Becoming allergic to beloved pets devastating news for owners

Angela Rudgene was rushed to the emergency room at the hospital, put on a respirator, and ended up in the ICU.

She nearly died.

At first, doctors thought the Mayfield, P.E.I., woman had COVID-19. After three negative tests, they were stumped and had to keep trying to figure out what was wrong.

“I had become very ill, but it was over a period of time, so I didn't know it until it came to a head,” says Rudgene.

Eventually, a lung and allergy specialist concluded Rudgene had something like farmers' lung, a disease caused by an allergy to the mold in certain crops.

There were two cute and fluffy reasons for her illness: Rudgene was deathly allergic to

the two bunnies she had adopted from a local shelter the previous year.

Because of her outbreak, Rudgene knew she had to send her bunnies to a new home.

“We had to get rid of them and it was very hard to do, but it was for my health and had to be done,” she says.

Now, the bunnies are living with a wonderful foster family where they have a new bunny friend.

Although she knows they have a good life, Rudgene still misses them terribly. Her fiancé was very distraught over nearly losing her and to realize it was their beloved bunnies causing the problems. It was really hard for him to give them up, she says, but he loves her more than the bunnies, so they gave them up.

“It is very crazy when people have allergies and don't know they have them and things can get this bad this quick,” she says.

COMMON ALLERGY

Although she never ended up in the ICU on a respirator, Lori Lewis, of Halifax, knows what it is like to be allergic to pets.

Growing up, she suffered from severe asthma and was allergic to most animals with fur – including dogs, cats, horses, camels, and especially cats.

"My allergies were often triggered by being around animals, so I stayed as far away from them as possible," she says. "We did, however, have a dog, and although I was slightly allergic to him, I adapted somehow."

When she comes in contact with a cat, even if it is in the house and not visible, her head and lungs become congested. Her eyes get extremely itchy, red and watery, and she starts to wheeze. Most often, an asthma attack is triggered.

Frequent hand washing helped, but the best thing was to avoid contact altogether.

Andrew O'Keefe, an allergist and clinical immunologist with NL Allergy & Immunology in St. John's, N.L., says studies demonstrate that about 15 per cent of children have a positive skin test showing allergies to cats and 10 per cent to dogs.

Although cat and dog allergies are most common, he says people can be allergic to any pet.

As Lewis can attest, common allergy symptoms can involve the eyes, nose, sinuses, and lungs. Watery, itchy eyes, sneezing, stuffy nose, runny nose, post-nasal drip, throat clearing, cough and asthma symptoms can all occur, says O'Keefe.

Typically, these reactions occur with exposure to the pet, but if people have a pet they are allergic to at home, they may have persistent symptoms.

These allergies can develop in childhood or adulthood, explains O'Keefe.

“We don't fully understand why some people develop allergies and others do not, but it likely has to do with a complex interaction between genetics and environmental exposures to pets,” he says.

Rudgene recommends that anybody who is going to get animals or rescue animals, find out if they are allergic before they take them home. When they get attached, she says, it's very hard to give them up.

O'Keefe says that although there are skin tests for common pets, a negative test does not guarantee people will not develop an allergy in the future.

This happened to Rudgene, who grew up with cats in her home, and never had a problem. Now, though, she would be afraid to have one.

TREATMENT OPTIONS

Allergen avoidance is the best treatment, says O'Keefe, but if that is not possible, there are medications that can help manage symptoms.

This is what Carol Bennett of Summerside, P.E.I., does. Although she is allergic to cat dander, she still has 10 cats.

“I just take allergy meds like Benadryl when needed and keep windows open in spring till fall until they stop shedding,” she says.

Likewise, Christine Nicholson of Cornwall, P.E.I., says she is allergic to her cats. But she takes a daily dose of allergy medication like Aerius and says she is fine.

Carla Mackenzie, a veterinarian with the Glooscap Veterinarian Clinic in Greenwich, says some people, like herself and Lewis, desensitize

Andrew O'Keefe, an allergist and clinical immunologist with NL Allergy & Immunology in St. John's, N.L., says studies demonstrate that about 15 per cent of children have a positive skin test showing allergies to cats and 10 per cent to dogs. to animals over time.

Mackenzie was actually diagnosed early in life as being allergic to many animals, but has become desensitized, from what she assumes was exposure, as she hasn't done anything to treat the allergy.

There is another option to try, though. Anecdotally, she has heard from clients that changing a pet's food seems to help a lot of people. This usually means upgrading to a better quality of food, but even changing the ingredients in the food – specifically, the protein – can help.

HYPOALLERGENIC PETS

Despite her allergies, Lewis's children still wanted a pet growing up and were determined to have a cat. So she started researching hypoallergenic breeds.

The idea of a hypoallergenic breed is centred on the shedding of fur, explains Mackenzie, meaning those that shed less should be hypoallergenic.

Unfortunately, it's not really the fur that causes the problem in most people – it's the saliva and other discharges, she explains.

This is why Lewis liked the Siberian Forest cat.

Their skin produces less of the chemical associated with cat allergies and they are supposed to be missing 80 per cent of the allergens in their saliva, says Lewis, so their dander is not allergy-charged after grooming, she says.

Fortunately, Lewis didn't have a reaction to the cats, and now has two of them.

“Of course, it helps that my asthma and allergies have subsided considerably over the years,” says Lewis.

O'Keefe says there is no such thing as a hypoallergenic pet. If a pet has skin, saliva or urinates, it's possible people can be allergic to it.

Lewis agrees, saying she knows there is no such thing as a 100 per cent allergy-free pet.

Everyone is different, she says, and while she is slightly allergic to their male cat, it's nowhere near the asthma attacks she used to have.