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Living
With Your Cat and Allergies
Normal, AL, Jan.
24---Whether to sneeze or give your cat away is a dilemma that
many cat allergy sufferers face.
Surveys suggest that
about 2 percent of Americans are allergic to cats. Yet one-third of
these sufferers have cats in their households.
Proteins in a cat's
saliva and skin glands are the allergens that cause people to have
common allergic symptoms such as sneezing and asthma, says Dr.
Bernice B. Wilson, an urban resource management specialist with the
Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
"A cat's regular
preening helps release these harmful allergens, which become
airborne when the saliva dries," says Wilson.
Research supported by
the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases suggests
cat owners take four steps to reduce the amount of cat allergens by
90 percent or more:
Researchers say these
steps make it possible for some allergy sufferers to live happily
with a cat.
Allergy experts also
recommend brushing your cat frequently, wearing a face mask while
cleaning your house and cat, and keeping the cat out of bedrooms or
any other room where you spend much time.
The benefits of these
steps are supported by a study at the University of Virginia in
Charlottesville. The study, which measured the amount of allergens
released by a cat, found that a sharp increase in cat allergens
released into the air could be detected within minutes of a cat's
entering a room. The increase was great enough to cause a person to
have a bronchial attack in less than half an hour.
Scientists also
discovered that carpet and soft furniture served as reservoirs for
cat allergens, which remained in the room four to six weeks after
the cat had been removed from the residence. The carpet accumulated
allergens at a rate 100 times that of a polished floor. Cat
allergens also were found to remain in the air longer than pollen
allergens.
Dr. Bernice B. Wilson,
Extension Urban Specialist, Resource Management, Alabama Cooperative
Extension System, (256) 858-4969
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