Fact Check: can your pet be allergic to you?
22/6/2023
Translation: Veronica Bielawski
True or false? In my Fact Check series, I’m putting bold claims to the test. Up today: can pets be allergic to humans?
What to do if your child’s allergic to your new cat? That’s easy – your kid cat’s gotta go. But what if it turns out your four-legged friend is allergic to you and your family? Will you move out and leave your home to your feline?
Jokes aside, could your cat even be allergic to you?
Like human...
First up, a brief but important side note on pet hair allergy. The term is misleading. It’s not actually thehair, but proteins found in dander and in bodily fluids that are the culprit. They settle in the animal’s coat and spread via surfaces and the air. In people with allergies, this triggers burning and watering in the eyes, sniffles, sneezing, coughing and breathing difficulties.
But humans also leave behind dander that pets come into contact with. So, it stands to reason that animals could also have a reaction to this, right?
... like pet
YES: in short, pets can be allergic to humans, as found by researchers at the University of Edinburgh. The animals examined reacted with itching, sneezing and coughing. Very similar to us humans. And, likewise, the culprits in pets are proteins in human dander and possibly also bacteria that lack a cell wall.
Scientists, including Otto W. Fischer, a lecturer in veterinary dermatology at the University of Vienna, estimate that about two out of every one hundred pets with an allergy suffer from an allergy to humans. This can affect not only cats and dogs, but also birds and horses. According to the German Allergy and Asthma Association, one in twenty pets suffer from an allergy.
BUT: several scientists and scholars have questioned the results of the Scottish study. They claim a lack of evidence that the cats tested were allergic only to human tissue, and not also other irritants such as dust mites or products that people use, for example deodorants and cigarettes.
A difficult question
In practice, it’s hardly possible to determine and treat an allergy to humans. If you leave your cat with a new group of people, you can’t tell if it’s reacting to the people or something in the new environment. And you can’t simply remove certain members of your family from the environment either. Desensitisation therapy also presents a problem: if you expose the pet to human dander, there’s a risk of transmitting unwanted diseases. To date, no compound has been approved for use in Europe.
Here’s what can help
So, what can you do? Lower the allergen load. For example:
- Use a moisturiser to reduce dander.
- Keep your pet away from your bed, as that’s where you’ll find the most dander.
- Let your cat outside to reduce exposure to your allergens.
- Clean your home with a vacuum cleaner for allergy sufferers equipped with a HEPA filter.
- You can also try out inhalation therapy, anti-allergy shampoos, cortisone preparations or other medications.
If, in spite of everything, your pet continues to seriously suffer, there’s probably only one thing you can do to ease their suffering. Namely, to split up. Now, which one of you will be the one to go is something you’re best off discussing with your feline...
Which claim should I get to the bottom of next? Let me know in the comments!
Header image: Shutterstock
Darina Schweizer
Senior Editor
Darina.Schweizer@digitecgalaxus.chI like anything that has four legs or roots. The books I enjoy let me peer into the abyss of the human psyche. Unlike those wretched mountains that are forever blocking the view – especially of the sea. Lighthouses are a great place for getting some fresh air too, you know?
