 |
- Tips on controlling and managing pet allergens in your home
- Explanations of conventional and alternative allergy treatments
- Profiles of the most comon breeds of hypoallergenic cats
|
 |
|
 |
|
Pets Allergy Basics
Roughly 2–15% of the world’s population is allergic to cats, and four out of every five people who are allergic to animals are allergic to cats. Still, about a third of these sufferers keep a cat in their home. Though many of these pet owners cope with their allergies, a great many cats are given up to shelters because their former owners were allergic to them.
If you already own a cat you’re allergic to or want to
introduce a cat into your home despite your allergies, there are steps you can take to manage your allergy symptoms (if not completely eliminate them). The first step is to understand your allergies—what they are, what triggers them, and what aggravates your symptoms. You may discover that your cat isn’t even the problem and that something else in your environment is causing your allergy symptoms.
What Is an Allergy?
In the simplest terms, an allergy is the result of a misfiring immune system. Normally, the immune system keeps us safe from pathological bacteria, viruses, and fungi, but sometimes the body makes mistakes. An allergic reaction occurs when the immune system ends up attacking its owner instead of the invasive bodies.
Understand Your Allergies
People with allergies have “hyperactive” immune systems. The first time a potentially allergic person
encounters an allergen, nothing seems to happen, but the body’s immune system is actually hard at work trying to fight the offending allergen. Plasma cells, which are located just under the mucous membranes, begin developing antibodies to ward off the allergen. The first exposure to an allergen simply encourages the production of these antibodies. It’s repeated exposure over a period of weeks to years that causes symptoms to manifest on a regular basis.
The reason that you sneeze and sniffle when experiencing allergies is that the antibodies in your system are attempting to expel the offending allergens you’ve inhaled. As soon as they come into contact with any invading substance, the antibodies go into action, and you begin to suffer allergy symptoms. The next time you breathe in those allergens, the antibodies react the same way,
releasing chemicals designed to eliminate the allergen from the body.
Allergic people tend to make large amounts of a particular antibody called immunoglobulin E (IgE). A protein shaped somewhat like the letter Y, it’s called the “allergen antibody” because it causes immediate, acute reactions to irritating substances. Also, because the body can produce different kinds of IgE for different substances, people can develop multiple allergies.
Identifying Problematic Allergens
Before you assume that the allergy symptoms you’re exhibiting are due to your cat, get yourself tested to identify the allergen affecting you. The only definitive way to discover what specifically you’re allergic to is by having one of several medical tests.
Skin Tests
A skin test can identify the particular allergy present in your system. There are three different types of skin tests commonly administered:
- Skin prick/scratch/puncture test: In this test, a physician takes dilute solutions of various suspected allergens (pollens, dust, grasses, and animal dander) and scratches them individually into various areas of the skin. If you’re allergic to one of these substances, a red swelling called a weal will form within 20 minutes at the site of the scratch. This test is simple, quick, inexpensive, and can be used to test any age group, including babies.
- Injection: In this test, the allergens are injected (usually on the inner forearm) in small amounts in a specific pattern. The doctor examines the skin 24–48 hours later to determine signs of allergy. (A doctor will administer this test if he suspects an allergy to an injected allergen such as insect venom.) Though the test is not 100% accurate, most allergies can be diagnosed using this method.
-
Skin patch: In this test, a doctor applies the suspected allergen to a patch that’s placed on your skin. This test is not often given for a suspected allergy to pet dander. It’s usually administered when the physician thinks that the patient may have contact dermatitis from a substance such as latex. However, it’s a very accurate method of testing that produces few false positives.
Serum-Based Tests
Blood tests to detect allergies are becoming increasingly popular because they are very simple and require little expertise to administer. Unfortunately, these tests can sometimes deliver false positives, resulting in treatment for allergies that don’t exist.
Serum-based tests work by measuring IgE in the blood. The theory is that if the IgE level is significantly elevated in relation to a suspected allergenic substance, you are
allergic to that substance. However, even if your IgE level is elevated, it doesn’t necessarily mean that there is enough of it present to cause an allergic reaction. (This is how false positives can occur from this type of test.)
| Text & Photos Copyright © 2007 TFH Publications, Inc. | Acknowledgments & Disclaimer |
Tags
No one has tagged this page yet... Be the first.. Log in using the link below and return to add your tag
