What To Do If You Have A Cat Allergy And Want A Cat Anyway
When you are an animal lover, it can be difficult to deal with having animal dander allergies. Cats, for example, are a common allergy that people have. If you are one of those people but you want to get yourself a cat anyway, you may wonder what you can and should do to manage your allergy. Get to know some of the steps you can take to help with your cat allergy when you get yourself a cat. Then you can be sure you are doing your best to take care of yourself.
Know That You May Get Used to Your Cat's Dander
One of the things to keep in mind when you get a cat is that you may eventually adjust to your cat's individual fur and dander. When you are exposed to the same dander all day, every day, your body can build up a tolerance to it. This process can take weeks or months to occur, which means that your allergies will be on high-alert for quite a while before this happens. Because of this, and the fact that it is only a possibility that your allergy will improve with your cat, you also need other strategies to manage your allergy.
Take a Daily Allergy Medication
If you have allergies, one of the best ways to manage them is to take daily allergy medication. There are several over-the-counter options available like Zyrtec and Claritin. You could also talk to your doctor or an allergist about a prescription-strength option if the over-the-counter medications are not strong enough.
Go See an Allergist for Shots
Another option for managing your cat allergy as well as any other allergies you may have is to do allergy shots. The first step toward getting allergy shots is to go visit an allergy specialist (an allergist). The doctor will discuss your symptoms with you, do a general examination, and then will likely request an allergy test. The test is a skin test in which the potential allergens are injected just below the surface of the skin. If a bump and/or redness develops as a result, then you have an allergy to that particular substance.
Once your allergy doctor has the list of allergies, they can develop the serum for your shots. The serum contains small amounts of the substances you are allergic to. The idea is to get your body so that it no longer reacts to those substances (or at least reacts less strongly). Shots can be the most effective way to manage your allergy to cats when you want to have a cat in your home.
Now that you know some of the ways that you can manage your cat allergy and get yourself a cat, you can get started right away. Contact a company like Oak Brook Allergists in order to learn more.