Guest Author - Denise Lacazette

Do not give up your pets because of allergies until you read this book! Allergic to Pets is a terrific book that talks about the various aspects of living with pet allergies. It ranges from what exactly is a pet allergy to other factors that aggravate pet allergies. The book covers a wide variety of animals and gives the reader specific instructions on dealing with animal and habitat allergens. In many cases it is not necessary to get rid of the family pet.

The book is very compact yet it gets its message across very well. Do not skip the two forwards by an allergist and veterinarian. Their stories mirror many that suffer from pet allergies, but from a professional perspective. Chapters included in this book include understanding allergies and asthma, skin problems (allergy-related), general allergen reduction, allergen-proofing the home or workplace, and advances in allergy research. There is also a chapter on each of the following animals: birds, rabbits, rodents, ferrets, and horses. Is there such a thing as an allergy-free pet? The author points out that even animals like lizards that do not cause allergies often have habitats that foster allergens. She tells you where to look for them.

I think this is a great book and much needed. Many people suffer from pet allergies and believe they cannot have pets because that was the traditional method of dealing with the allergy. It is not easy by any stretch following all of the recommendations, but as the author points out you may not need to follow all of them in order to find relief. My husband suffers from pet allergies and you would never know it given the number of animals (and types) we have. We have followed many of the suggestions outlined in this book through trial and error over the years. I learned quite a bit reading this book I did not know and I have altered my regime again since reading the book. It is really nice to finally see some of the things we have learned over the years compiled in one place and validated by professionals as worthwhile. Like many others, we would rather suffer through allergies than give up any of our companions and with books like this we finally have an alternative to living with it or giving them up. The only thing I would have stressed more strongly is getting rid of carpeting. I realize it is not realistic for anyone renting, but the allergy reduction from a variety of sources (not just pets) is incredible. It also saves quite a bit of work since you do not have to neutralize the allergens in the carpet.

Give this book a read – highly recommended!

Allergic to Pets is available through Amazon.com.

Title: Allergic to Pets
Authors: Shirlee Kalstone
Publisher: Bantam Press
Copyright: 2006
ISBN: 13 9780553383674