Exactly How You Could Use Air Purifiers to Combat Allergens from Home Pets
The majority of US households love and keep pets. In fact over 60% of homes in the USA have a pet, usually a dog or a cat. Unfortunately, many people , that is about 1 in 10, are allergic to pets. This can mean that pet ownership which should bring a lot of joy can end up leading to a lot of pain and distress for those sensitive individuals.
So what can you do? If you've never owned a pet you might just have to live without one. But what about when you've had a pet for years and its become part of the family and you suddenly develop an allergy, or your lovely new child happens to develop an allergy to the pet you've kept and raised for 10 years. In that case you're going to need a different approach. Fortunately, there are things you can do to reduce the severity of your allergic reactions. Firstly, you'll need to educate yourself about the signs and symptoms of pet allergies so you can take appropriate steps to bring relief.
So what can you do if you're allergic to your pet? What causes or can trigger that reaction?
Most allergic reactions are caused by the response of your immune system to a foreign body, chemical or foreign substance. Some of the commonest allergens you are likely to encounter include pollen, pet hair ,pet dander, insect stings such as bee stings, and reactions to various foods and chemicals.
Your body's immune system normally produces proteins called antibodies which act as a natural defense from any foreign substances that can cause you sickness or infection. If you have an allergic response, your body produces antibodies that then identify harmless and harmful substances as potentially harmful to you. Once your body comes into contact with these substances it reacts with an inflammatory response on your skin or in your nasal passages and lungs.
Pet allergens tend to come from dead pet skin cells (dander), their saliva and their hair. Dander is particularly dangerous if your are allergic to pets as it is tiny, hard to eliminate and can remain airborne in your home for long periods of time. Pet allergens can also get stuck to your furniture and clothes. The amount of saliva your pets produce varies but it tends to attach itself to carpets and clothing and once it dries up it can become airborne as well.
Most pet allergies are rarely dangerous, just very uncomfortable. They may however lead to extremely distressing symptoms such as nasal congestion, runny noses, itchy red or watery eyes, mild, moderate or severe coughs. You could also have swollen nasal passages, swollen eye bags, facial pain and disturbed sleep.
However, if you already predisposed to lung disease or infection - for example suffering from asthma, then a pet allergy can make your condition far worse, leading to shortness of breath, chest pain and wheezing, which in turn can lead to sleeping issues such as insomnia.
How You Can Use Air Purifying Technology to Alleviate Pet Allergies
One solution to your pet induced allergies is to install an Air Purifier in your home or rooms. There are many types of air purifier, but all are designed to either capture and remove particles or destroy harmful microbes. The best air purifiers use a combination of several technologies and filters including pre-filters, activated carbon filters to remove odors, HEPA or True HEPA filters to remove up to 99.97% of particles from your room. In addition there are ionizers which use negative ionic charges to attract and remove particles and air purifiers which use ultraviolet radiation to kill microbes.
Click to see the best air purifiers in our affordable category or see an air purifier in action and watch the video below for some of the best air purifiers on the market.
