However, the joy of buying a pet can be darkened by allergies that you may not even have known about. What if you love pets but cannot afford to keep them in your flat because of the unpleasant and dangerous symptoms of allergies you or your household?

It is not uncommon for people to feel uncomfortable in the same room as their pets. Children suffer from animal allergies much more often than adults and have more severe attacks.

For years, it was believed that an allergy attack caused exactly the hair. Now it is known that the main enemy is hidden a little deeper – in faeces, urine, sebaceous and sweat glands, microscopic skin cells and in the saliva of the pet. The animal’s cover in most cases only accumulates and transfers allergens.

And now let’s talk about two small delusions that can be encountered if you or your family suffer from allergies, but you can’t imagine your life without a pet.

All warm-blooded animals produce proteins that can cause allergic reactions in people with a sensitive immune system, and therefore there are no completely hypoallergenic animals.

But there are animals with whom even an allergic person will feel comfortable if they provide proper care for their pets. These animals are called hypoallergenic due to lack of undercoat or poor intoxication of secretions. Animals without hair are not considered to be a serious danger to allergy sufferers because they do not shed. Let’s look into it, shall we?

Cats.

Strange as it may seem, cats are the main source of allergens in the apartment (apart from dust and bed ticks). And it’s not about the wool, it’s about a special squirrel emitted by our moustached friends – Fel D1.

This substance is found in microscopic particles of animal skin and scatters all over the apartment, when your pet is playing, itching or just moving around the rooms.

But even here there is no reason to be offended by our favorite pets, because the protein Fel D1 itself does not cause allergic reactions. Sneezing, irritation of mucous membranes and rashes of various character arise when the cat harmful protein reacts with human receptors, which are on the surface of cells of our immune system.

Hypoallergenic animals for the home, which emit a small amount of dangerous protein, exist. But completely harmless cats or dogs are not yet invented.

Therefore, answering the question of what kind of animal to get yourself or your allergic child, you can choose safe breeds of cats, which will go further.

Sphinx.

The sphinxes take first place in the conditional ranking of anti-allergenic cats. This opinion about bald cats was formed just due to the absence of wool on their bodies.

In fact, they have a rare, barely noticeable undercoat, but it is really harmless. The reaction of the immune system can be caused by fat and sweat excretions of sphinx skin. Proper and regular animal care will help avoid this.

Peterbold

This elegant breed appeared relatively recently, namely in 1996 in St. Petersburg. The ancestors of St. Petersburg were the Don sphinx and oriental cat, which are also anti-allergenic.

The distinctive feature of the “St. Petersburg Sphinx” is unprecedented love and devotion to its owner. Peterbolds also need to be cared for like their predecessors. These cats sweat a lot and should be bathed twice a week.

However, allergic people need to arrange a few meetings and interact with the potential cat before they bring a Petersbold to the family. The breed is young enough and there is an assumption that the saliva of St. Petersburg cats can cause allergies.

Cornish Rex and Devon Rex

These cat breeds are characterised by short hair that needs careful care. Root roots and devons need to be bathed at least twice a week as their skin secretions are not absorbed because of the short coat, but are spread throughout the house.

Pay attention to the purity of the ears of these breeds. Excreta containing allergens may accumulate in the ear sink.

Siberian cat

Here comes the furry candidate on the list of hypoallergenic cats. Siberian cat, for a person suffering from allergies to cats, looks “frightening”, because in fact these good furry creatures can get along with some allergic.

Siberian cat saliva contains little protein Fel D1 and is therefore considered to be anti-allergenic.

Dogs.

Dogs also have harmful excreta that cause complex reactions of the human immune system. The allergenic protein secreted by our four-legged friends is called Can F1. It is found in saliva, faeces, epithelium, paranasal and sebaceous glands located in the epidermis at the base of the coat.

There are no completely hypoallergenic dogs, nor are cats. But there are breeds that emit a small amount of dangerous allergenic protein.