If you’re suffering from an allergy to animal hair, most likely, you’ve had a pretty limited childhood. The irony is that most people who are trying to know how to live with allergy to animal fair actually love animals. This makes the condition even more tragic. The good news is that you can actually have pets even if you have this type of allergy. Below are tips on how to pull this off.
Get prescription for antihistamines. There are a lot of over-the-counter and prescription medicines which can lessen your allergic reactions to animal hair. If you’re only suffering from a mild allergy of this type, you can still keep pets around the house as long as you take these medications.
Give your pets a bath at least once a week followed by thorough brushing. If you can’t do this on your own, ask a partner or a family member to bathe your pet for you. Brushing the coat of your pet after the bath also helps lessen hair shedding. This can significantly lower your allergic symptoms.
Clean your home regularly. You may notice that your allergies worsen when you don’t clean your house on a regular basis. Try to purchase a vacuum cleaner with HEPA filter and air purifiers with HEPA filter which can clean your home more thoroughly than regular vacuum cleaners. You’ll be surprised at the sheer amount of animal hair which a regular vacuum can fail to get off your couch. If you have to wash your throw pillow cases, sheets, and curtains every week to make sure they’re free of animal hair, do so. As long as you can limit the amount of animal hair that goes into your furniture and sheets, you won’t suffer from severe allergic reactions.
Keep your pets of the bedroom. The rule is that as long as you don’t inhale your pet’s fur, you can live with pets even with an allergy to animal hair. However, this can be very difficult if you let your pet into your bedroom. It can take a nap on your pillow, leaving you wheezing and stuffy in the morning. Make sure that your pet never finds its way into your room, especially your bed. If you can train it not to touch the pillows on the couch and to stay on the floor, you should be fine. Some pet owners have to keep their pets outdoors because they’re severely allergic to animal hair. You might want to consider this too. This isn’t cruel, as long as your pet has ample shelter outdoors which can protect it from the weather.
Try to get pets that don’t shed so much. Most people with allergy to animal hair can live with short haired dogs without any trouble. If you’re interested in keeping pets, you should choose breeds that don’t shed hair so much. It’s probably a bad idea to keep a cat in the house because they shed more than dogs do. Consult a vet regarding your pet choice if your allergy is a major concern.