Pet Dander Allergy – You’re Not Really Allergic to Your Pet’s Fur

If you are allergic to pet dander, and if having a fish for a pet doesn’t really do it for you, then you really have your job cut out for you finding a pet that won’t to get your pet dander allergies started.

Most allergic reactions to things are caused by little protein molecules called allergens that are found in all kinds of substances. Since proteins are important building blocks of every life form on earth, and since most pets are large animals that have proteins all over – in their fur, their skin, their saliva and their pee – there’s really no way to completely guarantee that you won’t have problems with a given pet.

Some people believe that if they could just get a pet that had short fur, then it wouldn’t be a problem. They feel that they will probably sneak past their pet dander allergy if they could only make sure that all the pets in the house had really short fur.

Of course, allergies aren’t that simple. You see, dander isn’t just hair. It’s anything that a pet sheds regularly – including skin flakes. When you see pet hair all around, you start to believe that it’s the hair that you’re allergic to. In fact, you’re allergic to the skin flakes that stick to the hair and that just fall about the house. You aren’t allergic to hair, mostly .

Basically, getting a pet with short hair isn’t really going to help you much. Getting a pet that doesn’t shed much hair – now that might help. Because when there’s less hair lying about, there’s not as much skin flakes lying around either.

If you have a pet in your home you would be amazed to see how much fur actually makes it into your air duct system. Whether you are the original owner of the home or if you bought the house used, air duct cleaning is a must! At a minimum, keep your air filter clean or consider upgrading to a more efficient filtration system. There are tons of options here.

Check out this helpful video about how to minimize pet dander in your home: