topdog Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 This may be a daft question but I am not very familiar with the subject so please be gentle with me. If a person is known to be allergic to animal hair, for example dogs, cats, rabbits... Is the allergy a reaction to the hair per se or a combination of hair/animal? Are products made of natural animal hair such as wool (but 'detached' from the animal so to speak:)), likely to cause any kind of reaction? Or am I being overly cautious and silly thinking that one can be allergic to rugs etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forumosaurus Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 lol I don't know the answer but would love a bit of background on this. What are you getting an allergic a woolen rug as a belated Christmas present? =D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libuse Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 My understanding is it's the protein that is secreted by the animal, which is then present in their hair and dander, that can cause an allergic person to produce histamine, so I don't think that the same would apply to a wool rug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stranza Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Not sure if the pet allergy would cover all those animals or if it is the fur or down that causes irritation but I did used to know someone (my younger cousin) who had a lanolin allergy. As well as not being able to wear wool she couldn't use certain toiletries or shampoo's and generally made a right pain of herself whenever we went anywhere. I would have said she was a pain even if she didn't have more My Little Ponies than me. Also this was in the 80's so things may have moved on a touch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topdog Posted December 28, 2011 Author Share Posted December 28, 2011 lol I don't know the answer but would love a bit of background on this. What are you getting an allergic a woolen rug as a belated Christmas present? =D Thanks for the answers and a bit of background... my OH is allergic to pets but never lived in a house with real wool rugs as far as he's aware so not sure if there would be any problems if I bought one. Wooly jumpers seem ok but then again he does not wear them often! I have seen a rather lovely rug I like but it is 100% wool! Yep daft as it sounds, but on a serious note, recently I have heard about people being allergic to just about anything - perhaps allergies are becoming more common, or maybe they just get talked about more now.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forumosaurus Posted December 28, 2011 Share Posted December 28, 2011 Thanks for the answers and a bit of background... my OH is allergic to pets but never lived in a house with real wool rugs as far as he's aware so not sure if there would be any problems if I bought one. Wooly jumpers seem ok but then again he does not wear them often! I have seen a rather lovely rug I like but it is 100% wool! Yep daft as it sounds, but on a serious note, recently I have heard about people being allergic to just about anything - perhaps allergies are becoming more common, or maybe they just get talked about more now.. I don't know anything of the subject other than, the other day, I watched "How it's made" and they were showing how carpets were made. They said the main ingredient for carpet is wool, so I should think if he's alright around carpet he'll be fine with a rug. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fake Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 I was lead to believe that it was because dogs, cats and some other animals lick themselves clean. The dried saliva on the hairs then flake off into the atmosphere and can cause allergic reactions in some people. I don't think its down to the animals hair alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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