Distinguishing viruses responsible for influenza-like illness

Miss Manners: Is Roaming Neighbor Cat Ruining Allergy Suffers' Outdoor Furniture?

DEAR MISS MANNERS: I recently bought a fairly expensive set of deck furniture (sofa and chairs), which I use frequently. The problem is that there is always cat hair all over the furniture.

I don't own a cat because I am severely allergic and can't have cat hair anywhere close to me without taking allergy meds (which only lessen the symptoms, not eliminate them). My children are just as allergic.

I've seen my neighbors' white cat in my (fully fenced) yard every day, which is fine, since I've never had to touch him, and he generally stays on the outskirts. That's the only cat I've seen in my yard.

Against my better judgment, I tried to clean the furniture with a roller brush, but the cat hair will not come off. I can't use my vacuum, because then it would have cat hair inside it and I'd have to get rid of it.

I might have to throw away my furniture at this rate. How responsible are my neighbors for this problem? And if they are responsible, how do I bring this up without offending them?

I just want to use my deck. I'm getting hives as I write this.

GENTLE READER: So many people use allergies as an excuse to avoid animals (and food) they do not like that Miss Manners thinks you would jump at the chance to use them legitimately:

"I wonder if there's a way to keep Snowball out of our yard. Unfortunately, my family is severely allergic, and she got onto our furniture. We're having real trouble getting the hair out, if you have any tips."

At this point, decent neighbors would take pains to control their pet and offer to clean -- or replace -- your furniture.

Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.Missmanners.Com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.Com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.

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A Vaccine For Cat Allergies: Here Is The Latest

Guess what, cats? There may soon be a vaccine for you. But it's for a problem that humans have.... [+] (Photo: Getty Images)

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Hey, cats. You know how about 10% of the humans in the U.S. Start coughing, wheezing, sneezing, and getting rashes and stuffy noses around you? Well, it's not them. It's you. They are allergic to you.

This problem has motivated HypoPet AG, a Swiss-based company, to develop the HypoCat vaccine for that. But the vaccine isn't for them. It's for you.

Most often, the problem isn't exactly you. It's actually Fel d 1. No, Fel d 1 is not something on World of Warcraft. That would be a Fel Mint Green paint vial. And it is not a musical act. That would be Adele or Bell Biv DeVoe. Fel d 1 is a protein in your saliva and skin secretions that frequently generates the allergic reaction seen in humans.

About 10 % of humans have cat allergies. (Photo: Getty Images)

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What makes matters worse is that you have this problem licked. Maybe it's the lack of hair gel and a brush, but you seem to lick yourself quite often. This licking then spreads Fel d 1 all over your fur. Then, when you shed your fur, you effectively spread this protein everywhere you go. That's what can make it so difficult for some humans to be around you. 

I know, I know, you may not want humans around you. After all, they may dress you up like a sailor or watch you while you pee. But many humans do like being around you, even if you may be plotting their demise, as I have detailed previously for Forbes.

That's why humans are trying to develop a vaccine for cat allergies. Did you read that publication in the recent issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology?  No, not the one about the long-term safety and pharmacodynamics of mepolizumab in children with severe asthma with an eosinophilic phenotype. I know how much you cats like pharmacodynamics. Rather, I'm referring to the publication about a set of studies that included over fifty of your comrades (or catrades), mice, human blood, and the HypoCat vaccine.

In the studies, your catrades received three doses of HypoCat over nine weeks with some getting a booster shot six months later. The vaccinations involved injections into your catrades' hind legs. The injections may have involved some meowches but otherwise were fairly well-tolerated. No strange side effects. No Cat Daddy Dances.

After delivering the vaccinations, the researchers subsequently detected increased levels of antibodies to Fel d 1 in your catrades' blood. They (the researchers and not the cats) also found that these antibodies seemed to neutralize the activity of Fel d 1 when they were mixed together in the laboratory. Moreover, your catrades who got the vaccine tended to have lower levels of Fel d 1 in their saliva and tears. Finally, when samples from your catrades who got the vaccine were mixed with blood from humans with cat allergies, there was less allergy-related chemical reactions than usual.

In a statement, Dr. Gary Jennings, CEO of HypoPet AG, said, "We are very pleased to publish this data which shows our HypoCat vaccine is able to produce high levels of antibodies in cats and that these antibodies can bind and neutralize the Fel d 1 allergen produced by the animals." He added, "We are pressing ahead with registration studies and discussions with European and U.S regulators with the hope of bringing this much-needed product to the market."

