Allergic relinquishers should know: research indicates
giving up a pet can actually bring on allergies
"Take two cats and call me in the morning. Not a
typical prescription for the allergies but perhaps it
should be.
In 1999, a study presented at the annual meeting of the
American
Academy
of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology indicated that kids with
early exposure to pets were less likely to develop
allergies in later life (see A Pet a Day...., Animal
Sheltering, Sept-Oct 2000). According to a recent
article on MSNBC.com, new research takes that conclusion
one step further: studies confirming the protective
effect of animals against childhood pet allergies have
also shown that removing a cat from a home can actually
trigger the opposite response causing a previously
non-feline-allergic child to become allergic to cats.
|
By Margaret Georgiann |
The likely scenario works like this: The parents of a
child allergic to dust mites and pollen but not to cat
dander get rid of their cat, either because they
don't know the child's specific allergies or because they want
to remove any possible sources of allergens. That child
then goes on to develop cat allergies, Dr. Thomas Platts-Mills,
chief of the allergy division of the University of
Virginia's department of microbiology, said in the
interview with MSNBC.
The new research has contributed to a current theory
among allergists: exposing a child to allergens early in
life will help the child build up an immunity to them,
in much the same way vaccinations will. It helps explain
why kids raised on farms tend to develop fewer allergies
than kids brought up in hermetically sealed
apartments, Platts-Mills said. (Interestingly,
researchers also noted that the protection of having a
cat isn't permanent. If a kid is raised with a cat but
then goes away to summer camp or college for a few
months, he may be allergic to the cat when he returns,
having lost that protection.)
The new research is a happy sign for shelters and for
many allergists, who've long believed that giving up the
pet was a logical step for allergy sufferers but still
hated to tell a family that Mittens had to go. In a
recent interview with a nonprofit organization dedicated
to providing good information to mothers of asthmatic
children, Platts-Mills said he no longer immediately
recommends that families with a history of asthma give
up their cats to protect their children; allergy testing
and examination by a board-certified allergist are the
only ways to determine whether the child's allergies are
specifically feline-related.
Platts-Mills also suggested the following alternatives
to pet surrender: Get rid of
carpeting, which harbors allergens; replace cloth
upholstery with alternative coverings; wash pets once a
week; use a HEPA air filter in the vacuum cleaner and
house furnace; use air filters or purifiers in several rooms and
cover mattresses and cushions with zippered, plastic
casings to cut down on allergen build-up. Letting cats
have outdoor access also reduces the amount of allergens
circulating in the household air.
These suggestions may help you help your allergic
clients. You may also want to recommend that they wash
bedding, scatter rugs and floors regularly. It's worthwhile to ask relinquishers who say
they're giving
up a pet due to their children's allergies whether a
doctor has determined that the pet is truly the source
of those allergies. You can inform them of these recent
studies they may be delighted not only to keep their
pets, but to help their children avoid future
cat-induced sneezing fits.
|