Exposure To Cats A Bigger Problem Than People Realize

As if I need another reason to hate cats. It seems that having a cat can potentiate allergy symptoms in over 25% of the population. Further research is needed but if true, this could allviate alot of symptoms esp in children who are often hard hit by allergies.

you suffer from an allergy, not necessarily a cat allergy, the presence of cats could exacerbate your existing allergy, say researchers from Imperial College London. You do not need to have cats in your house for this to happen, they could live nearby, say the researchers.

You can read about this study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

Susan Chinn, Imperial College London, and researchers at 20 locations throughout Europe, were surprised to find that people who were not specifically allergic to cats experienced higher bronchial responsiveness when in the presence of cats. It seems, said Chinn, that people who are allergic to mold, timothy grass and dust mites are most affected.
www.medicalnewstoday.com...

www.news.com.au...

Cats are nothing more than big nasty vermin. There is not a stray left around my house...no collar, no quarter

I have heard the opposite. That having a cat might lessen the chance of developing allergies. I'll see if I can find some links...


Edit to add: Here's one

The Scotsman - Pets halve asthma risk

GROWING up in a household with dogs and cats can halve a child’s chances of developing common allergies such as those which trigger asthma .

Scientists in the United States found that having two or more pets in the home during the first year of life greatly reduced the likelihood of childhood allergy.

[edit on 2007/7/4 by Hellmutt]

Originally posted by Hellmutt
I have heard the opposite. That having a cat might lessen the chance of developing allergies. I'll see if I can find some links...

One of the stories I linked showed that early exposure may have a postive effect later in regards to allergies. This runs counterintuitive to my knowledge where early expose can often be worse with alot of allergins.

I would rather have have cats than vermin.

Allergies are a nuisance, but hunta virus and leptospirosis can kill you.

I would imagine that the same thing would hold true when these people are exposed to other allergins.

(the translation of the conclusion of the paper is "if you're genetically disposed to be allergic to multiple things, then having a cat may cause you to develop an allergy to the cat and thus develop asthma/allergy problems.")

I think that if you have someone who tends to be allergic, that they can in later life (through long exposure) develop allergies to ... laundry soap, for instance. Or other known allergins.

(disclaimer: I love my cats and get annoyed at stories that paint them as dangers. "Didn't they study DOGS?" I ask.)

this sounds like a case of cat haters vs. cat lovers...
I too saw that investigation about having pets in the house while the children are young and it sounds very logical.
Think of the way that you get vacinated... they inject a small amount of virus to activate your immune system.
The same could very likely be true when it comes to allergies. You get exposed to cat and dog at a young age and thereby preparing your immune system for the rest of your life.
It should be commonly known today that a childs immunesystem is very adaptable.

On another side I also read that having pets such as cats and dogs actually can help against depression. I for one always felt a little bit, "happier", after having petted a dog or especially a cat.

Here in Denmark they recently did studies on the front of dementia and found that pets who likes being cuddled also can help them. However it was not thought sensible to have real live pets around people with dementia regarding caretaking and cleanlyness, so they developed some robotpets.
The ones I saw was baby seals with top of the line fur and even sound (although the sound was awful... sounded a bit like the seal was lost from its mother)

Hmm...I grew up on a farm, and we had near 80-90 cats at one time that made residence in our haymount. I guess I should have avoided them to lessen my childhood allergies when I was younger.

I would be curious to know what breed of cats were tested, because I know some breeds are more hypoallergenic than others and even a difference in the ratio of male to female cats could make a significant difference. If I remember correctly, female cats carry less allergens than male cats due to a slightly looser hair concentration. Male cats are more susceptible to carrying potential allergens because their hair is more dense and can trap allergens between hairs. This could be why other animal species have lower rates of being carriers for allergic reactions in humans...hair mass and density. Thus, it would stand to reason that brushing a cat's hair regularly (especially in males) would lessen the chance that it could transmit anything airborne. I would like to see a comparitive study done between cats that are regularly groomed and those that are not, and their comparison with "so-called" Hypoallergenic cats to determine if there is any real difference in the transmission of allergens.

You ticked off my cat........ You won't like her when she is mad......
She says your anti-felinism is disgusting and and its species-ists like you spreading anti-kitty feelings that are making this world a bad place to live in.

Right now my cat is on my other computer copying your thread all over the internet and calling for a revolution to free all cats from their human oppressors.









[edit on 5-7-2007 by Tiloke]

I'm with ya Tiloke! My little goobie and your cat can start up the revolution! It'll start with dropping little chewed up "presents" on all of your cat-hating doorsteps!