my stepdaughter is allergic to dog dander but never shown any sympoms for five years. How can this be?

Question

She has been with the same dogs in the same house for 5 years. No red itchy eyes, no coughing,sneezing, itching...Nothing. But now all of a sudden she is allergic. The tests proove it! How can someone become allergic when they never were before?

Answer 1

it's not so strange my brother was allergic to dogs/cats as a kid but when he was about 10 we could get a dog and he wasn't allergic anymore it's like some allergics grow away

Answer 2

A person can be born with a genetic tendancy to have allergies, many allergies are hereditary, or you can develop allergies over a period of time. Allergies are the immune systems response to allergens, over a period of time and constant bombardment of allergen to the immune system a person can display symptoms of an allergy.
In the case of pets you have one of a few choices to make. Keep the pet out of the stepdaughters' bedroom, bath the pet once a week, or have the pet live outside. If these do not help the only solution is to give up the pet.
There are medicines out there to help, but everytime the child has an allergic reaction the symptoms can get worse.

Answer 3

Because our cells are contantly dying and regenerating, our bodies are always in a state of change. I've heard that within 7 years, we are a completely different set of cells and tissues than we were 7 years ago. Because of this, our allergies are always changing. We can develop and shed allergies all the time. Susceptibility to allergies also has to do with digestive health, stress levels, spinal alignment, environment, etc. A change in any of these can bring on allergy sensitivity.
Also, not all dog dander is alike. Dogs have different types of coats and different types of dander. Some dog breeds shed more that others. In addition to this, each individal dog's dander is different. Though she may have an immunity to your dog's particular dander, she may react to another dog's dander. Or if there has been a change in your dog's diet, activity level, or health recently, this could cause his dander to be slightly different from before and setting off allergic reactions that weren't triggered before.

Answer 4

Many people become allergic to more things as they age. So she may not have been allergic to them for 5 years but suddenly that changes. Food allergies work the same way.

Answer 5

a person can develop an allergy to anything at any time.
I have terrible allergies as well, some years I handle symptoms very well, other years it's just awful.
Sometimes my eyes water and my nose runs, this year, however my allergies were very mild.
I think it's really the "air" / the atmosphere!!
She should try an OTC allergy medicine and if that doesn't help, take her to the doctor and ask for Claritin or Zyrtec -- jusr remember to ask for a generic!
Generic medications are just as effective as brand names and they are a much more cost effective means of treating a problem!

Answer 6

Allergies can develop suddenly, without warning. And that seems to have happened with your stepdaughter.

Fortunately, there are treatments she can use, either from the doctor or perhaps OTC such as Benadryl. And if the dogs and house are kept very clean, your stepdaughter should be able to continue enjoying the dogs.

Good luck!

Answer 7

because allergies are not always there when you first come into contact, they can occurr over time.. both of mine did, i ate strawberries every summer until i was 6, when i developed an allergic reaction... your body works in mysterious ways

Answer 8

some things like an allergy can take a while to show sypmtoms.

Answer 9

sometimes it takes a while.