Are your Pets Making Allergy Symptoms Worse?

Many families report that when a child’s allergies flare, nervous-system-related symptoms increase.

Allergy is common among children with ADHD, Tourette syndrome, and autism, and it is important to minimize allergic reactions within this group to avoid aggravating the nervous system.

As reported in FoodsMatter (October 2010), a team at Queen’s University in Canada led by Dr. Anne Ellis, found those with allergies to cats and dogs develop ragweed allergy symptoms more quickly than those without. In the study, 123 people were exposed to ragweed, and those with pet and dust mite allergies reported that symptoms of ragweed allergy developed faster than their non-animal allergic counterparts. However the study also found that once allergy season is in full swing these differences lessen.

Dr Ellis suggests that people with animal allergies should rehouse their pets or prevent pets from entering their bedrooms. This becomes more crucial in the case of children with animal allergies suffering from asthma as it may help prevent irreversible lung damage due to ongoing allergic inflammation.

Parents are understandably reluctant to remove a beloved family pet from a bedroom or home, but this may be the just what is needed, followed by a thorough cleaning of linens, flooring, and airways.

When a child is in a situation where a pet they are allergic to cannot be removed from a home, these suggestions may help: click here.

The study was conducted at the Environmental Exposure Unit (EEU) at Kingston General Hospital. The results were published in a recent issue of the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.