Human allergy to dogs.

swbaggies

Hi everyone. This a question that may help or confirm my
paranoia. Firstly, I am allergic to dogs and have been since a kid, I haven’t let
this stop me having dogs, I have had Boxers all my adult life and Arrow is my
first BT and he is now 13 months. I have always combated my allergies with antihistamines
which I would take when I had a bad attack and about once or twice a week in
general. My symptoms are the usual sore and crying eyes, coughing and sneezing
and with the once/twice a week tablets vie been fine.

Arrow was on a raw diet and I had no problems with my allergy,
I can do everything a normal owner does and you can see from my previous posts
that I have no contact issues with him and we are very affectionate together
and HE does not suffer at all. However, he had bad skin and lumps so I changed
the diet for him and he now has no issues with skin, spots so it was clearly an
allergy to the food and he is on dry food now with supplements. The problem is
my allergy has got worse so can a dog’s diet affect MY allergy it is far worse, I know the
reasons I’m allergic, dander etc. and he is shedding less on new diet and
furminator so the only significant change in the equation is his diet.

Djammy

Theoretically everything is possible. But on the other hand it would all just be guessing. The food change and your worsening allergy symptoms could be connected somehow - or just coincidence.

It is even a possibility that not the dog itself, but the food is causing your allergic reaction, because you handle it every day.

I am also a little allergic, but able to handle it with antihistamines. Our last Bull Terrier had to deal with massive skin issues and allergies, fungi etc. Without knowing back then I made a lot of mistakes with her nutrition, which did not support her immune system very well. That - I know now - probably contributed to her problems.

And became part of mine, because I had strong allergic reactions every time I came near her and stuck my nose into her fur. My reactions always peaked when she was most sick.

It's actually her example that I have learned so much from.

Djamila now is healthy and on a raw/ kibble diet and supplements. No issues so far. And miraculously my allergy is close to not present. From that experience, I would assume that nutrition indeed plays a role. But primarily, in the opposite direction unlike in your case: If the nutrition is bad, fungi tend to overgrow on the dog's skin. That probably affects the skin ph and leads to more shedding, but more importantly more dandruff. The dandruff, as far as I know is mainly what we are reacting to.

Maybe either your vet or your allergologist has more background ready on this.