Cat of a Different Color Kinder to Allergies
- Joan Stephenson, PhD
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
- KEYWORDS:
- asthma
- chronic obstructive lung disease
- drug reaction, adverse
- influenza vaccine
- lung diseases, obstructive
- zanamivir
Cat lovers who happen to be allergic to felines may be better able to tolerate the object of their affections if it has a light coat color, researchers from Long Island College Hospital, Brooklyn, NY, reported at the annual conference of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.
Because of their coat color, dark and handsome Mickey and Seamus (left) are likely to arouse more allergy symptoms in their owners than light-colored kittens Alexa and Natasha (right) [Photo credits: Jon Van (l) and Dan Goldsmith, MD (r)].
The study involved more than 300 patients with allergic rhinitis: 145 with dark-colored cats, 96 with light-colored cats, and 80 with no cats. Those with dark-colored felines were two to four times more likely to report severe or moderate symptoms than those who had light-colored cats or no cats at all—a difference that was statistically significant.
However, patients with light-colored kitties were …
