CAT ALLERGY AND CHILDREN

An animal allergy usually means sensitivity to proteins found in a cat, horse or dog’s saliva and dander (flakes of skin). Some people are also highly sensitive to proteins in the urine of rabbits, guinea pigs and hamsters. People with the worst animal allergies can have a reaction from dander off an article of clothing, when they are nowhere near the pet. Cats have the biggest potential for allergic reactions.

Parents who worry that their household cat might trigger asthma in their children shouldn't be too quick to get rid of the cat, according to a study that appears in The Lancet. The study shows that high levels of cat allergen in the home decrease the risk of asthma, apparently by altering the immune response to cats. The study, funded in part by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), begins to uncover the immune system processes behind this phenomenon. This work was also supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).

Children allergic to cats are told to avoid felines or suffer the consequences - sneezing, runny eyes, and itching. But does exposing young children to cats influence the chances the children will develop allergies later? Beginning in 1982, researchers in Australia followed 224 children, looking at their exposure to cats at home. For 20 years, the children were regularly tested for cat allergies. Fifty of the children had cats when they were under 18 years old, 14 after age 18, and 70 in both periods. Those who acquired cats after age 18 were more likely to be allergic to them than those who were exposed to cats as youngsters. This study adds support to the "hygiene hypothesis" - early exposure to microbes and potential allergens lessens the chances of developing allergies later in life. Cleanliness may be next to godliness, but too much cleanliness may result in more allergies.


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