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September 17, 2008, 7:01 am
Flag as Inappropriate tjg0307  

Is it true that people with allergies to animals will have their symptoms reduced after a while of living with a pet? Does your body build a tolerance to the allergy?

I do not know about that. I know my brother was allergic to long hair dogs and it never changed until we ot rid of that dog.

I don't think that there is a hard rule for allergies. Some people can be helped by being exposed to the allergens that bother them. But on the other hand, many people also get a worse reaction to an allergy the more they have to deal with it.

If the reaction is a small one, then it's worth trying to have them get used to the animal. but if the person begins to have trouble breathing, or if they itch a lot, there's no reason to play games with their health. Get them to a doctor to help them deal with their allergy!

My sis inlaw is allergic to animals and has bad asthma too. She can`t even come to our house because of our dogs. I have never heard of anyone getting over an allergy by being exposed to the culprit.

I had cat allergies, and took a three month course of antihistamines, weaning off them towards the end. It helped me, and I was allergy free whilst I lived with the cat. But once I was two years without and went to visit my parents (and said cat), the allergy had returned.

Once you are allergic to a certain kind of animal, you won't grow out of it by exposing yourself more to the animals. There is no such thing as adaptation in animal allergy. So don't mess around with this idea.

I've had cats my whole life. About 3 years ago, I noticed my eyes got real itchy and started to swell shut when I pet the cat and then touched my eyes.

So I found out I'm allergic to cats and it happened as an adult.

I still have cats and it isn't any better. So I'm going to have to say no.

I know that if kids are exposed to animals at an early age they build up tolerance and end up with less allergies, but I am not sure if this same mechanism is true in adults.