New Hope For Pet Allergy Sufferers
Allergies are the fifth leading chronic disease in the United States among all ages, and the third most common chronic disease among children under 18. Around 40 million people in the United States suffer from nasal allergies. Allergy to cats is twice is likely as allergy to dogs, and symptoms are an allergic reaction to the tiny flakes of skin that animals shed – not fur.
Allergen Block products, sold under the Chloraseptic™ brand for adults and the Little Remedies™ brand for children, are drug-free topical gels which are applied outside around the nostrils to block both indoor and outdoor allergens in the air on contact, thereby helping to prevent nasal allergy symptoms. Each product contains approximately 150 applications and are sold for around $14.99 at drug stores and supermarkets.
The inventor of the Allergen Block approach is Ashok Wahi, M.S., P.E. Wahi is an engineer who was motivated by his desire to help his daughter, who suffered from cat allergies. Wahi found support from allergy specialist, Paul Ratner, M.D., who later became advisor to the project, providing input on product development and subsequent testing. The project goal was to find a way to help manage exposure to allergens in the air when complete avoidance was unrealistic, rather than to manage nasal allergy symptoms once they had already developed. Wahi notes, "Necessity is the mother of invention. Because of my daughter’s allergies, I wanted to develop a product that would help enhance my daughter’s-and all allergy sufferers’-quality of life."
