Does anyone know if allergies can make MS worse?

I'm not exactly talking about seasonal allergies, but constant exposure to allergens like animal dander.

I am seriously considering getting a dog. (an adorable little chocolate colored poodle puppy)

I may be allergic to dogs tho. I never thought I was before, but when I had my last dog (a very LARGE Bouvier des Flandres named TinyMonsters) I had a lot of problems with food allergies and the usual seasonal allergies. The food allergies seemed to improve or disappear when Tiny died.

About a week after Tiny died, we tried to adopt a Yorkie Terrier. Took the poor little guy back within 24hrs when I had a major allergy attack (worst one I'd had) My lips swelled up, eyes swelled up, felt like I wasnt able to breathe well. (that was fun, driving 40 miles with the puppy, at night, at the beginning of a blizzard to return the puppy to the breeder)

I never thought that my allergy problem could have been caused by the dog. I just thought I had weird food allergies. I've wondered since then if TinyMonsters had some sort of weird compounding effect on me. His allergens + mild food sensitivies = worse food sensitivies and seasonal allergies.

That puppy had been bathed with a scented shampoo. I dont know if it was the shampoo or the dog that I reacted to. (there was a chance that I could have been so depressed about TinyMonsters' death that I somehow worked myself up to something that looked like an allergy attack)

It's been two years now, and I've been auditioning dogs lately, because my mother really wants to get a new dog. I found the poodle puppy today and he was really begging me to buy him. (cant buy him without my dad's permission, since it's my parents house)

My only worry is allergies. I couldnt stay around this dog for very long because the pet store owner spritzed the dog with "puppy perfume" to make him smell good. (I have scent allergies that have never improved) and I had to leave.

I would really like to have a new dog after being dogless for 2yrs. My big hesitation about getting one is the weirdness and uncertainty of the MS...and the possibility of an allergy.

Does anyone know if being around a possible allergen constantly can exacerbate MS?

Also, does anyone think that it would be rude of me to call the pet store, explain to them about the scent allergy, and ask them if they'd scrub the little guy up before I come down to visit and for them to not spritz him with the stinky stuff before I get there???

I never did understand why some people and pet stores put perfume on a dog. It's a dog! They dont like to be stinked up with stuff that smells good. They want to roll around in poo and mud and anything that smells disgusting to humans.

Not that I want any dog I'm potentially going to buy smelling like poo (been there done that, I had a 150 pound dog that had...issues with gaseous emissions) I just want the dog to smell like a dog, not like the perfume department at Von Maur.

My dad and I talked about this puppy tonight. My dad is not willing to buy the dog if I have an allergy to it. He will if I'm not allergic and if I can find out if allergies will not cause me problems with the MS. We'd be getting the puppy to be a companion for my mom (trying to keep her mind active, plus she misses having a dog pretty terribly) but this dog will potentially end up being my dog, since I'm the one experienced with dog training, and of course, I'll be the one going to puppy school with him.


I am a teeny bit reluctant to get the dog because I remember how much work TinyMonsters was. He was a 100+ pound toddler with fur and teeth. Getting into trouble, and driving me batty, but I adored him. Best dog I ever had. I actually think my major grief over his death is what might have triggered my first two MS exacerbations (2 weeks after he died, my right thigh went numb, and a few months after that I got optic neuritis)

I'm calling my neuro in the morning to ask him if he knows if allergies can exacerbate MS symptoms, and then I'm calling my dog's former vet to see what he thinks of the dogs at that pet store (he's the vet that examines all their dogs. If he thinks the store is reputable and the dogs they sell are generally healthy, I might have a new puppy soon)

If I can get my answers answered, and get that puppy, his name is going to be Chee Chako 3.0 My dad had a wolf/dog hybrid that he got from the backwoods of Alaska in the 60s that he named Chee Chako, and the poodle that I had before TinyMonsters was also named Chee Chako. I refuse to name any other potential dog TinyMonsters. There was only one Tiny and I dont think I'll ever find another dog worthy of that name.

It's either name the puppy Chako, or I'll be naming it Indiana Jones. ("We named THE DOG Indiana!" Henry Jones Sr: Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade)