Fit and Healthy Lifestyle

Is there such a thing as an allergy free dog? To answer this question you first must understand what an allergy is. If you have dog allergy then you suffer from Allergies Type 1, also called Contact Allergies.

The allergy producing proteins called allergens are produced in the dogs skin. When the dog licks himself or herself this sticky protein in the dead skin cells is deposited on the hair. When the dog hair comes into contact with dust, clothing, furniture, curtains, or you, the protein will stick to the surface of the object. Pet hair itself does not product allergic reactions in individual, but the dog dander that sticks to the dog hair will.

So the answer to the question is there such a thing as an allergy free dog is a resounding no. All dogs will produce this type of allergens and it will be found in the dog’s dander, saliva, or urine. The good news is that depending on the severity of the allergy reaction, the care you take in avoiding them, and the type of dog you have you may still own a dog.

When searching for hypoallergenic pets your first stop should be the American Kennel Club (AKC). They listed some dog breeds that they considered to be the most suitable for allergic individuals.

Consider Poodles, Airedales, and Schnauzers because they shed their skin about every 21 days whereas German Shepard and Irish Setters shed their skin about every three days. Less dander means less contact with the allergy producing allergen.

Another considerations are dogs that do not shed their hair very often or have very little hair to shed. Less airborne hair means less chance of you coming into contact with the allergen. You should consider the Poodle, Chinese Crested, Labradoodle (cross between a Labrador and a Poodle), Mexican Hairless, Chihuahua, Greyhound and Basenji…. Allergy Free Dogs continue …

If you have Nuts Allergy then you suffer from allergies Type 1 what is also called Contact Allergies. Nut allergy is different than a peanut allergy because peanuts are not part of the nut family. Peanuts are considered part of the legumes family, which includes peas, lima beans, lentils and soybeans. The symptoms for a peanut allergy and a nut allergy are the same however; someone suffering from a peanut allergy will not necessarily be allergic to nuts.

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America has estimated that the majority of food allergy patients have an allergy to Nuts. Nuts and Nut oil is used in so many foods preparations that avoiding them can be very difficult. At the present time there is no known cure for allergies that involve food. Everyone that is allergic to Nuts should wear a Medical Alert Bracelet identifying the specific food intolerance.

A very severe nut allergy can cause an anaphylaxis reaction, which is the leading cause of death for allergy sufferers. An anaphylactic reaction can cause the airways to constrict, making breathing difficult and your blood pressure to drop to life-threatening levels. Symptoms include abdominal pain, nausea, stomach cramps, swelling of the face, itching, wheezing, and hives. Seek immediate emergency treatment if any breathing difficulty arises during an allergy attack.

During an allergic attack antibodies and histamines are releases into the blood stream in an attempt to neutralize the nut protein, which causes of most food allergies. Why some people overreact to specific proteins is unclear and more studies are needed. Food allergies can become worst over time and the more times you are exposed to the offending allergen the worst the symptom can become.

Avoidance of nut-containing foods is the only effective treatment for people who are allergic to nuts. Avoidance can be very difficult because nuts are often hidden in other foods or are used in many of the common food processing techniques. Until a cure is found, read the labels of every food that you bring into your home. Because the manufacturing processes change continuously re-read the labels each time you purchase a product…. Nut Allergies continue …

If you are allergic to Pork then you suffer from allergies Type 1 or contact allergy. The immune system overreacts to the proteins found in the pork. At the present time there is no known cure for allergies that involve food. Scientists do not clearly understand why the immune system of people allergic to pork considers some food proteins as harmful by the body.

The immune system can mount a variety of defenses mechanisms against proteins that is considers as harmful or foreign. Symptoms can be very mild to life-threatening depending on the severity of your pork allergies. They usually occur within a few minutes to a few hours after eating pork.

Allergies to pork or any other meat product is very rare. Many times the allergic reaction to pork can be caused not by the pork itself but by some other chemical used when processing the port for the consumer market. Such chemicals as Papain that is used as a meat tenderizer or Casein that is used as a stabilizer can cause allergic reactions that may be confused as an allergy to pork. Chemical contaminates and preservatives are the most common of food allergies.

Another caused of the apparent allergy to meat products was the uses of antibiotics at the farms. A good example was the 2001 recall of pork products by Mitchell’s Gourmet Foods Inc because the hogs were injected with Penicillin prior to the hogs being sent to the processing center…. Pork Allergies continue …

Allergies Type 2 is also called antibody-dependent allergy. It is when antibodies combine with healthy cells in the your body and then your immune system attacks the health cells. Type 2 usually start in early childhood and are caused by repeated exposure to high concentration of pollen, dust or mold in the environment. Hyperactive children are at risk of developing this disease.

Food and environmental pollutions are the most common cause of allergies type 2. Symptoms include mental confusion, depression, memory loss, personality changes, anxiety, migraine headaches and hyperactivity.

A 23 year ongoing study has noted that 95% of the American population has a type 2 allergic reaction to as least one type of food. Symptoms are usually mild and are difficult to associate with the allergies type 2 diseases. Since different foods break down at different rates it is very difficult to associate specific foods to reactive symptoms unless you are hypersensitivity.

Arthur Coca is a well-known immunologist that has developed the Coca Pulse Test that you can use at home to determine if you have food allergies. If your pulse rate increases for than 20 beats per minute after eating they you may be suffering from al allergic reaction to some type of food.

Simply removing the cause of the allergies type 2 will result in a dramatic improvement of all symptoms. The most common allergenic foods are dairy, soy, citrus, peanuts, wheat, fish, eggs, corn, chocolate, and tomatoes…. Allergy Type 2 continue …

Allergies are abnormal reactions to normally harmless substances. The allergens can be inhaled, swallowed or come into contact with the skin.

Allergens that most frequently cause problems are: pollen, mold, dust, foods, animal dander, insect bites, insect spores, viruses and bacteria.

Normally the human body learns to defend itself though experience. That is by attacking a foreign substance that has invaded and harming the body by producing antibodies. The best know of these antibodies are called histamines. Some times the immune system mistakenly recognizes a foreign to be harmful when it is not. This can lead to the overproduction of histamines specially designed to destroy the specific foreign substance.

If the overproduction of the histamines is large enough the surrounding tissue is also damaged resulting in sneezing, a stuffy head, sniffing, stuffed-up head, read and watery eyes or a skin rash.

A person with Allergies is burdened with an overprotective immune system and is forever on guard against everyday things that don’t bother the rest of us. It might be a cute affectionate kitten, a patch of green grass, to a slice of fresh garden tomato.

Some of us can roll in poison ivy and come out without any problems, while others can merely brush up against a few leaves of the stuff and there are scratching for weeks. In most cases, allergies are more annoying that debilitating but to the extreme allergy suffers life can be pure misery or even death…. Allergy Treatment continue …