Allergy to animal fur

Each of us heard that there is an allergy to animal hair. At least one of our friends suffers from this disease. In some cases, there is a negative reaction to the hair of any animal, but most often, cats are the culprits of the allergic reaction. The prevalence of this animal as a pet greatly complicates the lives of people who suffer from this disease.

In most cases, the reaction to fur develops over a long period of time. Thus, the patient begins to notice the appearance of symptoms of the disease, upon contact with those animals that he previously endured calmly. An aggravating effect that contributes to the transition of this disease to the category of chronic causes prolonged contact with allergenic animals . The disease often develops gradually and the first symptoms appear relatively mild, as a result of which the patient does not refuse contact with his beloved pet.

Basically, the symptoms of the disease appear only in the case of a long stay with the intolerant animal in the same room. There are practically no cases when a person suffering from allergies feels the symptoms of this disease, just passing by on the street. Cats, as allergenic animals, are in the first place, followed by dogs by a significant margin. It is a mistake to believe that wool is the cause of this allergy. Animal hair, in itself, cannot cause disorders. This is due to the fact that the human body is not able to absorb the type of protein from which it consists. Allergens, in this case, are other proteins. Their animal continuously allocates as a result of its life cycle. They can be found in the animal's feces, saliva, sweat and fat secretions.

Cats, just because of their cleanliness, due to which they often wash themselves with their tongues and are dangerous sources of allergens. The air in a closed room in a short period of time is saturated with allergens coming from the animal. After contact of the mucous membranes of the eyes and the respiratory system, allergy symptoms develop. If the patient is close enough to the animal, they do not have to wait long for their appearance. In addition, the biological material of animals can remain on clothing, which leads to the onset of symptoms of the disease when interacting with the owners of the animal.

Symptoms of an Allergy to Animal Fur

This type of allergic reaction belongs to the category of respiratory. That is, with this type of allergy, the allergen enters along with the inhaled air, and also settles on the mucous membrane of the eyes. Which causes symptoms characteristic of respiratory allergies: inflammation of the mucous membrane of the eyes (conjunctivitis), nose (rhinitis), as well as signs of bronchial asthma.

Certain types of animal allergies

Allergy to dog hair

Symptoms of the disease provoke different breeds of dogs, regardless of the length of the coat. In addition to the fact that the proteins themselves secreted by the skin of a dog can serve as allergens, microscopic parasites that are very difficult to detect even for the pet itself can also provoke an allergic reaction. In addition to respiratory symptoms, in some people, exposure to dog hair can cause an allergic skin reaction.

Allergy to camel fur

And so, it would seem that allergic reactions to camel hair are not typical for our habitat. Meanwhile, numerous products made from the wool of this animal (carpets, sweaters, bedspreads) are supplied to us for export. In addition, no one has canceled contact with this animal in the circus, during a resort or a walk around the zoo. If you find something made of camel wool, you must immediately get rid of this thing and thoroughly clean the room using wet cleaning.

Allergy to sheep wool

This type of allergy is more common in our latitudes. The reason for this is the wide distribution of products made from the wool of this animal. You can recognize it by severe bouts of sneezing and tearing, which manifests itself almost instantly after using products made from sheep's wool. In this case, not only you are forbidden to use clothes and household items made of sheep's wool, but also those who live next to you, otherwise it will be extremely difficult to protect yourself from attacks of the disease.

Treating an Allergy to Animal Fur

The most important measures that are applied in order to get rid of allergies to wool are measures to eliminate contact with the allergen. It is simply impossible to get rid of the symptoms of animal allergies if you are in constant contact with them. The rest of the methods of dealing with this disease affect only the symptoms and are far inferior in effectiveness to careful observance of precautionary measures.

Methods of immunotherapy

In some cases, it is impossible to completely protect yourself from the ingress of animal hair. This occurs in patients with a hyper-sensitive immune system, who are satisfied with the presence of a cat or dog in the stairwell or the minimum concentration of the allergen in the room. For example, at work, such a patient may encounter a meager amount of wool brought by his colleague and immediately feel the development of allergy symptoms.

This method consists in the fact that certain allergens are isolated, which are injected into the patient with a syringe, in the form of a solution. This is carried out in a hospital, since minimum concentrations of active substances are required, the preparation of which is possible only in laboratory conditions. Immunotherapy is carried out only during periods when the patient does not experience manifestations of an allergic reaction. The success of this method lies in the fact that the patient's body gradually loses sensitivity to the allergen. With an allergy to wool, the use of this method shows high efficiency. The effect can last up to two years.

Drug therapy

To relieve the symptoms of allergies, special drug therapy is used. In general, treatments are common for respiratory allergies. Both general and special preparations for topical use (drops, sprays) are used. The choice of a specific treatment strategy is determined by the doctor, based on the characteristics of the course of the disease, as well as possible contraindications.

The following drugs are used to relieve symptoms:

• Antihistamines (suprastin, cetrin, erius, diazolin, tavegil, azelastine, etc.);

Antihistamine drops (nasonex) - in some cases, it is preferable to use special drops for the nose or eyes, which point to the symptoms of allergies. Like all antihistamines, they are most potent when taken early, i.e., a few days before exposure to an allergic animal.

• Corticosteroid drugs - used as emergency therapy, with severe symptoms of the disease. For wool allergies, both spray and injectable corticosteroid preparations are used. The latter are applicable only in cases of extremely severe symptoms affecting various organs and systems.
• Anti-asthma drugs - this group of drugs is used to relieve the symptoms of bronchial asthma that may develop as part of this disease.

Prevention measures

• Eliminate as much as possible any contact with an animal that causes you allergies;
• If your pet is the cause of the allergy, the best solution is to leave it in safe hands;
• A few days before going to visit where the allergenic animal lives, start taking antihistamines;
• Pay close attention to the material from which the products you use are created. Remember that animal hair can be used in many products;
• It is better not to visit the circus and zoos for an allergic person at all;
• If you have had contact with an allergenic animal, before using special drops, you must rinse the nasal passages with warm water, wash, wash your hair and change clothes.