A pappy came into my life Aug 30th. An adorable beagle girl. She’s the fourth dog in my life. I’ve been going down in size as I age and while I don’t hunt, I hate small yapping rat dogs and I don’t want the hassle of a lot of grooming. I do plan to let her track; she must use her nose or she’ll not have a happy life.
So far for the bragging.
It’s been eleven years since I had a dog. I’m now 64 and I was waiting to quit work.
A few days after she moved in, I started feeling symptoms of allergy: sneezing that wouldn’t stop, itchy eyes, itchy palate and throat.
WTF. I’m not allergic to dogs!
I contacted my health clinic and they did a blood test.
And no, I’m not allergic to dogs. Even more WTF.
I mean I take antihistamine (Desloratadine and 3x the recommended daily dose) and a nasal spray (Mometasone ) to keep the problems in check.
But the blood test came back nagative. No allergy. The doc speculated that it could be Vasomotoric Rhinitis. From wiki:
The prevalence of nonallergic rhinitis in otolaryngology is 40%. Allergic rhinitis is more common than nonallergic rhinitis; however, both conditions have similar presentation, manifestation and treatment.
So it’s the symptoms of allergy and the same treatment as allergy, but it’s not an allergy, because? How to square that circle?
The kennel where I bought her suggested that I get an Ozone Air Cleaner. This sent me down a path to see what that was, and my conclusion is that it’s snake-oil quackery. I know that ozone in high enough doses is dangerous. The makers claim that the third oxygen atom (or Oxugen Plus+, as some call it) binds organic material and makes for cleaner indoor air.
I found some stuff at the EPA web site, but I’d like a second opinion from you guys.
An allergy is an immune response due to some non-pathogenic substance. The negative test is showing that the immune system is not showing antibody development to known antigens. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t a significant irritant, just that it is not provoking an immune response.
Because it is positively ionized, ozone can attach to certain low mass gaseous molecules and oxidize them, which is useful for removing odoriferous and potentially toxic compounds, but is also a hazard to living organisms (including yourself) specifically because it will attack organic substances, especially mucus membranes. Ozone will not remove active pathogens and antigens like spore-producing household molds, free-floating bacteria, or pet dander; at most, it may temporarily inhibit growth and remove smell. If the issue you are having is with pet dander a normal household air purifier (which just filters air) may help somewhat but it won’t work miracles.
It is possible that changing to a different shampoo or dog food might help (just guessing; I don’t have any specific recommendations), which is something you should talk to the vet about. Is the puppy experiencing any signs of allergy or inflammation in the eyes, ears, paws, et cetera?
They shoot hair in alarming amounts. Stress, happiness, snack time. Hair comes out. I swear you can see it in the right light.
Take the dog out doors. For a few days, do it twice daily and have a good brush and a hound glove and go over the the dog thoroughly. Then do it regularly. Especially in normal shedding periods. Bathe her often with mild shampoo. No flea sprays or perfumes.
I’m thinking the physical hair is in the air and irritating you. Not an allergy(since you’re not allergic, anyway) but just little hairs.
Just my opinion.
(I really like hearing you’re doing field work with her, Beagles require it)
Ionization techniques are used for dust control outside of the sterilzation or biological usage described. Electrical HV or rad sources are used in powdery or dusty environments as a surface treatment to help keep stored materials from taking flight. Relatedly, ions added to the gas medium help particles already afloat clump together and fall to the ground. In this way, they’re removed from OP’s face environment to the doggie domain.
Now, whether household devices work well & safely for this purpose, I couldn’t say. Years ago, I scavaged one of those Sharper Image ion air purifiers with polished high voltage dust collection plates from the trash at work. It did collect dust, in more ways than one, and I (re)trashed it when it started squealing with microarcs caused by … dust. Lint, I think, would bridge the gap and some fibers apparently withstand the lightning.
I also confess I’m not against a touch of ozone odor in the air for fragrance.
Electrostatic precipitation uses high voltage discharge (coronal arcing) to attract dust and other fine particles. This is often used for low particulate ‘clean room’ environments and sometimes to prevent airborne combustible dust or oil in manufacturing or food processing environments to reduce the potential for flash fires or explosions; however, these only produce ozone as a byproduct which is often undesirable (anywhere workers occupy the area) and so there is often a discharge station to de-ionize the air before it enters the occupational zone.
If there were enough ionization of “the gas medium [to] help particles already afloat clump together and fall to the ground”, it would be an uncomfortable and potentially unsafe environment to work or live in, basically the worst winter static shock you can imagine happening repeatedly.
a review of scientific research shows that, for many of the chemicals commonly found in indoor environments, the reaction process with ozone may take months or years (Boeniger, 1995). For all practical purposes, ozone does not react at all with such chemicals.
…
ozone does not remove particles (e.g., dust and pollen) from the air, including the particles that cause most allergies.
Which made me think that what effect they may or may not have is greatly enhanced by wishful thinking by the buyers.
The thing is, I can manage the problems with medication, but seeing me being forced to take what is essentially too much antihistamine for the next twelve or so years. I have. of course, looked into that, but the sources all refer to overdosing (as in taking a massive amount at once) and not long term high usage.
Active electro & radiological static dust control is used far more widely than the specialty labs, grain handling, and explosive hazmat zones you suggest. There are a lot of applications where dust and static is bad for reasons other than safety. Professionally, I see ion static/dust control used in weighing scales, plastic molding and regrinding, precision powder dispensing, clean rooms, of course. I’ve heard it called particle reduction. At home, our hobbiest photographer and model painter friends have an outsized interest in dust mishaps and might use polonium or electronic devices. These are valid and useful dust control techniques.
Traditional, inline filters can, at times, be electronically re-treated for better particle collection and, if continuous beyond some duty cycle, are arguably active.
I’m not recommending anything in particular (except to pass on the Sharper Image dealie), just asserting that active dust management in ordinary environments is ordinary. No ozone (thanks for OP’s timely EPA quote), no buying anything.
Ozone generators are used in the restoration industry to mitigate odors. They are generally used in conjunction with cleaning, sealing and removal of materials that are not salvageable.
They are set on a timer, with warning signs posted and should not be used around living things like people, pets or plants. Hydroxyl generators have a similar effect and can be used in occupied spaces on low settings, but not so much on the higher levels. There are hydroxyl air cleaners available for HVAC systems.
I think a good portable air cleaner is a better option for removing particles like pet dander.