Pets - unfortunately - can trigger allergies in humans. The problem and allergic reactions are not determined by the breed or the length of the pet’s hair, rather by the skin flakes (dander) that are attached to a pet’s hair.

When a pet grooms itself the dander can become airborne, as well as the hair coated with these skin flakes. Cat and dog dander can be found in a pet owner’s environment even years after animals are removed. They are in the carpets, sofas, stick to walls, clothing and all other surfaces. (I personally am allergic to guinea pigs and hamsters, and the hay I’d used in their cages. Don’t be mistaken, not only cats and dogs, also horse, donkeys, etc. trigger allergic reactions in humans. )

Many doctors will advise the allergy-sufferers to give a way the animal that triggers extreme symptoms. Studies though have shown that only about 20% of pet owners follow that advice and rather suffer from their symptoms than giving up their beloved pet.

Allergies normally do not show up overnight and people have various degrees of sensitivities to allergens. You can be totally symptom free when petting an animal in a shelter, at a friends house, etc. It can happen that a pet owner shows symptoms after years. The severness of allergy symptoms is also related to how many allergies a person actually has. Mold, mildew, dust, pollens, trees, paint, perfume, air fresheners, and several more, can trigger allergic reactions. For a person to show symptoms a few or several of these allergens are present in his environment at a particular time. (Get an allergy test that will help you determine what products to avoid). Allergic humans have a certain tolerance level and if this level is exceeded, a more or less severe reaction will take place. If you want to keep your allergic reactions to a minimum, you have to re-think the use of products that can trigger allergies. As one doctor once said “Remove 3 or 4 out of 10 to15 allergy triggers and your allergy attacks might be gone”. What she meant was that if you don’t reach the tip of your personal tolerance level you will not have allergic reactions.

Since most pet owners decide upon to keep their animals a few useful tips to make allergy attacks less severe or even prevent them:

If you know that you are prone to severe allergies don’t adopt/buy a new furry friend!