Can pets be allergic to hooman?

MyFriend Team
- March 24, 2023

We all have that one friend, the one who always suddenly gets the sniffles or rashes the moment they meet a furry animal. Having antihistamines on hand is a regular thing to do for those who are more sensitive to pets. Although we’re quite familiar with the allergic reactions from animal fur, dead skin, saliva, or urine, have we ever wondered if our pets can be allergic to us? What would their reactions be like? 🤔

What are allergic reactions caused by?

Many of us might think that those who are allergic to animals are allergic to their fur, because most pets come with a fluffy coat that might be silky and long, or even short and floofy! But if we really look closer at these sensitivities, we’ll realize that the floof isn’t at fault! It’s actually “dander” or the dead skin cells that animals shed – or if you want to get real specific, it’s the protein in their skin flakes that causes these allergies. These proteins are also found in their saliva, urine, and excretion!

This might also mean that hoomans that don’t have a floofy exterior can also elicit an allergic reaction from other living things too! This includes our feline friends and canine companions. Although bear in mind that this hypothesis has not been fully addressed, and it’s mere speculation.

As referenced by Douglas Deboer, a dermatologist from the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison – there’s still ongoing research and investigation to determine whether or not animals can actually be allergic to humans! There’s still no clear conclusion – and if there are friends that are actually allergic to humans, it would be a very rare case. There have been experiments to find this out – but the results suggest that animals tend to not be allergic to humans. It’s only a mere 2% of pets that showed allergic reactions to human dander.

Despite these findings, we still can’t conclude that pets can be allergic to humans. Research requires repetition for a conclusive result – and proper methodology must be applied. Animals should be completely separated from humans, so scientists can monitor them to see if their symptoms improve or not, before meeting humans again. This method is tough for researchers to carry out, and further research is still required to determine the real conclusion of whether or not pets can be allergic to humans.

Although we don’t have a clear conclusion, if we notice that our little friends suddenly experience extra itchiness between their skinfolds, buttocks, eyes, ears, and paws, or have extra dry skin, sniffles, teary eyes, sneezes, hives, or an upset stomach, you shouldn’t hesitate to bring them to the vet for proper care and diagnosis!

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