Allergy to animal fur: treatment

The most important measure is to avoid contact with the allergen as much as possible – especially to prevent the progression of the disease and its chronic course. If this is not possible or if separation from the animal is not an option, certain precautions should be taken to reduce exposure to the allergen. Anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory drugs are available to relieve acute symptoms . Causal treatment is only possible in some cases , using specific allergen immunotherapy ( SAIT ).

Avoiding allergens

The simplest, most effective and most important measure for an allergy to animal fur is to avoid contact with animals. If you already know about this allergy , you should not get the animal at all. Although it can be very emotionally demanding, allergy sufferers should say goodbye to the pet that is causing their allergy problems and give it up. This is the only way to prevent dreaded long-term consequences, such as asthma in particular . Tablets and nasal sprays can relieve allergy symptoms, but they cannot cure the cause of the disease or affect its course. This symptomatic treatment is not a guarantee that the symptoms will not worsen, as the allergy will persist.

Even after you move the animal out of your home, it may take several months for, for example, cat hair to be completely removed from the apartment and allergies to disappear. There is also always a risk of contact with animal hair in public . Clothing or home accessories of animal origin (eg camel hair blankets, down comforters, horsehair mattresses, etc.) should also be removed or avoided.

Measures to reduce exposure to allergens

• The only effective therapy for significantly reducing the occurrence of allergens is bathing the animal several times a week.
• If possible, keep the animal outside the living space.
• Do not leave the animal in the bedroom under any circumstances.
• Wash your hands after every contact with the animal.
• Clean clothes with “sticky” rollers that effectively remove lint (do not use fabric brushes).
• Entrust other family members with cleaning the bed, kibble bowls, etc.
• Equip upholstered furniture and sofas with covers that can be easily cleaned or washed in the washing machine.
• Remove “dust traps” such as curtains, carpets, pillows, soft toys, dried flowers, etc.
• Vacuum regularly, if possible use a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter.
• Clean the walls, wooden paneling and floors regularly with a damp cloth or rag.
• Instead of carpets, prefer smooth, easy-to-maintain floors.
• Remove furs, sheepskin, horsehair mattresses and other clothing or home accessories of animal origin from your home.
• Brush your pet often and wipe it down with a damp cloth to reduce the amount of allergens it sheds daily.
• The animal should not sleep or rest on furniture that you regularly use.
• Avoid close physical contact with the animal.
• Before an anticipated longer stay in close contact with the animal causing your allergy (e.g. when visiting friends who keep this animal), use antihistamines .

If all this does not help, if the problems persist or even worsen, or if you want to avoid other impending problems (such as asthma in particular), you should look for another home for your pet.

Medicinal treatment

Anti-allergic and anti-inflammatory drugs can be used to alleviate acute allergic symptoms ( symptomatic treatment). However, the underlying disease will not improve. In very serious individual cases, causal allergy treatment can be used , namely specific allergen immunotherapy ( SAIT ).

Symptomatic treatment

In cases where avoidance of allergens is not possible or not sufficient, anti-allergy and anti-inflammatory drugs help relieve symptoms. Antihistamines block allergic reactions in the body, thus mainly preventing itching, sneezing and runny nose. These drugs exist in the form of nasal sprays, eye drops, gels, syrups or tablets. For more severe symptoms, corticosteroids ( cortisone ) are used for local application in the nose. In allergic asthma, corticosteroids are inhaled in combination with beta-sympathomimetics . With the help of the above drugs, it is usually possible to relieve the symptoms of the allergy, but the underlying disease will not improve.

Specific Allergen Immunotherapy (SAIT)

In selected serious cases, it is possible to use causal treatment. In so-called specific allergen immunotherapy (SAIT), the immune system is specifically “trained” to learn that allergens are not dangerous. For this purpose, the allergic person is given “his” trigger in gradually increasing doses. The goal of SAIT is to restore the immune system to its natural balance. Treatment usually lasts three to five years. Unfortunately, the chance of success is lower for animal dander allergies than for insect venom allergies , pollen allergies , or dust mite allergies ; for this reason, SAIT is used for animal allergies only in individual cases.

There are two ways to administer allergen extracts :

• Sublingual immunotherapy ( SLIT ): The patient uses allergens year-round in the form of drops that are placed under the tongue once a day . This treatment is prescription and can be done at home. In rare cases, side effects such as itching of the tongue and palate and slight swelling of the mucous membranes may occur. These problems often improve after just one year of treatment.
• Subcutaneous immunotherapy ( SCIT ): The doctor injects allergens into the upper arm. Injections with a gradually increasing concentration of allergens are administered to the patient every week. Once a maintenance dose is reached after several weeks, the patient receives an injection of this dose once a month. After the application of each such injection, the patient must remain in the doctor’s waiting room for at least 30 minutes, because with this form of treatment, an intensified reaction to anaphylactic shock can occur. In addition, the patient should not consume alcohol and avoid heavy physical exertion on the days of subcutaneous immunotherapy