Pets are an integral part of many people’s lives. However, for the near 15 to 30 percent of people who suffer from a pet allergy (AAFA, 2005) interacting with pets can be a terrifying experience. A pet allergy is an allergic reaction to the dander or fluids from pets, most commonly from animals with fur or feathers. Because this dander can be found almost everywhere, including in the homes of those who don’t own pets, it is important that people with this allergy look into ways to minimize the effects on their daily lives. The following 5 tips provide valuable information to those who suffer from pet allergies.
1. Don’t own a pet.While this advice may seem overly obvious many individuals may not find out they have a pet allergy until after they have already owned a pet for a while. While it might be best for your allergy to get rid of your pet, that may not be the best for your quality of living as many individuals view pets as members of their family. Another alternative is owning a pet such as a lizard or snake as allergies to these are far more rare. So if getting rid of your pet isn’t an option make sure that you follow our other four tips.
2. Verify it is an actual allergy to pets.Although your symptoms may have not started until you owned the pet that is not a guarantee that it is a pet allergy. There are many allergens out there and the fact that your symptoms coincided with the arrival of your pet may be coincidental. This is why it’s important to verify with your doctor that your allergic reactions are actually a pet allergy and not something else.
3. Clean. Clean. Clean.Something many pet allergy sufferers learn is that they must continually clean their homes, even if they don’t own a pet. The reason for this is because the allergen from pets is quite sticky and will stick to walls, clothing, people and furniture, and takes a long time to dissipate on its own. This means that the most effective way to remove the dander from the environment is to deep clean their homes because even if they don’t own their own pet chances are they still picked up dander elsewhere during their daily routine and brought that back into the household.
4. Wash your hands.According to the AAFA 6 out of 10 people interact with a pet on a daily basis, which means that if you as an individual aren’t directly exposed to a pet, there is a high probability that someone you encountered during the day has interacted with a pet and therefore picked up the allergens. However, the simple act of thoroughly washing your hands will help remove the allergens that were picked throughout your day.
5. Utilize medication.If after verifying it is a pet allergy and doing your best to try and avoid the allergens as much as possible, you still suffer from symptoms trying over the counter medications such as Benadryl or Claritin could potentially relieve your symptoms and solve your problems. However, in some cases these over the counter medications may not be sufficient and in these instances you may need to visit your doctor and receive prescription medication to treat your symptoms.
Having a pet allergy doesn’t have to take away from your quality of life or even mean that you can no longer own a pet. It does however mean that you’ll need to take steps to ensure that this allergy does not negatively affect your health. Following the five tips listed above will help you manage your pet allergy symptoms.
For more information on treatment options for pet allergies contact one of our offices today.