When it comes to your furry friends, they can do nothing wrong—even if they make you sneeze or kick-start your allergies. Loving and caring for your pets is important but keeping yourself healthy and productive is essential. If your fur baby is inducing your allergies, there are a few ways to prevent or reduce the chance of your allergies flaring up. Here are five ways to find relief from a pet allergy so you and your best bud can coexist peacefully.
Frequent Bath Times
If you or a family member experience pet allergy symptoms, a way to help find relief is by bathing your fur baby. Sometimes, bathing your pet can be a hassle, especially if your pet doesn’t enjoy baths. However, cleaning your dog every week can reduce the risk of allergens floating around your home, which could be the cause of facing uncomfortable symptoms like itchy eyes, coughing, or a congested nose.
Establish Pet-Free Areas
Although the world is your pet’s oyster, you should establish pet-free areas to help reduce your or a family member’s allergies. Make certain rooms or areas in your home, like certain bedrooms or the dining room, pet-free zones to reduce allergens in those rooms. Although it won’t eliminate the allergens, you can still get a break from higher levels of floating allergens around your home.
Use a HEPA Filter
When you take your pet outside or to other environments, they can carry those same allergens to your home. To find relief from a pet allergy, you should use a high-efficiency particulate air filter (HEPA) in your home to help reduce airborne allergens. You should also put this filter in your vacuum to reduce the number of allergens like pet fur and dust in your home.
Clean Your Home More Frequently
Another way to find relief from your pet allergies is by cleaning your home more frequently. By cleaning your home, you can tackle all the floating allergens. Sweeping and cleaning each room every week and changing the air filter every month will help improve the air quality and space around your home. This will also help you target the “problem” areas in your home that quickly accumulate dust, dirt, and fur.
Move Your Upholstered Furniture
Moving your upholstered furniture into a pet-free area is a great way to keep the floating allergens to a minimum. Pet owners should avoid fabrics like velvet, suede, and tweed to reduce the chances of fur being caught on their furniture. Fabrics like leather, canvas, and microfiber are great fabrics for pet owners because it’s easy to clean up excess pet hair from these materials.
Whether your pet allergies are mild or severe, it’s important to treat them. Small changes to your daily routine and cleaning methods can help reduce your allergy symptoms. If these changes don’t help and your allergies persist, consider seeing an allergy specialist. At Allergy & ENT Associates, we have specialists that treat allergens in Houston and our other 15 locations. Contact us today for more information and to schedule an appointment.
