I’ve always wanted to have a cat or a dog but unfortunately I’m allergic to both. I sneeze, my eyes water, and, because I have asthma, after prolonged exposure I find myself getting short of breath.
I’ve always just assumed that pet allergies were something you just had to put up with. But today I found myself wondering if there’s a scientifically validated cure for them. I’m aware that there are treatments like Benadryl or Claritin, but is there a cure? I’ve googled about but all I’ve managed to find is a bunch of obvious woo.
Cheers in advance.
P.S. - I know I could get a hypoallergenic dog like a Poodle or a Bichon Frise, but that’s just not the type of dog I want.
The way you cure a lot of allergies is exposure to small doses of whatever you are allergic to, until you get your immune system to stop overreacting to it and creating the allergic reaction. People who are allergic to bee stings for example can be given injections of low doses of bee venom, gradually increasing the dosage until they get the immune reaction under control. Allergists can give you shots to do basically the same thing for a wide range of allergens. You might want to consult with an allergist (a real doctor one, not one of these new age homeopathic type idiots).
I had allergy shots as a kid and they reduced my sensitivity to cats and dogs. When I was in my 20s I got a dog from a shelter as a pet. I was still mildly allergic to dogs by that time, but I grew out of it pretty quickly by having a dog around constantly. The same thing with cats. The allergy shots I had as a kid reduced my sensitivity to them, but actually having cats in the house finally reduced my reactions to them to almost nothing, though one of our cats does bother my allergies a bit if I pick her up and pet her.
Before I had the allergy shots, my eyes would water and pretty much swell shut.
I never had asthma, and that may complicate things if you try to cure yourself by having a pet around the house. The worst that would happen to me is a runny nose and swollen eyes, which is a lot less severe than an asthma attack.
I had them as an adolescent and they were very helpful… but of varying effectiveness. I no longer have a problem with something, for others I have less sensitivity than I used to, and for some items they didn’t help.
A certain percentage of people are not helped by shots at all.
You really need to consult a genuine allergist for something like that. As noted, a real doctor, not someone promoting woo-woo.
A friend of mine had acupuncture for various allergies. I’m not sure what else was involved, but he did say the results were very quick and successful.
Stay tuned, I’ll see if I can find out more info.
If you are interested in approaches that work, but are deemed unscientific, I’d be happy to share some of them.
Alternatively, you might have to wait a few years until medication that blocks the receptors responsible for the allergic reaction are on the market. Allergy Basics: What Happens During an Allergic Reaction?
Looks like a way to deal with it, not cure it, though.
No, it doesn’t. As mentioned above, allergy shots can provide relief for many kinds of allergies, although not all relief is permanent. I went into anaphalaxis twice as a child from been stings but after allergy shots I’ve been stung several times since and had no significant reaction. I do still carry an epi-pen and benedryl, however.