If you suddenly have to constantly sneeze in the presence of your four-legged friend, get itchy eyes, or have a headache, you could be suffering from a dog allergy. We describe how it develops and what symptoms those affected suffer from in the following.
Dog allergies can be congenital or come on suddenly. Anyone afraid of suffering from such an allergic reaction will initially be happy about the good news: the dog allergy usually has less of an effect than an allergy to cat hair. Nevertheless, treatment makes sense, especially if you don’t want to do without contact with dogs.
Dog allergy: What exactly triggers the hypersensitivity?
A dog hair allergy is one of the so-called animal hair allergies, although this term is somewhat misleading. Because not only the hair of the dog triggers symptoms in an allergy sufferer. The pathogens for the allergy are proteins found in the animal’s fur, such as dander, urine, and saliva. For this reason, a dog does not necessarily have to be present to trigger an allergic reaction – even people who have just stroked a dog can do the rest to make allergy sufferers sneeze.
Interestingly, the allergens are the same for all dog breeds. However, the amount of allergens is different – depending on the species and individual, other numbers of allergens can be present. For example, while you don’t show any dog allergy symptoms when dealing with a German Shepherd, these can be particularly strong with a Boxer. Contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence that long-haired breeds cause more allergic reactions than short-haired breeds.
Identify dog allergy symptoms.
You can recognize a dog allergy by the typical allergy symptoms, frequent sneezing, irritated, swollen and watery eyes, and itchy face. Sometimes asthmatic symptoms also appear. Scratchy throat and reddening of the skin are also possible. If these symptoms occur suspiciously often after contacting dogs or dog owners, you should see a doctor to get tested for dog allergies. Here is an overview of all common symptoms:
• Allergic rhinitis
• Burning and watery eyes
• sneezing
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Shortness of breath
• Skin swelling and redness
Find out dog allergy with an allergy test
The doctor will probably determine whether you have a dog allergy or not based on your medical history. However, this can only be established with certainty with the help of an allergy test. A skin test, such as a skin prick test and a blood test, can be used to make a diagnosis. If you own a dog and suffer from a dog allergy, you can discuss how to combat the allergy with your doctor.
