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View Full Version : So you "think you are allergic"



Wise Old Owl
06-17-2008, 22:16
Well Ok, Here is what you need to know. We are not allergic to cats or dog regardless of our mindset. What we are allergic to is their saliva! After hours of talking with allergists and other professionals, the issue is animals that "clean" themselves with their tongue.
I can say I am allergic to cats and dogs all my life. Yet I have had cats & dogs in my house all my life.... Can't visit a barn for an hour... I would have an asthma attack, from lets say a horse. It is specific to the enzymes in the saliva of the animal. Years of allergy shots would build up immunity, but exposure to the real thing - priceless.

Poodles & Lasa's generally do NOT clean themselves, except when you are not looking. If you want to see a Lasa, check my pictures in my personal photo area. You would have a reduced exposure to a Lasa. What I have really found out if you "visit" some one with a dog and you pet it and accidentally touch your tear duct on your eye, you have really done yourself in for a few bad hours... If the dog comes to visit you for six months, you will be miserable for four of those months as you slowly build immunity. Start with a puppy and the exposure isn't as bad. Bring home a shelter dog and you are going to have an interesting time. In short if you are allergic to something, bring it home including guess what ... Poison Ivy in small doses.

I am bringing this to the attention of those that want to read this, it is open to discussion, some debate, If you want to argue - go somewhere else-you are a part of the Dr. Spock baby generation that got it wrong.

WOO.

modiyooch
06-17-2008, 22:28
My son is allergic to cats and dogs. Not the cat or dog per se, not the saliva, but the dander. He can be around them, but they can't live in the house.

Wise Old Owl
06-17-2008, 22:59
My son is allergic to cats and dogs. Not the cat or dog per se, not the saliva, but the dander. He can be around them, but they can't live in the house.

that was my point, that was the "old" thinking. We brought home a rescue dog over six months ago, a lab. Hair is still all over the place, we now have a cleaner team. Austin who is quite alergic to everything has "recovered" from more than four weeks of coughing, attacks, etc. It is time to think about what dander is. Vs the enzymes in saliva.

Pedaling Fool
06-17-2008, 23:20
I do experience minor allergic reaction to dog and cat hair and whatever is mixed in it, mainly when it's dry. I don't think it has anything to do with saliva, because my cat will come up and lick my face when I'm laying down and it does not irritate me. Yet, when he scratches himself and the hair is airborne, that's what bothers me.

Bulldawg
06-18-2008, 00:03
It is also very animal specific, especially with cats. Not even breed specific. I have had problems with cats most of my life. My eyes swell up, get watery, feel like they are on fire, and my nose gets so full I can't breath through it; with most cats. But now, we have a cat in the house here. I have zero reactions to her whatsoever. She can sit in my lap for 20-30 minutes with no issues. I began researching it, wondering why I was not having this reaction to her. Turns out it is just like the Owl there says it. It is a reaction to a protein in the saliva. And each and every individual animal has a somewhat different genetic make up of this protein. This cat came from my mother in law's house cat, which I am EXTREMELY allergic to. So it is not breed specific. Now, an animal that does not clean itself as Owl says, couldn't present the issue, so on a small scale, breed would play an issue. But I know for a fact you can have two Siberians lets say, and you may have a reaction to one, and not the other; dependent on the make up of this protein that is in their saliva.

whitefoot_hp
06-23-2008, 14:55
you may also be allergic to the microbes and organisms which dwelleth upon the mutt...

burger
06-23-2008, 15:12
It is also very animal specific, especially with cats. Not even breed specific.

I have to agree with that. And I'm kind of sick of people making silly generalizations about allergies. The bottom line is that everyone who has allergies has different allergies. I'm allergic to some dogs and some cats but not others. It all comes down to how the allergen particles fit your immunoglobulins on a molecular level. If saliva is your thing, and you've figured how to get around it, great, but that probably won't apply to a lot of people.

Mother's Finest
06-23-2008, 16:11
well,

I have never been around a cat or dog that did not make me itch, sneeze, wheeze and get hives from their saliva.

never.

