The best part about visiting the farm without the boyfriend is that I get to cuddle with the cats. I have Nanner, a petite tortie, on my lap right now and Beezle, the black and white pigeon-eating monster, is making bizarre whistling noises a few feet away. I generally have to watch my cat exposure carefully, lest I convey cat dander to any of my cat-allergic friends.
Since the boyfriend actually like cats, I can conceivably talk him into allergy shots and then we could have a cat. How well do allergy shots really work? We learned about them briefly in immunology: the repeated introduction of small amounts of allergen gradually switch the immune response from TH2 to TH1. The TH2 path involves immunoglobulin E, which triggers histamine release and the well-known effects of allergy, ex. constricted airways, runny nose, swelling, etc. The TH1 pathway, on the other hand, has less drastic effects on the body, since the production of immunoglobulin switches from IgE to IgG. IgG does not trigger histamine release. In addition, T-cells that react to the specific antigen eventually become anergic.
Now if only all autoimmune diseases were so easy to understand, we'd be set.
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