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Twelve ways to avoid asthma while loving
your pet.
David Kane
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.
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 Asthma Relief Tips | Asthma Treatment(www.asthma-relieftips.com) |
