Cat and Dog Allergens

Cats can cause allergy symptoms without even coming into direct contact with a person. Cats' allergy producing substances (allergen) are primarily in the saliva. These substances dry on the hair after the cat grooms himself or herself. These dried substances then become airborne. Since they are very light, they can stay in the air for a long time. Since they are sticky, they get caught on furniture, walls, carpet and elsewhere. A cat-allergic person can have symptoms when entering a home that was previously inhabited by a cat. It takes about six months after the cat is gone for most of the allergen to be eliminated. Cat allergen can also stick to clothes. People bringing their "cats" to school and work can contribute to and increase this common asthma trigger in schoolmates or coworkers.

Update!

I haven't been posting as often as before, as I'm proud to tell you all that I'm back to work. This is the third week and I'm so proud of myself. I'm happy to say that I've only had one panic attack during this whole time, and it only lasted about five minutes. That's huge progress from what I've been dealing with the last two years.

This week I've been in allergy hell, and I'm wondering if anyone else feels the same? Yesterday my allergies were so bad that I had hives all over my body. My eyes were puffy and itchy, my tongue and throat were itchy, runny and itchy nose... allergy hell. I finally took a Reactine pill and passed out for an hour since it made me drowsy... even though it states it's non drowsy! I guess I shouldn't really complain about the drowsy part... I am on quite a few med's that could have contributed to that!