Have Air Filter Will Travel
If you often visit friends or family with cats, but they don’t have a HEPA air purifier in the room where you’ll be staying, you may want to consider investing in a portable version. HEPA air cleaners, says AAAAI, can be a big help in removing unwanted allergenic particles from the air.
Small but powerful, HEPA air purifiers are available for under $200, and you can even use them to clean the air in your car.
“A HEPA filter is just great to have anyway,” said Waldron. “It’s good with pollen, it’s good for mold, it’s good for dust mite allergens.”
How Do You Know If You Are Allergic To Cats
Most people suspect they are allergic to cats based on the symptoms they experience when they are around cats. Symptoms alone, however, will not reveal which specific proteins a person is allergic to. Allergy tests, including blood tests or a skin prick test, can determine whether a person has a cat allergy.
A skin prick test involves placing a tiny amount of common cat allergen just underneath the skin, then waiting for a reaction. Blood tests can test for specific immune substances associated with cat and other allergies.
Knowing the specific proteins a person is allergic to can help with deciding on the right treatment. So people who have cat allergies but want to continue living with cats should see an allergist.
Understand Your Pet Allergies
It is important to see a doctor and be tested to determine what allergies you actually have. You may find that you’re allergic to something else and not your pet at all! For example, you may assume that you are allergic to your beloved dog, only to find out through an allergy test that you’re actually allergic to a specific tree pollen that got on his fur during a walk together, and that’s actually what’s bothering you.
If an allergy test shows that you are allergic to your pet, it is important to understand what causes your allergic reaction to them. There are allergy-triggering proteins called allergens in saliva and skin glands that cling to an animal’s dry skin and fur. The fur and dander then stick to walls, carpets and clothing.
The reaction of someone to these allergens is different from one person to the next. The reaction may range from mild sniffling and sneezing to life-threatening asthma. The reaction can be made worse if a person is additionally exposed to other things he is allergic too, such as pollen, dust mites, cigarette smoke, and mold.
Whether someone has an allergic reaction depends on both the individual person and the individual animal. A person with animal allergies may react less to dogs with soft, constantly growing hair, or one specific cat or dog may cause more or less of an allergic reaction than another animal of that same breed.
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Avoidance Techniques To Reduce Exposure To Pet Allergens
The following is a list of avoidance techniques you can use to reduce exposure to pet allergens , and thus reduce symptoms and/or the requirement for allergy medications:
- Bath the pet at least once or twice a week. A word of caution is in order with this recommendation. Some pets, especially cats, carry a strong dislike to baths, and caution is needed to avoid bites and scratches.
- Wipe down the pet using a wet cloth or baby wipes daily.
- Remove the pet from the bedroom close the bedroom door and air vents leading to the bedroom.
- Keep the pet outside, in the garage, or in a part of the home with an uncarpeted floor. This can depend on the climate in your area, and it’s important to consider whether this is fair to your pet as well.
- Vacuum frequently with a HEPA-equipped vacuum cleaner.
- Purchase a HEPA room air cleaner for use in the bedroom and/or other parts of the home .
Cat Allergy Management And Treatment
Avoidance is the best way to manage a cat allergy. If you have a cat and are allergic to cats, consider removing the cat from the home.
If you have a cat but dont want to find it a new home, or if your family wants a cat even though someone in the household is allergic, here are some strategies that may help keep symptoms at bay:
- Keep the cat out of your bedroom and restrict it to only a few rooms. Be advised that keeping the cat in only one room will not limit the allergens to that room.
- Dont pet, hug or kiss the cat if you do, wash your hands with soap and water.
- High-efficiency particulate air cleaners run continuously in a bedroom or living room can reduce allergen levels over time.
- Regular use of a high-efficiency vacuum cleaner or a central vacuum can reduce allergen levels.
- Giving your cat a bath at least once a week can reduce airborne cat allergen.
Treatments for cat allergy vary, depending on the symptoms.
Your allergist can help determine what treatment would be best to treat your cat allergy. Nasal symptoms often are treated with steroid nasal sprays, oral antihistamines or other oral medications. Eye symptoms are often treated with antihistamine eyedrops. Respiratory or asthma symptoms can be treated with inhaled corticosteroids or bronchodilators to either prevent or relieve respiratory symptoms.
