26% of European adults coming to the clinic for suspected allergy to inhalant allergens are sensitised to cats and 27% to dogs (Consensus document on dog and cat allergy http://bit.ly/2qYqzMQ).From CNN:
Consider the facts:
- 10 million American pet owners have allergies
- Allergies caused by protein in animal dander, saliva or urine, not by hair
- Belief that certain breeds are hypoallergenic is "a complete misconception"
- Medications available to treat symptoms, but best remedy is not to have pets
Patients' opinion:
Like the 10 million American pet owners with allergies, the Coronados faced a dilemma: Can human and dog co-exist in the same house? "Our lives are so enriched because we have dogs and cats," she said.
Doctors' opinion:
"There's nothing that can be done except for avoidance. There's no cure. You're exposing yourself to high levels of allergens in your home. We generally recommend they should not have a pet. It's not recommended."
However, fewer than 50% of cat-allergic individuals report direct cat exposure (at home or elsewhere) (JACI, 2012).
More recently from WSJ: Pet Allergies No Deterrent for Determined Owners - Many endure wheezing, hives and more - WSJ http://buff.ly/1bSE7ZK
Mind map: Indoor allergens (click to enlarge the image).
Mind map: Animal Dander Avoidance (click to enlarge the image).
See more Allergy and Immunology mind maps at AllergyCases.org.
References
Allergic and wheezing, but still keeping pets. CNN, 12/2008.
CNN: What to do if you're allergic to your pet http://bit.ly/Eu74n
From the Blogosphere: Barrack Obama's Daughter Has Asthma, Gets a Hypoallergenic Dog
Indoor Allergen Avoidance. Allergy Cases.
Nonallergenic Dog? Not Really. NYTimes, 1997.
Hypoallergenic dogs won't help allergy sufferers much, says study http://goo.gl/KBr6W
Dealbreaker: He's Allergic to My Cat. GOOD magazine, 2012.
"You might think you’ve found the perfect dog or cat to suit your allergies, but experts say it doesn’t exist" http://goo.gl/9zUq3
Hypoallergenic dog breeds, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Image source: Yellow Labrador Retriever, Wikipedia, GNU Free Documentation License.
Fascinating. I was always told that certain dogs were hypoallergenic because they had "hair" as opposed to "fur".
ReplyDeleteFrom my own experience, as an allergy sufferer, I can bury my nose in a poodle for hours without so much as a sniffle. Same thing with coton de tulear. But one whiff of a hound-type dog and my eyes start itching and my nose runs. Labs and such are somewhere in between. As a child, even our chihuahua set off my allergies, if I let it lick me too much or if it slept on my pillow.
Cats, on the other hand, should be outlawed. In our family, we refer to allergies as "cat-nose" ;-)