Animal dander.
Your pet's dead skin flakes, urine, faeces, saliva and hair can trigger asthma. Dogs, cats, rodents (including hamsters and guinea pigs) and other mammals all can trigger asthma in individuals with an allergic reaction to animal dander.

Proteins in the dander, urine, or saliva of warm-blooded animals (e.g., cats, dogs, mice, rats, gerbils, birds, etc.) have been reported to sensitize individuals and can cause allergic reactions or trigger asthma episodes in individuals sensitive to animal allergens. The most effective method to control animal allergens in the home is to not allow an animal in the home.

If you remove an animal from the home, it is important to clean the home (including floors and walls, but especially carpets and upholstered furniture) thoroughly. Pet allergen levels are reported to stay in the home for several months after the pet is removed even with cleaning.

Isolation methods to reduce animal allergen in the home have also been suggested by reputable health authorities (e.g., keeping the animal in only one area of the home, keeping the animal outside, or ensuring the allergic or asthmatic individual stay away from the animal) but the effectiveness of these methods have not been determined. To the contrary, several reports in the literature indicate that animal allergen is carried in the air and by residents of the home on their clothing to all parts of the home, even when the animal is isolated. In fact, animal allergen is often detected in locations where no animals were housed. In these situations, it is assumed that the allergen was carried in on people that have animals or on people that have been around animals or people with animals.

Often people sensitive to animal allergens are advised to wash their pets regularly. Recent research indicates that washing pets may only provide temporary reductions in allergen levels. There is no evidence that this short term reduction is effective in reducing symptoms and it has been suggested that during the washing of the animal the sensitive individual may be initially exposed to higher levels of allergen.

Thus the most effective method to control exposure to animal allergens is to keep your home pet free. However, some individuals may find isolation measures to be sufficiently effective. Isolation measures that have been suggested include keeping pets out of sleeping areas, keeping pets away from upholstered furniture, carpets, and stuffed toys, keeping the pet outdoors as much as possible, and isolating sensitive individuals from the pet as much as possible.
Children who are exposed to animals from birth are less likely to develop allergic reactions to animals later in life. Be cautious when introducing new pets into a household suffering from allergies.

An important note on birds and reptiles
Be very cautious if you have young children and babies and you keep birds or reptiles. Birds carry diseases that can be transferred to humans and baby's are particularly susceptible.

There is now conclusive evidence that reptiles (snakes, lizards, tortoises, frogs etc) infect children with salmonella. This extract below from the NARMS Scientific Meeting held March 15-16, 2001, in Rockville, MD

"Salmonellosis is one of the most common causes of bacterial diarrhoea in the United States [8]. The total number of Salmonella infections over a 10-year period was reported at 441,863 people, mostly in infants [9]. The major source of Salmonella infection is food. However, an estimated 3 to 5% of all cases of Salmonellosis are associated with exposure to exotic pets.

Since the early 1970s small turtles (shell measured less than 4 inches) were banned, from sale in pet stores because one-quarter million infants and small children younger than 5 years of age were diagnosed with turtle-associated Salmonellosis [5]. This FDA regulatory action, which is still in effect, reduced the number of Salmonella cases by 100,000 in children 1 to 9 years of age [2,8]. However, in recent years the incidence has been increasing. Currently, approximately 1.4 million Salmonella illnesses occur each year, resulting in 600 deaths annually in the United States [9]. Salmonella serotype marina is becoming increasingly prevalent, especially among infants and children in households where pet iguanas and other reptiles are present. One recent study reported in the United States, showed Salmonella serotype marina infecting 81% of infants. Thirty-four percent of these children were hospitalized, but only 14% had touched the household reptile directly [8]. In 1993, a rise in reptile-associated Salmonellosis was associated with an estimated 3% increase in pet reptiles in U.S. households, corresponding to an increase in the importation of reptiles. Reptile importation increased from 27,806 in 1986 to 798,405 in 1993 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), the majority of which were iguanas [5]. It is estimated that 2 million pet reptiles are owned by 2% of U.S. households, representing a substantial increase that peaked in 1993 to 713,234 [8]. In Canada, Salmonellosis is estimated to affect 2.4% of the total population each year (approximately 627,200 cases)[1]. Salmonella marinas, S. java, S. poona, S. stanley are the serotypes most often associated with reptiles.


Salmonellosis can also be fatal. It has been recommended that high-risk people such as those with immature or weakened immune systems (including babies, children younger than 5 years of age, pregnant women, elderly people, and people with AIDS) [1] should avoid contact with reptiles. Its estimated that 60% to 90% of all reptiles carry and shed Salmonella intermittently or continuously [7,10] because it is part of their normal microbial flora (skin and gastrointestinal systems). It is speculated that there is no such thing as a Salmonella-free reptile [4]."