Allergic to your pet? Here’s 6 things to try

So you’ve got a furry family member, but turns out you’re allergic to your pet! This is undoubtedly a terrible position to be in. Do you live with streaming eyes and nose, sneezing and wheezing or make the heartbreaking decision to say goodbye to your animal companion? 

Thankfully, there are things you can do to avoid either of these eventualities. 

Allergic to your pet? Here’s what to do…

Wash your pet at least once a week

It may seem futile, but keeping your pet super clean can make a big difference when it comes to allergies. By taking them to a groomer once a week (or asking someone who doesn’t suffer from allergies to do the washing for you) you can keep dander to a minimum – the real culprit when it comes to pet allergies.

While many how-to guides will suggest bathing your pet every week or two, a paper published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology states that it really needs to be twice a week. While washing a pet (specifically a dog in the study) definitely does reduce the allergen load significantly at first, it’s back up where it was again just 3 days later. While your pet won’t be happy about it, twice weekly washing was shown to reduce the buildup of allergens not just on the animal itself, but also in dust reservoirs in the home and the air.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that, although fur and dander do produce a lot of the allergen load, so too does saliva and urine. So no doggo kisses for you!

Create a pet-free zone

If you’re going to have a pet living in your home, do yourself a favour and make sure that you have a pet-free zone to escape to! No matter how hard you try, there might just be days when the allergies are just too much to handle. Having a space you can go where the air is clear and allergens are at a minimum can offer some much-needed respite. 

Sometimes, if you’re having an allergic reaction to one thing, it can exacerbate reactions to other things that might ordinarily go unnoticed. To ensure this pet-free zone really is as clean and clear as possible, you might want to consider getting an air purifier for a room, to eradicate all airborne allergens. 

Visit an allergist

If you’re suffering from any kind of allergy, it’s a smart move to visit an allergist. If you’re allergic to your pet and looking for solutions, they might just have one for you in the form of shots, a nasal spray or specialist advice on reducing allergen load.

If allopathic medicine isn’t your thing, there are natural alternatives too. With the right practitioner TCM (Chinese herbalism and acupuncture) has been known to help ease allergies, and popular home remedies include nettle tea, spirulina, probiotics and quercetin. 

Use an air purifier 

Investing in a whole home air purifier, or even just an air purifier for a room, is one of the best things you can do if you’re allergic to your pet, as this will literally clear the air of almost all allergens.

Greentech’s nature-inspired air purification system is the only one in the world to use both passive and active technology, both capturing pollutants (such as dander) as they float by and actively seeking out and destroying those irritating particles.

Just one system can span up to 1325 sq ft, and as an added bonus, it will get rid of any unwanted pet odours too!

Keep upholstery clean

As well as keeping your pet clean, it’s equally important to keep upholstery such as carpets, curtains, sofas and armchairs clean too.

Upholstery provides the perfect hiding place for airborne contaminants like pet dander, and once it’s trapped it’s there to kick up an allergy storm every time you sit down or brush past it.

You’ll never manage to get every last scrap cleaned up, but regular cleaning (at least once a week) can help to keep allergen levels tolerable – particularly when combined with all of the above!

If you’re in a position to do so, you may want to consider ditching carpet and curtains entirely and switching out for wooden or laminate floorboards and blinds. Leather furniture is also easier to clean and less prone to gathering dander than fabric.

If you’re about to get a pet, choose wisely

Maybe you’re considering getting a pet but you’re concerned about pet allergies presenting a problem. If this is the case, it’s well worth bearing in mind that you might not be allergic to all dogs, as they do differ!

It’s actually only male dogs that produce a particularly triggering protein called Can f 5 in their prostates. Around 30% of people with dog allergies are allergic to Can f 5, which may mean they could tolerate a female dog much more, or a neutered male.

If you’re allergic to your pet, or you have allergies and are concerned about how you might react, these tips should help. If nothing else, be sure to explore the benefits of installing a pureair purifier in your home to help clear that environmental air, as that could really make all the difference!