Pets For People With Allergies

ALLERGIES NATURAL SOLUTIONS CAN WORK!

When Amy Gyldenvand was a little girl, allergies plagued her every fall. She was active and athletic and spent much of her time outdoors, but those activities often left her congested, headachy and miserable.

For a few years, her allergies were treated with immunotherapy, or allergy shots. But her symptoms typically waxed and waned, and as they improved, she eased off on the weekly injections. She spent the next several years simply feeling awful every fall, or treating her symptoms sporadically with medication.

Things changed for Gyldenvand, 42, of West Des Moines a few years ago when she began suffering in the spring as well as the fall. She visited her doctor with what she thought was a severe sinus infection. The physician took a look and said, "Welcome to spring allergies."

Gyldenvand knew she would have to change the way she dealt with her symptoms, as she wasn't willing to feel ill for half of each year - nor was she willing to allow her children, who had began to demonstrate symptoms themselves, to suffer the way she had.

"I did go back to shots for a little while, but I couldn't help feeling that that really wasn't a cure; it would make me less sensitive, maybe, but I felt there had to be a better way," Gyldenvand said. "I decided to make some common-sense kinds of changes that could benefit all of us."

Gyldenvand did some research and found that because she and her husband, Kevin, both had suffered seasonal allergies for most of their lives, their children almost certainly would be allergic as well. So the frequent illnesses that presented in their children - Noah, now 12, Greta, 10, and Jonah, 9 - probably were not colds or sinus infections, but allergies - and they needed to be treated as such.

"I tend to be pretty organized about things around my house, so I decided to just become better about enforcing the things I felt would help all of us," she said. "It made sense to me to try to find natural ways to try to prevent problems."

Some allergy experts feel Gyldenvand's plan of attack is a good one. According to the website The Mother Earth News: The Original Guide to Living Wisely, Dr. William E. Berger of the University of California-Irvine - and a member of the Joint Task Force on Practice Parameters that writes national treatment guidelines for asthma and allergies - said nearly one-third of allergy patients think their medications don't work.

Dogs and Allergies

With the arrival of warmer weather comes a wide variety of allergies for pets and people alike. In people, allergies are likely to show up as respiratory symptoms – sneezing, coughing, runny nose, sinus pressure. While respiratory symptoms are possible in allergic dogs, allergies show up far more commonly as skin problems for our four-legged friends.

Acute Allergic Reactions in Dogs

An acute allergy may result from a bug bite or an insect sting. Symptoms associated with this kind of allergy are a swollen face, muzzle and eyelids and/or “hives” on the skin. These types of allergic reactions happen in a matter of moments to hours after exposure to the allergen (the cause of the allergy). This type of allergy typically responds fairly well to an antihistamine such as Benadryl. However, it is advisable to consult with your veterinarian should this type of allergy occur for your dog. In very rare instances, this type of allergic reaction can be serious, even fatal.

Atopy – A Common Canine Allergy

Far more common in dogs is a condition known as atopy. Atopy is an allergic reaction to something in your pet’s environment. The allergen may be a pollen, a grass, dust mites or any number of other substances.

Atopy is likely to make your dog itchy. He may scratch to the point where he starts to lose his hair, may develop inflamed areas and sometimes scabs on his skin. “Hot spots” are often seen in cases of atopy.

Flea Allergies

Another very common allergy is one to fleas. When a dog is allergic to fleas, it takes only one flea bite to set off a very uncomfortable allergic response. Often, owners become confused about the cause of the allergy because they may not be able to actually see fleas on their dog, even though fleas are the cause of the allergy.

The symptoms of a flea allergy are very similar to that seen with atopy. The best way to rule out a flea allergy as a cause of the symptoms is to implement appropriate flea control.

Food Allergies

The other common allergy seen in dogs is a food allergy. Food allergies can be due to almost any ingredient in a given food. Some of the most common allergies seen are to beef, poultry, chicken and corn.

Food allergies can appear very similar to atopy and flea allergies. However, whereas atopy and flea allergies are often seasonal in the occurrence of the symptoms, food allergies tend to cause itchiness year round.

Annals of allergy

Allergy, 6th report of session 2006-07, Vol. 2: Evidence

The Complete Allergy Book

Home comforts, the art and science of keeping house

Between pets and people, the importance of animal companionship