14 DAY TRIAL // A new study carried out by Queen's University researchers, has found that being allergic to cats or dogs can worsen your ragweed allergies.
Assistant professor Anne Ellis was the lead researcher of this recent study and her team discovered that people with pet allergies often develop ragweed allergy symptoms much faster than others.
Also, the scientists found that once the allergy season is well installed, these differences in symptoms remain.
123 participants were exposed to ragweed, and the team led by Ellis, assistant professor in the departments of medicine and microbiology and immunology, concluded that pet allergy sufferers have different symptoms than the others, who were not allergic to animals.
Also, patients who were allergic to dust mite, also developed symptoms faster, after being exposed to ragweed.
Dr Ellis, who also worked at Kingston General Hospital, said that “the study results helped us develop a theory of ‘pre-priming’.
“If you have ongoing symptoms from perennial allergies, as soon as you add another allergen into the mix your symptoms develop much faster, and you may have a harder time dealing with it than others,” she explained.
She said that, in their best interest, patients that have animal allergies should find another home for their pets, or at least do not let them into the bedroom of the allergic person, this way minimizing their exposure.
This issue is rather vital in the case of children suffering from asthma, and simply avoiding allergenic factors, could prevent the development of irremediable lung damage.
According to statistics, thirty percent of Canada's population will suffer from allergies at some point in their lives, but the exact number will be very hard to establish, as many allergies go undiagnosed or unrecognized.
This study was carried out at the Environmental Exposure Unit (EEU) at Kingston General Hospital, and its results were published in a recent issue of the Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.