Healthy Tips For Better Life

Pet Allergies Are Nothing to Sneeze At

You walk into your friends house and are introduced to their new addition to the family. The call him Rex and he's an adorable 10 week old black lab. He runs to you wagging his tail and searching for your attention. He's loving, playful and fun.

However, within minutes, while the fun for the dog continues, the fun for you stops. You begin to feel a scratch in your throat, your eyes start to water and you begin to sneeze continuously.

Pet allergies aren't fun for anyone who has them. Although the majority of us are free from allergies to pets, those who are unfortunate enough to have them will tell you that their allergic reactions can be quite problematic. Signs and symptoms of pet allergies can range from mild to severe. They include:

itching and burning eyes runny nose scratchy throat skin rashes hives sneezing swelling throatThe symptoms can even become more severe and advance to an asthmatic attack causing the individual to have difficulty with breathing.

While many people think that pet allergies are the result of the dog or cats hair, that really isn't the case. In fact, the main reasons for pet allergies are the reaction by the body to a protein in the animals dander or less commonly, saliva.

Since the dander or saliva can be extremely small, it floats through the air or attaches to clothes, furniture, etc. This is why allergies can even occur after the animal is removed from the area. Those small particles of protein can quickly disperse through a room and remain in an area for quite some time.

While many breathe in the small particles with no problems whatsoever, some individuals have a reaction to the animals protein. The body believes that this is an "outside invader" and reacts to it as such, causing the person to have an immune response in the form of an allergic reaction. While some reactions occur within minutes, others may take hours to react to the animal.

A person can now receive tests for allergies. The main allergy tests include the "skin prick test" in which allergens are placed under the skin to determine if a localized skin reaction occurs. Another popular test includes a simple blood test to determine what an individual has an allergy to.

Once diagnosed, the most effective treatment includes avoidance. This means that the person should avoid whatever it is that they are allergic to. So, if a person has a cat allergy, they should then stay away from cats.

Another treatment includes medications administered by your doctor or allergist. Some medications can help to alleviate the amount of symptoms that a person experiences when exposed to the allergen.

So, if your eyes water and you begin to sneeze every time Rex the dog walks in the room, you may be suffering from a pet allergy. If so, it may be time to determine what exactly you may be allergic to though testing. This can provide you with the answers you need to better understand and gain control of any allergy that you may have.

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