Allergy - Introducing the Flea!

In cats and dogs, fleas are perhaps the most common external parasite problem encountered by pet owners. They have been around for a very long time and know a thing or two about species survival so getting rid of a flea problem is never easy. Keep the following in mind when tackling fleas on your cat or dog. They are an environmental problem, not a pet problem. Yes, you will see the fleas on your pet, but those you see are a very small proportion of the total flea population in your pets environment(approx 1% visible to you vs 99% hidden in the environment!). The implication of this is that you cannot hope to beat a flea problem by only treating the pet - you have to include the environment in your plans. Fleas need blood meals to survive and breed. They are also photophobic (don't like bright sunlight). So that patch of sand in the middle of your garden 20m from the dogs kennel is unlikely to be the source of your flea problem.Fleas like warm, humid areas out of direct sunlight. Dogs and cats are the preferred host for the normal pet flea (C.felis). If you have pets but find fleas jumping onto you for a blood meal then you have a huge infestation on your hands.The exception to this observation is if you move into somewhere that has not been occupied for a while then newly hatched fleas will jump on anything to get a blood meal. One should not stop the "anti-flea" drive over winter. As it gets cooler, the flea lifecycle takes longer to complete and the presence of fleas may be less obvious. However, the lifecycle rarely stops altogether, even in very cold climates because then the pets are often inside the house with central heating. Hmm, lets see...warm,constant humidity, out of direct sunlight - yes, ideal conditions for flea survival. You might not actually see any real live fleas on your pet (this is particularly true of cats because they groom so frequently). But your pet may still have a flea problem. If your dog or cat is scratching a lot and has some hair loss, especially just above the tail on the lower back, then look for little black and/or white grains in the coat. These are flea faeces (black) and flea eggs (white) and their presence means that there are fleas on your pet - even if you can't see any!It doesn't automatically follow however that getting rid of the fleas will sort out the hair loss problem. Alas, it is often more complicated than that but reducing the flea load will always be beneficial to a scratching pet. Fleas, signs of fleas, or a skin reaction to fleas may be present on a single e.g. dog in your household, while your other dogs look fine. You cannot only treat the affected animal to get rid of the fleas. You must treat all the dogs (and cats) in the household AND the environment or you are going to lose the battle. Very young animals can literally be sucked (almost) dry of blood if they have a very heavy flea burden. This can obviously be life threatening on its own, and is often made worse by a concurrent worm infestation. What do you use to treat for fleas? By now I hope you realise there is more to this than simply buying a flea collar!There are a wide range of products available for treating both pets and the environment. Remember though that the formulations for dogs are usually different to those for cats - either in terms of the active ingredient or the dosage. Make sure you consult your Veterinarian to establish what is safe for your pet - cats can be particularly susceptible to some of the chemicals used to control fleas. Whatever you use to treat the environment, it is best to start with a thorough mechanical cleaning before you apply any sort of chemical. Vacuuming, using only a nozzle to ensure good suction into carpet pile and cracks between floor boards, will remove a significant number of the non mobile flea eggs and pupae present in the environment. Outside, remove moist and rotting vegetation, cut the grass short and try to expose damp, shady areas to as much sunlight as possible. Natural flea repellants are available but, as with the other anti-flea formulations, don't expect them to work miracles all by themselves. fleas have been around a long time - several million years in fact - so they know how to survive as a species. Your best efforts will be needed to keep them under control! Keith Perrett is a qualified Veterinarian http://www.pet-health-for-humans.com/pet-health-questions.html Article Source:http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Keith_Perrett Allergy - Top Tips For Clean Indoor Air Indoor air can make you miserable if it is not kept clean and healthy. Clean indoor air is essential for a happy you and a happy home. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reported that Indoor air can contain up to 5 times as much pollution as outdoor air. Allergies and asthma are on the rise so cleaning indoor air in your home and work place is more important than ever as this can greatly reduce symptoms according to Dr. John Winder, an allergist for the Nationwide Asthma Screening Program of the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. These are some clean indoor air top tips: When you dust your house with a cloth you a often spreading dust around. You vacuum based tools to dust with instead. Make sure you don't avoid difficult to reach areas like space under beds, drapes and moldings. A great tip for dusting small objects is to cover the nozzle of your vacuum cleaner with a pair of tights or fine cloth. Put the vacuum on a low suction level and run the small objects over the front of the vacuum nozzle. This sucks all the dust off without the object disappearing in to the vacuum! Note: Be sure to use a scrap material to cover the vacuum nozzle as it can get ruined in the process. Wrap pillows and mattresses in allergen-protective covers and regularly vacuum them. When you wash your linens make sure the water is hot (130 degrees or above) to ensure dust mites and their eggs are killed off properly. Deep clean your carpets & floor surfaces once every season at least. To really thoroughly achieve clean indoor air get an air purifier to remove all the airborne pollutants. Clean indoor air is also about humidity.. maintain a cool & dry home. Keep humidity to 50% or less. You can use a humidifier to aid in this but make sure you frequently empty the unit to prevent the growth of mold in the tank. Try to avoid letting your pets sleep in the bedrooms. Keep stuffed animals and busy shelves to a minimum as these are real dust-catcher locations. If you have lots of stuffed toys vacuum them frequently.. but carefully of course!! Follow this great advice and you will have super clean indoor air in no time.