Copyright 2005 David Kane
Any asthma sufferer allergic to their pet would improve
their condition if they found another home for the animal.
Yet many cannot face going through with this and decide to
keep the pet and suffer. However, you can take steps to
make living with your pet easier.
Firstly, understand that a shorthaired animal can trigger
asthma as easily as a longhaired animal. The problem is not
hair. Animal saliva, sweat, urine and dander (flakes of
dead skin) can act as powerful allergens. Petting, grooming
or vacuuming can stir the allergen into the air leaving it
to float through the air for hours.
If you cannot bear to part from your pet try these measures:
1. Decide which areas of the house will become your
exclusion zones. I recommend you never allow your pet into
at least two rooms, the bedroom and lounge. You may want to
add other rooms to the list. If your pet once slept in
those rooms, wash as much of the bedding or upholstery as
possible and consider buying a new mattress and duvet. Keep
the animal's bed in another room, perhaps a utility room or
lobby. For a cat, sprinkle some catnip there to make the
area seem more attractive.
2. Make sure anyone handling your pet washes their hands
before touching the asthmatic person or entering the
pet-free rooms.
3. Keep the pet outdoors as much as possible. You could
build it a shed or out-house and make it as warm and
comfortable as you can. Feed the pet there sometimes so
that it feels at home.
4. If you allow your pet into the house consider replacing
allergen friendly surfaces. Furniture should be made of
wood or have leather or vinyl covers. Carpets should be
replaced with cork tiles, vinyl flooring or linoleum.
Another option is to polish the floorboards.
5. Regularly air the house and keep some windows ajar when
the cat or allergic person is in the home. You could get an
HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Arrester) air filter to
keep the air throughout your home as pure as possible, but
it will only remove airborne allergens, not those left on
furniture and carpets.
6. If your home uses forced-air heating seal up the air
ducts and use portable room heaters instead. This will
prevent the allergen entering the pet-free rooms.
7. Do not use fans or fan heaters. These will blow
allergens that settle on carpets and furniture up into the
air. Research has shown that some pet allergens can take up
to six hours to settle once they are disturbed.
8. When you clean the house use an anti-allergy vacuum
cleaner that filters and keeps allergens. If you need to
purchase one check that the vacuum cleaner can filter out
the allergens.
9. Frequently wash dogs with lukewarm water and shampoo.
Ideally get a non-asthmatic to do this. For cats gently
wipe the fur with a damp cloth or use a shower.
Unfortunately, while these methods will take a lot of
allergen off the cat they will not remove all of it. Some
research has found that totally immersing the cat in water
will remove most allergens, so you could try that if you
don't mind all the scratches it will probably earn you!
10. A non-asthma sufferer should also brush the pet
regularly outside the house.
11. Clean out pet cages and litter boxes outside the home.
If possible get a non-asthmatic to do this job too.
12. If your pet is a tomcat get him neutered. The male of
the species produces most allergen, but the amount declines
after neutering. Cats vary greatly in the amount of
allergen they produce. If you have more than one, keep each
cat in the house for a while to find out which one is least
allergenic.
If your asthma is severe and triggered by pet allergens the
best advice is to find a new home for the animal. However
if your asthma is fairly mild and you cannot bear to be
parted from this member of your family, try some of the
above measures and you may be able to avoid asthma while
loving your pet.
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David Kane is the author of '101 Top Tips for Asthma
Relief' and has produced a number of resources to help
asthma sufferers monitor and control their condition.
Find these at http://www.asthma-relieftips.com