Of note, Jennings, to my knowledge, is a human and not a cat.

Don't worry you may not need Fel d 1. (Photo: Getty Images)

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Of course, this latest set of studies don't completely prove that humans won't continue to sneeze, cough, wheeze, and develop rashes around you if you get vaccinated. We'll have to see what happens when humans with documented cat allergies are exposed to your catrades who have gotten the vaccine. But these findings are promising.

If you are worried about what neutralizing your Fel d 1 protein may do to you, it isn't clear what purposes Fel d 1 may serve you. The hope is that Fel d 1 is like bad body odor or the Macarena. It exists. It bothers a number of humans. But getting rid of it doesn't bother you. Unless, of course, you feel that cat allergies are the one thing preventing humans from dressing you up as a sailor.  

I Have Chronic Allergies — And The Cure Is Almost As Bad As The Symptoms

I've had allergies ever since I can remember. The tip of the iceberg was when I first interacted with cats. I was six and had hives all over afterward. I needed to be medicated, and started taking allergy medicine regularly soon after that.

But when I reached middle school, things started to get really bad. I had asthma and didn't know it, along with seasonal allergies. When allergy season would roll around, it would feel hard to breathe. I also did gymnastics, and I would be wheezing and struggling to breathe all the time. I'd also be sneezing and have itchy eyes all the time. It wasn't anything to the degree it is now, but it was a warning sign of what was to come.

Getting a Diagnosis

I saw an allergist when I was 22, and discovered via a skin prick test that I'm allergic to a long, long list of things: every type of tree and grass you can imagine, dust mites, dogs, and cats.

So last year, I started getting allergy injections. These are a type of immunotherapy that contains a tiny amount of what you're allergic to with the goal of building up immunity to those allergens to stop or reduce allergy attacks. But my allergies are so bad that I even struggle with the allergy injections.

A New Challenge

On my immunotherapy days, I get a shot in each arm. About two hours after I leave my doctor's office, my face turns red and starts swelling, and it can be hard to breathe. My eyes also get swollen and burn, and I feel hot.

I recently switched allergists, so the makeup of my shots have changed as well and I seem to be having better reactions. But there have been so many instances where my reaction is intense enough that I have to get a shot with epinephrine, which helps tamp down on the body's release of histamine, the chemical that causes allergy symptoms. It's happened often enough that my healthcare team has now made it a requirement that whenever I get a shot, I have epinephrine on me.

I still get anxious when I get a shot, because I never know if it will ruin my entire day. I've definitely asked myself several times if the benefits of getting these shots are actually worth how awful I feel afterward. But then I also know that I'll feel lousy all the time if I don't get the shots. It's a tricky situation.

In addition to the immunotherapy, I have a whole "allergy drawer" at home to help with my symptoms. It contains the inhaler I use to help control my asthma, (which doesn't always work), special drops for when my eyes get swollen after injections, as well as a nasal spray to prevent post-nasal drip and the sore throats that can come with it.

It also has the prescription allergy medication I'm supposed to take — but that makes me feel incredibly drowsy. So I have to decide if I want to have allergy symptoms or fall asleep and miss my day.

Everything is prescription strength. My allergies are so severe that a lot of the over-the-counter stuff doesn't work for me.

Holding onto Hope

Even though the allergy shot reactions are terrible, I have seen my allergy symptoms get better. I haven't been able to test things around cats or dogs, but I feel better when I'm outside. The only time I have symptoms now is when I get a shot.

I get my injections once a week now; I used to get them twice a week. They should be even more spaced out at this point, but I had to get set back in the shot schedule because of how strong my reactions still are.

The immunotherapy is supposed to be a two-year process, with the shot frequency tapering off to nothing, although it's probably going to take me around three or 3.5 years, and I'm only about a year into it. It's helpful that I'm starting to feel better with my actual allergies, and that motivates me to keep on getting the shots. But I also know that I have to always be prepared so that I'm not freaking out about if I'm going to have a bad reaction.

It's likely that I'll always deal with allergies and allergic reactions on some level. But I know that things have already gotten better — and I'm told they should keep on improving.

— As told to Korin Miller

Korin Miller is a writer specializing in general wellness, health, and lifestyle trends. Her work has appeared in Women's Health, Self, Health, Forbes, and more

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