As a person who’s prone to dander, it may become frustrating in searching for a permanent solution. Dander makes your skin sore, develop spots, and feel irritated. This can be very disturbing especially when your pet is the friendly type that likes to cuddle all the time.
Whenever your pet produces dander on its skin, it falls onto surfaces such as your couches and bed. You get to inhale it and get allergic reactions without knowing.
With the influx of hundreds of anti-dander pet shampoos in the market promising great results, a lot of reviewers have reported little to no change on skin irritation.
Effectiveness of Anti-Dander Shampoos
Anti-dander shampoos don’t remove all allergens completely from your pet but they reduce the amount produced significantly compared to the standard pet shampoos.
A pet that is regularly bathed using these products doesn’t produce excessive dander compared to another that gets a bath after a longer period. Getting an anti-dander shampoo is not a bad idea but you should keep in mind that it shall not make your pet dander-free.
This means that you will be exposed to less dander and therefore reduce the chances of having hypersensitive reactions on your skin.
One of the reasons why they can’t neutralize all the protein allergens is because some of them are in their saliva and urine. This means that even when you bath your pet right now and it licks itself later, dander shall be present on its skin.
What Do Anti-Dander Shampoos Contain?
More to that, a majority of the ingredients used to manufacture these shampoos are sulfur and Salicylic acid which reduces skin itchiness in pets hence reducing dander production on their skin.
However, after some time, the dander starts to increase and that’s why we recommend frequent bathing of your pet.
Tips on Reducing Dander and other Allergens on Your Pet
Apart from using anti-dander shampoos to keep pet allergens at bay, there are other measures that you can take to reduce your exposure. These tips will go a long way to help you stay comfortable with your fur friend.
1. Maintaining Good Personal and Pet Hygiene Practices
After holding and cuddling your pet, wash your hands and all body parts that have come into contact with your pet thoroughly to remove the dander hence easing irritation. Use soap and a disinfectant to ensure that all the dirt has been washed away.
If you don’t brush your pet regularly, it’s subject to having more dander. To avoid this, ensure that you brush it frequently outside the house. This removes the loose hair which contains the dander and other allergens.
Giving your pet a good bath with an animal shampoo ensures that your pet’s skin is kept healthy and clean. This reduces the formation of dander by removing the dead skin cells.
2. Improving Your Pet’s Overall Health and Diet
A sickly pet is prone to producing a lot more dander than a healthy one. Taking your sick pets for medical check-ups is a big step in reducing the amount of dander produced on their skin. Also, obese pets tend to release more dander compared to lean pets.
A pet that is fed with feeds that are high quality and nutritious can reduce the amount of dander produced on its skin. Therefore, you should feed your pet with foods rich in omega 3 and 6 fatty acids that have special oils making the skin of your pet super healthy.
3. Keeping Your Environment Dander Free
If you’re highly sensitive to dander, we advise that you create ‘safe zones’ where your pet isn’t allowed to enter such as in your bedroom. This shall reduce your contact with dander significantly for a few hours every day.
Wiping all surfaces that your pet walks and seats on is a good way to keep your contact with dander at bay. You should use a clean cloth and a spray cleaner for cleaner surfaces.
Some pets have a lot less fur than others. If you’re allergic to dander you may have to opt to purchase a pet that has less fur or hair on its body.
Final Thought
Even though anti-dander shampoos don’t remove allergens from your pet permanently, they help in reducing the amount. A pet that is not clean tends to scratch its skin more frequently which increases the amount of dander you come into contact with within the house.
Before deciding on how best to deal with dander and other pet allergens, we advise that you seek an opinion from your veterinary for professional tips. Lastly, if you are highly sensitive, you may have to get anti-allergy medication from your physician.
