"Michelle and Barack Obama's daughter Malia suffers from asthma, and they do everything they can to keep their house dust-free and dander-free.
When the Obama family decided to enter the Presidential race, they made a deal that their daughters could get a dog. After some research, the parents opted for a hypoallergenic dog - a soft-coated, Wheaten terrier - that does not trigger Malia's asthma."
Update 2013: They actually received as a gift a Portuguese water hound. Also, as he signed the "epineprine in school" act, Barack Obama announced that Malia has peanut allergy.
Mind map: Indoor allergens
Mind map: Animal Dander Avoidance
See more Allergy and Immunology mind maps at AllergyCases.org.
Updates:
wheezemdPlease STOP! There is no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog. I don't know where our President is getting his advise on allergy.wheezemdSee this 1997 NYT article. It is still valid today on hypoallergenic dogs. http://is.gd/s54wwheezemdThe bottomline is that each dog, not breed, may produce different levels of allergen. Who knows Bo's level.Related:
Indoor Allergen Avoidance. Allergy Cases.
Nonallergenic Dog? Not Really. NYTimes, 1997.
CNN: What to do if you're allergic to your pet http://bit.ly/Eu74n
Updated: 08/12/2009
I have terrible allergies but I wanted a dog when I was a kid but these dogs were not known about back then (1979-1984) I hope Malia gets her dog.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing!
Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a truly non-allergenic or hypoallergenic dog. All dogs (and cats for that matter) produce allergenic proteins that can be found in their dander and saliva, regardless of their breed or the length and color of their hair, or lack thereof. Some may produce more - or less - allergens than others simply because of their individual characteristic.
ReplyDelete@A Sancio, MD - wow, thank you. I never considered a dog even with what the dog breeders have been saying. I appreciate you sharing the problems with the proteins found in dander and saliva. That makes sense why the dog is not truly non-allergenic.
ReplyDelete