Insect Allergies?

Many people who suffer from animal allergies fill that gap in their lives by buying animals such as reptiles for pets. However, this may not fix the problem as well as you might think. Researchers have discovered that your reptile’s food may be just as dangerous as a dog or a cat. One incident occurred where a child began suffering severe attacks of shortness of breath after the child’s family had purchased a bearded dragon. But, it wasn’t the pet that was causing the reaction. It was it’s food.

The grasshoppers used to feed the pet were what caused the intense allergic reaction in the child. Little has been done to study grasshoppers as a possible allergen. However, people have had allergic reactions to fish food, which contains grasshoppers. Researchers suggest that if you still want to have reptiles as pets, you should keep them out of heavily populated areas such as living rooms where undigested food could cause allergic reactions. They also advise people to keep the pet food outside of their homes. Inhaling these aggressive allergens could result in long-term symptoms such as asthma and skin rashes.

Do you keep reptiles as pets? Have you experienced any allergic reactions that you couldn’t explain?