Two ways to reduce exposure to animal allergens at school

The fact constitute classes with students who do not have a pet or impose wearing specific clothing in the grounds of a school can significantly reduce the amount of allergens in the atmosphere of the classes if you believe the results of a Swedish study published in the "Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology."

Allergenic fur, which attach to the clothes of their owners, can be found in the atmosphere of the class and cause asthma in allergic children who have many cat owners or dog among their peers , remember Anne-Sophie Karisson, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, and colleagues.

This team of Swedish researchers has measured for two consecutive years, for periods of six weeks, the air rate of major cat allergen, Fel d 1, in six different classes. Students in two of these classes wore specific clothing inside the school, the classes were no cat owner, while the other three classes "control", no specific prevention measure was applied .

The analyzes revealed that the amount of measured allergen showed four to six times higher in classes "control". The questionnaires which young participants were asked during each test phase indicated that wearing particular clothes inside the school seemed more acceptable than the eviction of pet owners of certain classes.

The authors, who are pleased to have for the first time demonstrated the effectiveness of preventive measures to reduce the exposure of students allergic to the major cat allergen, however, emphasize that the clinical efficacy of such actions remains to be determined .