kevenb (04/03/83)
I suppose everyone has their theories as to what is the cause of the allergy with cats, but I've understood that dandruff from the animal is the cause. Mabey true, I don't know. However a roommate of mine managed to overcome his allergy to my cat. This may sound obscure, but I had him put his nose right in the cats fur and take a big snort of the cat. This naturally sent him into the full sneezing, watery eyes and everything. However, after about a week of this, his tolerance built up, and normal exposure to the cat no longer bothered him at all. I don't know if this was just luck, or if his body just built up a resistance. But still after years, he nolonger has an allergy to any cat. You might try this. The first week may be h*ll, but it has worked. Keven
mark (04/04/83)
That's DANDER, not DANDRUFF! There was an article in newsweek last fall (a cat was on the cover of the issue, as was mention of the story) about allergies. One claim it made was that there is some new drug you can inject your cat with which causes its dander not to bother your allergies! (Of course, it will be forever before you can get it on the open market, or have your vet do it.) As to sticking your nose right in the cat for a week, I wouldn't recommend this. Those of us with severe allergies go to an allergist once a week for an allergy shot. The idea is that they inject you with gradually increasing doses of what you're allergic to, and eventually (after 1-2 years) you build up a tolerance and your allergies don't bother you as much anymore. They make you sit in the doctor's office for 20 minutes after each shot, then inspect your arm for signs of a reaction. This is a precaution - if you have a serious reaction, they can pump adrenaline into you as emergency treatment. A crash dose seems awfully dangerous, and I'm surprised that you claim it worked. Perhaps it just SEEMS a lot less severe after a week of hell!
evans (04/04/83)
A word of warning - not everyone can become immuned to animals. I checked with my doctor about how effective immunity shots to animals are and he said not very reliable, ie, don't get your hopes up. I had shots for many years when I was young and still can't get too close to animals without reactions. I even lived with four pets (2 dogs and 2 cats) for close to ten years (not my choice) and never became immuned to them, of course I NEVER stuck my face right up to one and took a good whiff for fear of of my life. If you want to try it then FINE, I wouldn't. And one other thing, just having a pet around spreads its dander just about everywhere in the house so just breathing the air is enough to make send your system into termoil. Oh well. I wish you other allergic-types good luck. Barry Evans @ decvax!wivax!evans
ark (04/04/83)
Perhaps an electronic air cleaner might help?