Five Strategies for Dealing with Pet Allergies
Pets are fantastic, no doubt about that. They are undoubtedly great companions. For centuries, we have domesticated animals for a wide range of reasons. In years gone by it was for more practical reasons we kept them.
Nowadays, most pets have only one job, to make us happy. Unfortunately for some of us, having pets has proved tricky due to pet-related allergies. As humans, we have not lived with animals long enough to develop complete immunity to their allergens.
Below are five ways of dealing with pet allergies to help reduce discomfort.
Set Boundaries
We know this is hard and borderline impossible, but it has to be done when you are allergic to pets. Your bedroom should be a no-go zone for animals. The last thing you want is your private quarters being infested by animal dander.
After hanging out with your pets all day, the best thing you can do for yourself at the end of the day is to get some rest and recover in a room that has little to no allergy load.
Bathe the Culprit Regularly
The best ways to reduce the allergen from your pet's body is to bathe them regularly, preferably every week. We know your little pooch does not love getting a bath but you have to realise that this is what is best for everyone involved. They might not appreciate frequent showers, but it has to be done.
Only bathe your pets with the correct and precise products prescribed by your local vet. If you have a cat, use only products labelled for cats this also goes for all animals out there.
Clean Regularly
Cleaning your home regularly is always a good idea, and it is one of the best pet allergy aversion strategies you can make use of.
For those of us with items in our homes that attract dander a lot, we need to clean them thoroughly at least once a week. A few of these items include but are not limited to carpets, rugs, curtains, dirty laundry, bedsheets and the likes.
Pet dander is also known to stick to solid surfaces like floors, walls, countertops, so you need to ensure that you properly clean these parts of your home too.
Keep Allergy Medications closeby
If you have pets in your home or you plan on visiting an area with a lot of pets you should keep soothing allergy medication on you at all time.
Histamine is the chemical that our immune systems release when we come in contact with allergens. It's one of the primary reasons why allergic reactions are so miserable. You can make use of antihistamines to help you manage the worst parts of your symptoms.
Other medications you can make use of include nasal sprays, and soothing eye drops. HEPA air filters are also useful as they help to purify the air around you.
Commitment to Living with your Pets
When we realise that we are allergic to certain aspects of animals, it is easy to give up and end the relationship with your pets, but there are other measures you can take to make living with an animal bearable when we are allergic.
Treatments include immunotherapy consisting of allergy shots, we also have antihistamine and steroidal nose sprays, and antihistamine pills, among others.
Above all, you need to find and work with an allergist that is as understanding about your commitment to your pets as you are.
A combination of proper household cleaning, creation of pet-free safe zones for your self as well as medical control of symptoms is most likely to help us deal with our allergies around pets.
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