Whether you are a dog lover or cat enthusiast - there is good news. Emerging evidence suggests that having a dog or cat around could slash your chances of developing allergies.

Children in particular seem to benefit from this phenomenon, with a leading study from study from 2002 investigating the effect among 474 healthy babies from birth to around seven years old. Interestingly, the US team found that children raised with two or more indoor pets were half as likely to develop common allergies.

Scientists also noticed an impressive 45% drop in 'hyper-reactive' symptoms amongst the little ones exposed to multiple dogs or cats. At the time, lead author Dr Dennis Ownby, ex-chief of the Medical College of Georgia Section of Allergy and Immunology, said: "We simply started looking at our data to see if exposure to dogs and cats really increases the risk and the data didn't look the way it was supposed to; as a matter of fact, it was very strongly the opposite of what we expected to find.

"Allergists have been trained for generations that dogs and cats in the house were bad because they increased the risk of you becoming allergic to them; we know that before you become allergic to something, you have to be repeatedly exposed to it."

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Fast forward to 2023, and another study echoed these findings, pinpointing that children with indoor canines were 'significantly less likely' to experience milk, nut and egg allergies.

Meanwhile, it appeared that others who grew up in households with cats saw a lower likelihood of developing wheat, soybean, and egg allergies. This is according to a detailed scouring of the health histories of more than 65,000 Japanese children, with the data obtained from parental questionnaires.

The team wrote at the time: "This study showed that the association between pet exposure during foetal development or early infancy and the incidence risk of food allergies until the age of three years differs depending on the combination of two factors: pet species and allergen type.

"Dog exposure might reduce the incidence risks of egg, milk, and nut allergies; cat exposure might reduce the risks of egg, wheat, and soybean allergies; hamster exposure might increase the risk of nut allergy.

"However, this study was a questionnaire-based survey, and we did not perform an objective assessment. Further studies using oral food challenges are required to more accurately assess the incident of food allergies. Nevertheless, the findings of this study shall aid in the design of future studies."

Does your child have an allergy?

The NHS explains that allergic reactions usually take place within minutes of exposure to an allergen. However, on other occasions, they can happen more gradually.

Listed below are common allergy symptoms:

• Blocked or runny nose
• Nausea or being sick
• Red, itchy rash
• Watery, red or itchy eyes
• Stomach pain, diarrhoea or constipation
• Coughing and wheezing
• Sneezing
• Worsened asthma or eczema symptoms

In regards to children specifically, the health authority also cautions: "Most allergic reactions are mild, but occasionally a severe reaction called anaphylaxis or anaphylactic shock can occur. This can cause swelling of the lips and face, and breathing problems.

"Anaphylaxis is a medical emergency and needs urgent treatment. Do not be tempted to experiment by cutting out a major food, such as milk, because this could lead to your child not getting the nutrients they need.

"Talk to your health visitor or GP, who may refer you to a registered dietitian."