These may be present whether an animal is in the same room with you or not.
What Are Sources of Pet Dander?
Rather, animal dander contains endotoxins, which are chemicals that induce a harmful physical reaction.
Brianna Gilmartin / Verywell
These stimulate immune cells and proteins, specifically immunoglobulin E (IgE).
If you have asthma, you are prone to episodes ofbronchoconstrictionorbronchospasmdue to a variety of triggers.
You may notice symptoms immediately after exposure or you may begin to develop the effects hours afterward.
How Do You Know if You Have a Pet Allergy?
Self-reported symptoms are very helpful to healthcare providers working to identify the reason for asthma exacerbations.
With animal dander and asthma, however, identifying patterns of symptoms can be challenging.
And the fact that symptoms could be mild or delayed can make finding such connections that much harder.
Try your best to pay attention to your animal exposures and your symptoms.
Managing Pet Allergies and Asthma
The best treatment for asthma reactions toanimal danderis to avoid exposure altogether.
However, this isn’t always realistic.
That said, there are medical therapies to both prevent and treat reactions.
Additionally, there are lifestyle changes you could make to help reduce related symptoms.
Preventive Medication
Preventive treatments include takinginhaled corticosteroidsorantihistaminesbefore being around animals.
This approach is not advisable for people with severe asthma.
Emergency Medication
Inhaled short-acting beta-agonists (SABAs) arebronchodilatorsthat quickly kick off the airways.
Also known as rescue inhalers, these treatments can help alleviate asthma symptomsafterthey begin.
No dogs are completely hypoallergenic.
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