Non-allergenic breeds included.

this is not perfect reasoning, but I find it very difficult to accept that by simply living with an animal, I would develop an immunity to it.

peace
mf

Wise Old Owl
07-02-2008, 16:34
well,

I have never been around a cat or dog that did not make me itch, sneeze, wheeze and get hives from their saliva.

never.

Non-allergenic breeds included.

this is not perfect reasoning, but I find it very difficult to accept that by simply living with an animal, I would develop an immunity to it.

peace
mf


Why not, when you go to a doctor with Ashma and all the medications still have you struggling. Does the doctor perform a scratch test with about 60+ items across your back. Then six weeks later they start a weekly injection of everything you are allergic to for about two years. As the injections progress the amount of stuff going into your blood stream gets larger & larger, until you are immune. If it is an animal living with you the process is shorter than years because of the larger dose of enzymes.

bosborne
07-04-2008, 16:58
WOO, there are a number of cat allergens, not just one. For example, there's a cat allergen called Fel D. It's considered a major allergen, meaning lots of people who are allergic to "cats" are in fact reacting to this one protein, Fel D. Fel D is produced by the sebaceous glands and is found in the skin and in saliva of the cat. Now, cats and other mammals shed skin cells and hair all the time, and that means that anywhere you see cat hair you're also going to find cat skin cells.

So you're partly right in that the person who thinks they're allergic to hair (that they see) could very well be reacting to the skin cells (that they don't see). You're not correct in thinking that saliva is the sole problem. If someone is reacting to Fel D they're reacting to the Fel D protein found in saliva and skin cells.

drastic_quench
07-04-2008, 17:28
I've received the full barrage of allergy test from an allergist, and I know I'm allergic to pet dander. I'll begin to get symptoms within ten minutes of standing inside a home that has indoor cats and/or dogs. The pets can be nowhere around, and I'm not being exposed to their saliva.

modiyooch
07-04-2008, 17:41
Why not, when you go to a doctor with Ashma and all the medications still have you struggling. Does the doctor perform a scratch test with about 60+ items across your back. Then six weeks later they start a weekly injection of everything you are allergic to for about two years. As the injections progress the amount of stuff going into your blood stream gets larger & larger, until you are immune. If it is an animal living with you the process is shorter than years because of the larger dose of enzymes.no immunity in my household. My son has taken the allergy shots for 15 years. He quit this winter because he thought he was cured. When he started having the asthma attacks again, I took him back to the doctor. They redid all the test and he is still allergic to all the things he was allergic to when he was 3. We have resumed the allergy shots .

Wise Old Owl
07-04-2008, 17:42
Interesting...

ChinMusic
07-04-2008, 18:24
Both my kids are sensitive/allergic to pets. It wasn't until a few years ago that I found out that non-shedding breeds (usu mixes with poodles) do not cause a reaction.

We have had a cockapoo (poodle/cocker mix) and my kids have no reaction whatsoever. It's like it is a hypoallergenic breed. As an added bonus, by not shedding, there it no pet hair in the house, car, or clothing.

Wise Old Owl
07-08-2008, 19:00
yes that is why we have the Lasa, same as your cockapoo, My lasa generally does not lick himself except every couple of months he coughs up a monsterous hair ball... Yes it is a dog - go figure.

Mrs Baggins
07-08-2008, 19:36
My son is allergic to cats and dogs. Not the cat or dog per se, not the saliva, but the dander. He can be around them, but they can't live in the house.

Yep, it's the dander, not the saliva. My daughter has the same problem. DANDER, not saliva. And the saliva does NOT create the dander.

Rouen
07-11-2008, 20:41
My cousin will break out in welts if a dog licks him, he has no issues with their dander though, just the saliva.

Pedaling Fool
07-11-2008, 20:51
I do experience minor allergic reaction to dog and cat hair and whatever is mixed in it, mainly when it's dry. I don't think it has anything to do with saliva, because my cat will come up and lick my face when I'm laying down and it does not irritate me. Yet, when he scratches himself and the hair is airborne, that's what bothers me.
Allergies are a weird thing and I'm not sure there's a limit to what one can be allergic to, be it animal saliva or dander or whatever.