Tag Archives: cat dander

sleeping with your cat if you have cat allergies

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I have cat allergies

I do, I’ve mentioned it in other posts, and here it is again, I’m allergic to cats. Yet I happily allow my cats to sleep with me. In fact, I’m happier when they do.  So, is sleeping with your cat if you have cat allergies a bad idea? Apparently, yes.

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America claim that almost 10% of Americans are allergic to pets, and cats, unfortunately, are the main culprit. The reason for that isn’t due to cat fur, it’s about dander.

According to sprucepets.com

Cat dander consists of microscopic pieces of dry cat skin which become airborne, landing on bedding, curtains, carpeting, and other surfaces, including humans’ skin and clothing. Cat dander particles are tiny, about 1/10th the size of dust mites. Dry skin particles wouldn’t be particularly allergenic except for a factor known as Fel D1.

Fel D1 is a glycoprotein found in the cat’s sebaceous glands under the skin, and to a lesser degree in cats’ saliva, and urine. When a cat grooms his coat, the Fel D1 present in his saliva lands on the cats’ skin and hairs, and, combined with the Fel D1 from the sebaceous glands, creates a sort of “double whammy” to allergy sufferers.

Cat dander is small and lightweight, so it can be airborne for hours. Also, it’s a sticky protein, so it clings to clothes, skin, carpets, bed linens…
Here are some tips to help minimize dander, the source of our cat allergiessleeping with your cat if you have allergies

 

sleeping with your cat if you have allergies

 

  • Use allergy covers on your mattress and pillows.
  • Wash your sheets at least once a week
  • if you already have carpeting (wood flooring is preferable) vacuum often
  • use an allergen-proof vacuum cleaner bag or a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Arresting) filter.
  • steam cleaning your carpet periodically is especially helpful.
  • get an air cleaner with a HEPA filter for your bedroom
  • Open your windows: ventilation will air out dander in your bedroom
prime cat
Marnie says “good night,” by shari smith dunaif © 2016

our cats love sleeping with us, and by adhering to these suggestions, I love it too!

allergystore.com

Scientists working on allergies to cats

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Scientists are working on allergies to cats. At last!20130726-184944.jpg

It’s good news for cat lovers: A new, more effective
treatment for allergies may be on the way, thanks to scientists working on allergies to cats.  At the
University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom have discovered the
receptor protein in human cells that triggers cat allergies. They
anticipate that new drugs will be developed to bind the protein and
prevent people from having an inflammatory response. “It has long
been known that cat allergies are caused by people reacting to cat
proteins secreted by the salivary or scent glands being transferred
to the fur,” Dr. Clare Bryant, lead researcher, told Yahoo! Shine.
“Other allergen—for example house dust mite allergy protein—trigger
a receptor protein in host [human] cells and we wondered if cat
allergen would have similar effects. We did not expect this to
happen because the cat allergy protein is very different to the
house dust mite protein, so we were very surprised to find that it
triggered inflammation through the same receptor.”  About 10 percent of people have pet allergies, and reactions to cats are twice as common as
reactions to dogs. Cat allergies are especially pernicious because
the proteins are small, light, and sticky. They float through the
air and when they land on a surface—a piece of clothing for
instance—they can be transferred to places that are cat-free.
Symptoms include sneezing, watery eyes, stuffy nose, sore throat,
hives, wheezing, and in severe cases, asthma. Currently the only
way to treat cat allergies is to reduce the symptoms with
antihistamines or decongestants or endure weekly shots to boost the
immune system—which can take as long as a year to kick in and may
not even be effective. Bryant can’t predict exactly how long it
will take for new drugs to reach on the market—that’s up to the
pharmaceutical companies—but says that “drugs that inhibit the
receptor have already been tested in clinical trials for conditions
such as sepsis.” She added, “I would anticipate that an allergic
person could, say, inhale a blocking drug before going to a house
with cats and not get a reaction.” And allergic dog lovers have
cause for hope, too. Bryant believes the findings could lead to
improved treatment for canine allergies. The research will be
published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Immunology.