Twelve ways to avoid asthma while loving your pet
by David Kane
zone3
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.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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.
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