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Pharmacists and healthcare professionals urged to tackle escalating problem of pet allergies
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Added: 12/10/2003
Type: Summary
Viewed: 1092 time(s)
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Pharmacists and healthcare professionals urged to tackle escalating problem of pet allergies
Speaking at Chemex in London, Mary Lloyd of Bio-Life International, called on pharmacists and healthcare professionals to wake up to the huge increase in the incidence of pet allergies throughout Britain. She urged the profession to take a serious look at safer preventative measures for this problem, rather than treating the symptoms with strong drugs that might have harmful side effects.
With over 80 million cats and dogs in the US, plus 60 million small animals, there is no question that the US lives up to its reputation as a nation of animal lovers. Sadly, statistics reveal that around 15% of adults and over 50% of children are allergic to pets. It is estimated that these allergies affect 70 million people in 25 million households in the US alone and this number is set to double over the next 10 years in response to the increased propensity of younger generations to have immune deficiencies.
There are also disturbing research findings which suggest that allergy sufferers who take drugs to help them cope with their condition could be putting themselves at risk of other diseases such as osteoporosis, cataracts and glaucoma. Perhaps, even more disturbing is that a number of scientific papers are now suggesting a link between immune deficiency syndromes, immuno-suppressants and cancer so the rise in both allergies and cancer may not be unrelated.
In the 1920’s the incidence of both allergy and cancer in patients was confined to just 2% of the population. Today the figure is near 30% of the population as a whole with the prediction that between 40% and 60% of the younger generation are likely to be affected in the future.
The claims come from Mary Lloyd of Bio-Life International. Lloyd, a scientist who has developed a natural treatment to control pet allergies by wiping the animal with a cationic surfactant based lotion, says that the prolonged use of immuno-suppressants, for the relief of allergies, such as antihistamines, or inhaled and topical corticosteroids can have damaging side effects , including adrenal suppression and growth retardation in children, or cataracts, glaucoma and skin thinning among the elderly.
Speaking to pharmacists and nursing professionals Lloyd said, “Obviously patients, with serious allergic reactions, should have supplies of antihistamines and corticosteroids for emergencies, but for the sake of their long term health, prevention is better than a cure. There is also a massive cost in providing these expensive drugs. It is estimated that the cost to the NHS in the UK of treating pet-related allergies alone is in excess of Ł480 million per year (or about $770 million USD)“. This figure is nearly 10 times this amount in the US.
Lloyd represents Bio-Life International , a healthcare company that has developed a range of natural products designed to treat the cause, not the symptoms of allergies in humans resulting from contact with animals. Their product Petal CleanseTM is wiped onto the animal to remove the allergens from their coats that cause the reaction in children and adults alike who come into contact with domestic pets and other small animals.
In her presentation Lloyd also called upon pharmacists to really get behind the campaign to raise awareness among sufferers of the causes of these allergies, and the ways in which they can be alleviated. The experience of her own company suggests that there is massive ignorance among pet owners of the source of their unpleasant allergic reaction.
Bio-Life has set up its own Pet Allergy Helpline (01492 596660) which currently receives some 5000 calls a year from pet owners suffering from allergies. Typical symptoms are asthma, eczema, runny nose, streaming eyes and hives. Anyone who thinks they have an allergic reaction to their pet can ring the Helpline for advice and details of their nearest stockist of Petal CleanseTM.
For further information in the UK and Europe, contact the Pet Allergy Helpline, +44-01608 686626 or visit the web-site at www.Bio-Life.co.uk .
For further information in the US and Americas, contact the Allergic2Pets Team at +1-877-703-6336 or visit the web-site at http://www.Allergic2Pets.com .
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