Pet allergies and how to deal with them starts with knowing what is an allergy? Allergies are considered by the WHO to be at the top of the list of chronic conditions affecting the world’s populace today. No matter where you live we all know that allergies affect us, or someone close to us to differing degrees. It is estimated that in the United States of America alone close to half the population suffers from one or more forms of allergy and that the medical bill for these conditions runs into the billions of dollars. The simplest way to describe allergy is as a hypersensitivity or atypical reaction to some substance that is not normally present in the populace at large.
It is believed that allergic reactions are the result of malfunctions in the body’s immune system. The immune system is what normally protects our bodies from infection or assault by foreign bodies, bacteria, viruses or other parasites etc… Unfortunately for allergy sufferers our immune systems can often overreact to certain triggers producing these allergy symptoms. If your parents or grandparents were allergy sufferers then you have between a twenty and sixty percent chance of also developing similar allergic sensitivities. This does not mean that you will necessarily develop the same allergies but rather you will be susceptible to the triggers associated with allergies.A wide range of things of course also cause allergies, such as, where you live, seasons, pets, types of furniture in your home, housekeeping habits, food and drink preferences, medications, personal hygiene products, pollution, and the type of job you hold.
While some allergies are directly related to seasons others occur regardless of the time of year. Seasonal allergies normally occur when certain plants are pollinating. The things that you come into contact with on a daily basis bring on perennial allergies and these things can be mold, animal allergens and the droppings of dust mites or cockroaches. Since allergy sufferers can be allergic to more than one type of allergen they often suffer from both seasonal and year round allergies.
