Cats, dogs, and allergies

Thursday, November 8, 2018

Cats can be oh so cute and cuddly but for some people they mean red watery itchy eyes and itching. itching, runny nose, skin rashes, and asthma. In the case of cat allergies, allergens can come from your cat’s dander (dead skin), fur, saliva, and even their urine. Breathing in pet dander or coming into contact with these allergens can cause an allergic reaction.

To prevent allergies such as this try to have pet free areas in the home. Clean more often. Medication can help.

Sometimes you may develop an immunity to the cat allergens but in others it can get way worse do don’t depend on this happening.

You don’t have to have or own cat to be exposed to the allergens since the allergens can travel attached to a person’s clothes and it may not appear for many days. Common signs of the cat allergy can happen after you come in contact with cat saliva, cat fur, cat dander or cat urine. Most people react with the cat saliva and skin and it is usually most common around male cats. It can happen when grooming the cat. It can lead to eye and nose irritation and eye inflammation or stuffy nose or rashes in upper parts of a body.

Sometime there is fatigue in untreated allergies. Also there may be coughing and postnasal trips. However fevers and chills, nausea and vomiting is usually associated with an actual illness. The reason you have the symptoms you have may be due to the combination of allergies and allergens interacting and causing coughing and issues with breath.

Try to avoid coming in contact with cats and removing carpeting or furniture that has cloth. It can help to wash covers and rugs frequently in hot water.

Use vent covers to prevent the cat fur and dander from blowing around the house.

Reduce the humidity level and change your filters often.
Also vacuum and use a face mask when doing so.
Get someone who is not allergic to help you do this.

Here are some useful articles:
https://www.healthline.com/health/living-with-severe-allergies#3

http://www.aafa.org/pet-dog-cat-allergies/

These articles mention to:

Make sure to reduce exposure to the allergen as much as possible. Get tested first.

Anaphylaxis is often also seen when there is throat swelling, face swelling, hives.

I was reading this Healthline article when preparing this article and did not know that exercise can also induce some symptoms of anaphylaxis where it says “Common causes of anaphylaxis include medication, peanuts, tree nuts, insect stings, fish, shellfish, and milk. Other causes may include exercise and latex”. Source: https://www.healthline.com/health/anaphylaxis#causes

In some cases at a medical center they apply adrenaline aka epinephrine to reduce the allergy reaction. Sometimes they also provide other items like antihistamines, oxygen, cortisone and inhalers. The reason for the adrenaline hormone is it can increase blood flow through out your body to reduce the response and stop the spread of inflammation. So be sure to check for shortness of breath. Bleeding into tissues can also occur in a severe reaction from blood leaking from tissues. Headaches can also happen.

Healthline.com says ” Once your body has experienced an allergic reaction to an allergen, it becomes much more sensitive to that allergen” meaning that “even small exposures can potentially trigger severe reactions.”
https://www.healthline.com/health/allergies/timeline-anaphylactic-reaction#make-a-plan

See also the article about -delayed reactions-.

What is dander? Dander is defined as material that is shed from the body of humans and animals that have fur or hair or feathers. These are often the outer skin flakes. It is often small and only able to be seen under a microscope. It is transferred through the air and can become food for dust mites. This combination or alone can cause allergies. Often this pile up of particles is found in rugs, carpets, pillows and mattresses. Usually older animals have more dander than younger. Good vacuums will have HEPA filters to prevent it from being reintroduced into the air again.

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Wikipedia has an article on why humans become allergic to certain proteins secreted from cat pores and saliva. This is said to cause on to cough, itch, has nasal issues, rashes, watering eyes, sneezing, chapped lips. It can also sometimes cause anaphylaxis. It is not as wide know as nut and dairy and other food allergies.

Apparently I’ve been having red itchy watery eyes all this time and hives or rashes. It resembles food allergies.

Cleaning a pet often is important.

Supposedly some version of cats are know for being less allergic. However there is not enough evidence done on this.

There was also a study that says that:
Female cats have less allergens than males
Neutered males have less allergens than unneutered
Darker-colored cats may cause people to be more allergic although a later study refuted refuted this.

Pet allergy symptoms can be similar to hay fever symptoms which include sneezing, coughing, runny nose, scratchy throat or mouth, or itchy, red or watering eyes. Just being around pets can also sometimes trigger wheezing or difficulty breathing.

Reptile pets don’t often cause allergies I read, normally ones with fur.

You can be allergic to pets even if they aren’t there because their allergens accumulate in cloth and textiles. That’s why hardwood floors and regular cleaning and air filters are recommended.

Rhinitis affects usually eye, nose, ear, throat, skin and roof of mouth