Alergic to Dog but wasn't in the past?

[oni5000]

Hi,

We recently brought home a 11 month old beagle / fox-terrier mix from a
rescue that deals with high-kill shelters. He is adapting very well to
our home so far, but one of my roomates seems to have an allergic
reaction to him. When we brought him home, after playing with him and
being in our part of the house where we keep him, the roomate had itchy
eyes and felt like he had a cold later on that night. He was surprised
because his parents have a boston terrier and he didn't have much of a
reaction to him and he also previously had 3 cats 5 years ago and never
had reactions to them (although when he goes back to visit, he does get
allergic reactions to the cats). Is it possible that he has become
allergic in the time away from the animals at his parents house? What
is the likelihood that this is temporary and will go away as he gets
used to having animals around again?

 

[keller]

Yes, it's possible that this is a new allergy. It's also possible that your roomate has always been allergic to dogs, but built up a tolerance for his parents' dog from being around him all the time. There is no way to say how he will be with dogs in the future. He could build up a tolerance. Or, his allergy could get much worse. He should go to an allergist who can give him some medication, and give him an allergy test.

 

[mojozen]

He was surprised because his parents have a boston terrier and he didn't have much of a reaction to him and he also previously had 3 cats 5 years ago and never had reactions to them (although when he goes back to visit, he does get allergic reactions to the cats). Is it possible that he has become allergic in the time away from the animals at his parents house? What is the likelihood that this is temporary and will go away as he gets used to having animals around again?

This is quite common. I grew up on a farm surrounded by horses, chickens, goats, cats and dogs. Since i left the farm I have developed more severe allergies to all of the above -- with my own dog it took me a month to reacclimate to having a dog and for my allergies to settle around him. Fortunately they did, although i can still have asthmatic reactions to other dogs that are not groomed often.

One thing that might help is this product Allergy Relief Wipes. They help me a lot during shedding seasons! I also used them during that adjustment period that i talked about above.

 

[IceyBlueSibes]

You can get allergies at ANY time. Even if you were around it, ate it, touched, etc. for years... it can pop up at any moment. I had gotten very sick 2 years ago and first started out with a rash and we thought it was allergic reaction. I had not been around anything new and didn't eat anything new. The dr. said allergies can pop up at anytime. Turned out I didn't have an allergic reaction but was a viral and bacterial infection togther.

Anyhow, hope that helped! I do agree with having him visit his doctor or someone specifically for allergies to get this under control!

 

[casablanca1]

Ditto what everyone else said, especially if your roommate's around 20. That's a prime time to develop animal allergies. If the symptoms aren't too bad, you can manage it by pretty easily; keep the dog out of his bedroom and off his bed (and the rest of the furniture if possible), and have him wash his face and hands quickly after playing with the dog. It sucks, I know. I'm allergic to horses, dogs and cats - I have to rinse my face before I leave the barn and after I play with or brush my dog. Cats, for some reason, just destroy me, so I avoid them altogether.

 

[filarotten]

I'm sure it is possible. when I was in my twenty's I took allergy shots for dogs, cats, horses, hay, dust, mold and mildew. At the time I had all of the above, so I learned to wash my hands before getting them near my face. It helped a lot. Now, Zyrtec helps on bad days.

 

[smkie]

after 20 years of working in a kennel i developed a severe allergy to dogs.in fact my doc said it was the worst reaction he ever saw to a scratch test. He told me get rid of them and stay away from anywhere that has dogs. Might as well tell me to not be me. I started washing my dogs in the winter 2 a week, and in the summer more often. I used the same shampoo and cremerinse that i use on myself. No more problems with allergies, at least to mine in my home but if i am around a dirty dog i can really tell in how i breathe.

 

[Mordy]

It's also possible that your roomate is allergic to one dog but not to another. On top of that, it depends on what the allergen is: hair, dander, saliva etc.

My own dad is a good example - he suffers from all kinds of allergies but only reacts to some individual dogs. He's fine with most of them.

 

[oni5000]

Good news!

My roommate thinks that it was just an initial reaction or that it was something else. Today he had felt no allergy symptoms at all, even after being in the room with Ozzy for over an hour, petting him a lot and letting him lick his hands. We think that if he was allergic, he definitely would have felt it last night / this morning, so it looks like we're not going to have any problems keeping Ozzy here!

We still want to keep the dander around in general around the house just in case, so we are going to do the following:

1. Groom Ozzy regularly outside the house
2. Replace the furnace filter with one rated for pet dander
3. Put an Ionizer / HEPA filter in the common area of the house
4. Use the dander wipes recommended earlier during heavy shedding periods

Is there anything else we can do that i'm not thinking of?

 

[keller]

There is also a dander shampoo that you can use. Also, keep Ozzy out of your roomate's bedroom, vacuum regulary, and purchase febreze allergen reducer and use it to spray down the couches, curtains etc.