Pet allergies

I have lived with allergies for many many years now, but i kinda want to get down to the bottom of it.

I grew up with dogs and pets, around the age of 10 or so i developed a dog allergy. But, i was not allergic to cats or any other animals. Now that i am 24 i have reacted to some peoples cats and i owned a cat about 9 years ago with no problems.

My symptoms will include

itchy eyes, runny noes and sneezing, burning itch on sensitive areas like my face and neck if i touch them. Also i have asthma symptoms like shortness of breath and wheezing after exposure for more than 10 min.

Do allergies change with age, and what exactly am i allergic to from these pets?

[pangolin]

Most people are allergic to the proteins in the pets saliva and skin. If the pet has fleas, flea poo is also very allergy causing! obviously you come into contact with these proteins when you stroke the pet but also the become airborne and cause all the symptoms you describe. There is a product I heard of that you can comb through your pets fur that I presume changes or coats the proteins in some way? Can't remember what its called though sorry!  Shampooing dogs once a week may help you a little but dog might end up with a skin complaint!  Cats are strange in that some seem more allergy inducing than others. Some say devon or cornish rexs are ok, but also it seems individual cats within breeds can be different. Your average moggy might be ok while that expensive pedigree you bought specially could thoroughly disagree with you.  I personally have found that if I have some contact once a week with my mothers cats, I am fine. Stay away for more than a month and I will have symptoms on my return. My friend also experienced this phenomenon when she went away to university. It would take her the whole holidays to get used to the cats again then it would be term time!
Not having lots of carpet or soft furnishings in the home to help keep down the number of non-wipable surfaces that the proteins can stick to can help. Remember you only ever need water and a mild detergent, too many cleaning products themselves can cause allergy.
Allergies can and do change with age. Food allergies can come and go, even if you had an anaphalactic episode.
Wish you well & hope you find a furry friend who doesnt cause a reaction!

[Americaneagle]

I had a another chance to do some testing. I was invited to a house party and the owners had two long hair cats and carpet over 90% of the house. They free roam over most the house in a normal day....but no reaction whatsoever.

I think maybe the reaction to fleas maybe the difference. Otherwise my allergic reaction to cats are completely at random

[jlsc5216]

I also was not allergic to pets when I was younger.  I had dogs until I left for college.  After college I moved into my own place and didn’t have any pets.  I adopted a pet after 10 years of moving out of the house with dogs and had crazy allergic reactions.  You can read about them here: http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/4204