Allergy shots are an effective treatment of allergies by building tolerance over time through gradually injecting increasing doses of an allergen.
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How Is Pet Allergy Diagnosed
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 dont provide accurate results.
In particular, avoid unproven tests and treatments such as applied kinesiology, the Vega test, hair analysis, serum-specific IgG tests, Nambudripad’s Allergy Elimination Techniques , and cytotoxic tests such as ALCAT, FACT and Bryans test.
See your doctor for advice.
How Long Do Pet Allergies Last After Exposure
Allergic symptoms will continue as long as the exposure continues. Once the allergen is removed, symptoms usually settle within a few hours but can last for 2-3 days, for example if there has been significant eye swelling, the use of antihistamines and on some occasions even oral steroids can help this settle more rapidly.
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Dog Allergy Management And Treatment
Avoidance is the best way to manage a dog allergy. If you have a dog and are allergic to dogs, consider removing the dog from the home.
If you have a dog but dont want to find it a new home, or if your family wants a dog even though someone in the household is allergic, here are some strategies that may help keep symptoms at bay:
- Keep the dog out of your bedroom and restrict it to only a few rooms. Be advised that keeping the dog in only one room will not limit the allergens to that room.
- Dont pet, hug or kiss the dog if you do, wash your hands with soap and water.
- High-efficiency particulate air cleaners run continuously in a bedroom or living room can reduce allergen levels over time.
- Regular use of a high-efficiency vacuum cleaner or a central vacuum can reduce allergen levels.
- Giving your dog a bath at least once a week can reduce airborne dog allergen.
Treatments for dog allergy vary, depending on the symptoms.
Your allergist can help determine what treatment would be best to treat your dog allergy. Nasal symptoms are often treated with steroid nasal sprays, oral antihistamines or other oral medications. Eye symptoms are often treated with antihistamine eyedrops. Respiratory or asthma symptoms can be treated with inhaled corticosteroids or bronchodilators to either prevent or relieve respiratory symptoms.
Allergy shots are an effective treatment of allergies by building tolerance over time through gradually injecting increasing doses of an allergen.
Hypopet Ag Vaccine Study
Scientists at a pharmaceutical company in Switzerland have announced the development of a conjugate vaccine called HypoCat that binds to and neutralizes the major cat allergen, Fel d1.
According to the studies recently performed, cats who received the HypoCat vaccine according to the protocol did indeed have lower levels of Fel d1 in the blood.
Although it is somewhat more subjective, the allergic humans involved in the study did show less allergic symptoms around the vaccinated cat compared to unvaccinated cats.
Due to the encouraging results, the Swiss company is moving ahead with registration studies and discussions to bring the vaccine to market in the US and Europe.
HypoPet is hoping to have their HypoCat vaccine on the market in 2022, and they also have a HypoDog vaccine in the pipeline too.
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What You Can Do:
1. Create an area in your home that is “allergy free”, preferably a bedroom or other room where pets are expressly forbidden and denied access. Keep the air clean in this room using a HEPA air cleaner.
2. Use HEPA air cleaners throughout the rest of the home, and avoid furnishings where dust and dander can more easily accumulate, such as cloth curtains and blinds and carpeted floors. Clean these areas frequently and thoroughly to remove dust and dander and prevent accumulation of these allergens. Frequently wash couch covers, pillows, curtains, area rugs and pet beds.
3. Bathing your pet on a weekly basis can greatly reduce the level of allergy-causing dander . Cats can get used to being bathed, but it’s critical to only use products labeled for them kittens may need a shampoo safe for kittens. Check with your veterinarian’s staff or a good book on pet care for directions about safe bathing, It is also a good idea to use a shampoo recommended by your veterinarian or other animal care professional.
Diagnosing Allergies In Cats
It can be difficult to pinpoint what a cat is allergic to. Elimination diets and exclusion trials with different cleaning products, food dishes, beds, and medications may be necessary to discover what causes an allergic reaction if the trigger isn’t obvious. Some blood and skin tests are available for detecting certain allergens.
