Just a few days ago I met a couple at my clinic who were both veterinary surgeons and had brought their son to be seen by me. The parents were highly intelligent and erudite. The son had mild asthma. As is usual, I asked the parents if there was any family history of allergy. The father said “I’m allergic to dogs”. I was quite surprised and said “Really!! You are a vet and you are allergic to dogs!
How do you manage?” He said “I’ve noticed that I sneeze and cough badly only if the dog that has been brought to my clinic has a fungal skin infection” It was an eye opener for me too. What is it about dogs with fungal skin infection that they can cause allergy to this person while other dogs cannot. Fungal skin infection means more shedding of skin. And that’s what causes allergy. Dog allergy is due to dog dander. Dander is flakes of dead shed skin. It is wrong to think that it is the dog’s…
