Dogs and allergies

[yendi]

Reports CNN:

The belief that certain breeds are hypoallergenic is "a complete misconception," said Dr. Robert Wood, chief of pediatric allergy and immunology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "You can't predict by type or breed, or length of hair."

I've been saying this for years (ever since we pet-sat my cousin's poodle when I was a teen, and I reacted like crazy to it). Nice to see it confirmed.

Comments

[emilytheslayer.livejournal.com]

People keep telling me that Alpacas are hypoallergenic, too. Tell my eyes that next time I put on something made from the fiber, would you?

[yendi]

Oh, the idea that Alpacas are hypoallergenic is just the propaganda spread by the powerful Camelid Lobby (and their evil Ungulate masters). Just be careful what you say about them in public; they don't want word of the allergies spreading until they're so economically entrenched, there'll be nothing we can do to stop them.

[emilytheslayer.livejournal.com]

It may already be too late. Although really, it is one of the tragedies of my crafting life that I'm allergic to the stuff, it's really pretty damn amazing.

[theloriest.livejournal.com]

Poodles, Rhodesian Ridgebacks, Portuguese Waterdogs, Keeshonds... I react to all of them. Like you, I'm glad to finally see it officially confirmed.

[lupaloo.livejournal.com]

People believe that poodles are hypoallergenic because they don't shed. It's true that there is less dander in breeds that don't shed, but they are still dogs and none of them are completely dander free.

[siliconshaman.livejournal.com]

I dunno about dogs, but something I do know about cats is that well over 1/4 of people who are supposedly allergic to cats actually aren't...
what they are allergic to is cat flea faeces !

I suspect the same maybe true of dogs.

[cissa.livejournal.com]

Interesting! And another excellent reason to keep one's cats flea-free.

[pixelfish.livejournal.com]

I knew this because the same is true for cats, and a lot of my cat-owning friends would try to defend their short-haired cats. As somebody noted, it's not the cat so much as their dander and mite feces that we are allergic too.

People can get specific immunities to THEIR cats through prolonged exposure. My mother did.

I am less allergic to dogs than I am to cats. In fact, we hope to have a corgi someday, as my allergies don't seem to act up when dogs are around and I have taken my Zyrtec.

Having had an allergy attack this last week, I'm reminded that allergies are cumulative. I can hang out around a cat or dog with Zyrtec, but my Zyrtec falls short when confronted with three cats.

[pixelfish.livejournal.com]

Also, Cornish Rexes and other breeds hyped as hypoallergenic are among the highest abandoned or left in shelters. Too many people get a cat, thinking it will be hypoallergenic, only to find out they are still suffering.