Allergies are one of the most common problems in humans. Today we are exposed to a multitude of allergens that, on many occasions, cause our immune system to overreact, releasing histamine and causing those annoying symptoms such as itchy eyes and / or nose, runny nose and / or sneezing.
Unfortunately, one of the types of allergies is allergy to cats, or more specifically to the dander of these animals. What can we do to live with her?
Find out if you have a cat allergy
Before taking action, it is important to first know if you have a cat allergy or not, since although it may seem easy to know, in reality the symptoms of the different allergies are so similar that it is better to make sure. You will know if you are allergic to cats if:
- If after stroking them and running your hands over your face, you feel itchy eyes and nose.
- If, when you are in an area where cats go a lot (for example, to the room where you have the litter trays), you begin to notice as if your eyes were dirty, you may even have runny nasal secretions (as if they were water).
- If you are sitting on, for example, on the sofa where the animals have recently been, and you start to sneeze and / or have itchy eyes and / or nose.
- If you do the allergy test, which is highly recommended in case of doubt and, even more, in case of suspicion of having it. It is painless (but it is very annoying, because if your suspicions are really confirmed, you will feel quite intense itching), and it does not last more than 10-15 minutes.
What to do if I have a cat allergy?
Well, this is a question that does not have a single answer. The doctor is likely to tell you -may not in these words- to get rid of them, which, since there are products that can help you cope, does not seem very logical to me. Therefore, and depending on the severity of your case, you have to take these measures:
- Thoroughly clean your entire house: Vacuum instead of broom, use dust traps to clean furniture, mop the floor daily.
- Prevent cats from entering your bedroom: This way you make sure that your room is free of cat dander. This is especially recommended in severe allergy cases.
- Have someone else brush the cats and clean the litter boxes daily: with this, the amount of hair they leave around the house will be much less, and that is not to mention that the animals will be very happy to have their private toilets clean.
- Put an anti-allergy product on your cats: You will find it both in veterinary clinics and in pet stores. Just by putting a little of this product on the coat following the instructions specified on the package, you will get a lot better.
- Take antihistamines prescribed by your doctor: thanks to them you will be able to cope much better with the allergy since your symptoms will be alleviated. Treatment is generally life-long as this disease has no cure.
We hope that these tips and tricks will be useful to you to be able to live as well as possible with the allergy.