, animal hair, skin cells, usually dandruff, or urine. Known as dander, it is more of a health threat because it is very small and can remain airborne for prolonged periods of time, especially with the slightest detectable circulation of air currents. Dander can easily contaminate certain furniture material and adhere to various types of clothing. In each human, the causative factor, symptom and duration of response can vary considerably. One person reacting adversely to licking by a dog may display the same allergy symptoms as another having a few strands of cat hair on their body surface.

Obviously the best cure for such a problem is to have no access to what one is allergic to. For many people, not owning a pet can leave a serious void in their lives. For some people, having no pets is unthinkable and unbearable. Some people are determined enough to remain on medication at all times in order to maintain the meaningful, valuable and highly beneficial bond and interaction with a preferred animal.

The symptoms can be typical of most allergies such as hay fever, which includes upper respiratory adverse reactions such as postnasal drip, itchiness in the mouth, throat or nasal passages which further precipitate congested sinuses, nasal discharge and excessive sneezing. This can, in addition, include congested, itchy, swollen eyelids and watery eyes.

Coughing, insomnia, asthma, chest pains and respiratory difficulty can further make life very uncomfortable and untenable. In people with a compromised immune system an allergic eczema may cause severe itchiness and urticaria. It is important to determine, with the aid of a doctor, if such unhealthy signs are definitely as a result of exposure to animals, an allergy due to some other cause or the early stages of a virus infection.

In essence, allergy sufferers’ immune systems create antibodies that identify certain substances or tissues as harmful to the system even though they are not. When the person with an allergy inhales or has direct contact with the causative allergen, their immune system produces an inflammatory response. Lengthy or regular exposure can induce asthma.

Allergies to pets are most likely if the tendency towards being sensitive is hereditary. Recent research is proving that the chance of developing allergies is greatly enhanced if a child is not exposed to pets before one year of age. So, early exposure to pets is a benefit for kids. More allergies occur today than ever before, because parents overprotect their children.

This modern parental approach is not only creating a variety of allergy problems for later life, but is seriously compromising the immunity of children to a whole host of other environmental factors. Some of the complications to pet allergies include secondary bacterial infection.

Read more on this topic next week.