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Vacuum And Dust Regularly
Vacuuming and dusting will help keep cat dander in your living space to a minimum and they dont have to be time-consuming chores! Try dusting methods that trap particles and use a HEPA filter on your vacuum cleaner and replace it appropriately. Otherwise, cleaning can kick up cat dander into the air and make your allergies worse.
Limiting Your Exposure To Allergens
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What Are The Symptoms Of Cat Allergy
Allergic symptoms of cat allergy can be mild, moderate, or severe, depending upon the individuals sensitivity and level of exposure. They can start within minutes of exposure or can be delayed and include:
- Sneezing
- Postnasal drip
- Cough
- Bronchospasm
You may not suffer from all of these symptoms at all times and you may not even realise that the cat can cause these symptoms.
If I Want To Keep My Pet Can I Take Steps To Reduce My Pet Allergy
Animals become a part of your family. If your allergy is manageable, you may want to keep your pet. Here are some ways to manage pet allergens in your home:
Reduce your exposure to pet allergens.
- Keep your pet out of bedrooms or places people sleep. You spend about one-third to one-half of your time there. If you have a bedroom door, keep it closed.
- Keep pets off fabric furniture.
- Have someone without a pet allergy brush the pet outside to remove fur. Ask them to clean the litter box, bedding, or cage. If you do the grooming and cleaning, wear a face mask and gloves.
- Wipe your pet down with pet-friendly wipes or towels after it has been outside to remove pollen and urine.
- Change your clothes and shower after you spend time with an animal.
- Wash your hands and face after petting or touching the pet, its cage, or bedding.
Clean and reduce allergens in your home.
- Wear a mask and gloves when cleaning.
- Remove dust on hard surfaces often with a damp cloth. A damp or microfiber cloth will help keep the pet dander and fur from going back into the air.
- Wipe down walls, cabinets, and floorboards with a damp cloth.
- When possible, choose furniture and window coverings that are not made of fabric.
- Use slipcovers on fabric furniture or cover with blankets that can be washed weekly.
- Vacuum fabric furniture and carpets weekly. Use a vacuum with a HEPA filter. CERTIFIED asthma & allergy friendly® vacuums meet AAFAs standards for vacuums.
Medical Review: June 2022 by John James, MD
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Living With Cat Allergies: Cleaning
Once you have a cat, diligence around the house is one of the keys to limiting allergies.
- Wipe down smooth surfaces in the home regularly. Microscopic dander can stick to any type of surface and is there even if you don’t see it.
- Use a vacuum with a filter and steam clean carpets often. Restricting the cat’s access to carpeted rooms will also help.
- Frequently wash any bedding or blankets that your cat sleeps on.
- Designate specific rooms, like the allergic person’s bedroom, as cat-free zones.
- Consider replacing upholstered furniture. Cloth-covered chairs and sofas can retain a lot of allergens and be difficult to clean. Either keep the cat off of upholstery or consider investing in wood, plastic or leather furniture that is easy to wipe clean.
- Take down your curtains. Like upholstered furniture, curtains can be a magnet for cat hair. Consider replacing them with blinds or other coverings that are easy to clean. If you decide to keep your curtains, launder them regularly.
- Invest in a HEPA filter. These can be attached to your furnace or air conditioner, or purify the air from a freestanding unit. Whatever model you get, their job is to reduce small particles in the air.
Rid Your Home Of Other Allergens
If you’re considering bringing a new pet into your home, first rid your home of as many other allergens as possible, including mites, dust, and mold. Most airborne allergens cling to soft material such as curtains and drapes, upholstery, and floor coverings. Here are common ways to clear your home of allergens:
- Substitute blinds for window coverings. If you rent, and can’t get permission to switch them, keep the curtains washed and frequently vacuum the drapes.
- If possible, replace overstuffed upholstered furniture with leather.
- Eliminate decorative scented candles, potpourri, and plug-in air fresheners, all of which can exacerbate allergy symptoms.
- Consider replacing wall-to-wall carpeting with wood or tile floors. Otherwise, thoroughly vacuum carpeting regularly.
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Maintaining An Optimal Environment