Pets are your best companions! Always alongside you. Yes! This is what my thought was, until I got some bad times facing shortness of breath and common cold symptoms. All of us consider our pets to be our best friends and want them to be with us at our homes.I used to fight with my mom a lot for her permission to let me sleep with my cat. So, proven that it isn’t a myth that moms are always right! Two days, four days, a week and then two weeks but my sneezing and my breath wasn’t getting normal.
It came as a coincidence that my mom was listening to an interview of a devoted pet owner who was talking about pets, their love and their diseases too. He talked about the exact same symptoms I had. It was the time when my mom and I got worried about it and decided to go for an allergy doctor in Rawalpindi. It was after about two weeks of runny nose and wheezing. I was afraid thinking about my cat that my mom will never allow me again to be with it. It appalled me that I got allergic to my cat.
I had no idea what pet allergies are, what their causes are and the ways to further prevent it. Due to this checkup, the doctor told me a lot about the pet allergies and about the notoriously sticky allergens . Probably, the hospital walls told me a lot too having multiple informative charts on them. Let’s discuss together the facts of pet allergies I came to know about.
How do we get Allergic to our Pet?
It will seem abysmal to the pet lovers but the fur of your cat, your dog carry some dangerous allergens in it. When we sleep with our pet, the allergens get stuck in our bed, clothes and they lead to the allergic signs.
Most of the time, we are prone to the proteins in the skin cells, urine or saliva of our pet. The allergic effect gets triggered by exposure to their dander.
Which pets cause most common allergies?
In my case, it was my cat. But, most common pets who cause allergic reactions are dogs, cats, rodents, rabbits, fish and some reptiles.
All of these animals are rich among the pet buyers due to their affectionate nature. So, it comes as a challenge for the pet owner to steer away his pet for safety or take preventionary measures.
Let’s get into each pet allergy, and learn about how to prevent yourself from being allergic.
Cats and Dogs Allergy:
I came to know about the term “pet allergy” through my personal experience. My doctor from Anwar hospital in Rawalpindi taught me a lot about this vital allergy. He didn’t ask me to throw my cat away; but, told me different ways to prevent these reactions in future.
- The saliva, dead flakes of skin(dander) and urine had allergens in them and we have to avoid these parts.
I’ll share with you guys my ways, which helped me to live with my cat after being allergic to it.
- Keep your cat out of your bedroom. This is the most required step of all. It prevents the allergens from getting stuck in your bed and eases your sleep.
- Use gloves when you brush the teeth of your cat. It will be top-hole to take it out of the home and then brush the teeth.
- Wash your hands after touching the fur or giving it a bath.
- Don’t rub your eyes when you have touched your pet without gloves.
- It is crucial to wash your pet after a week to make it all clean from allergens.
- Use an air-humidifier to keep the house atmosphere moisturized, free of these tenacious allergens.
Rabbits and Rodents Allergy:
The skin of rabbits and Rodents have adhesive allergens just like in cats and dogs.
- Rabbits are popular among people as domestic pets but usually are less common in causing severe allergic reactions.
- On the other hand, Rodents allergy causes acute symptoms. According to the research by Harvard University, people should avoid keeping rodents like mice, rats and pigs as domestic pets.
Wrapping-up
There are many other animals in the list other than these four. Some fish and reptiles cause bitter allergies but they are not rich as domestic pets among people.If you get allergic despite using these measures, then medication becomes requisite to avoid harsh aversion.
