If you're allergic to cats or dogs, life can be pretty tough.

如果你對貓或狗過敏，那人生可能會很難過

Sometimes all you wanna do is snuggle up with a puppy, then suddenly you're sneezing and

有時候，你明明只是想和小狗窩在一起，但你卻突然開始打噴嚏、

wheezing.

感到呼吸困難

An allergic reaction comes from your immune system overreacting to things like pet dander,

過敏是因為你的免疫系統對某些東西過度反應，例如寵物的皮屑、

the microscopic flakes of dead skin and hair they shed, or their saliva.

從他們身上掉落的死皮碎屑、毛髮或是他們的口水

But pets can get allergies, too.

但其實寵物也會過敏

And while it's rare, dogs and cats can even be allergic to each other, or to us.

雖然不常見，不過狗和貓也有可能對彼此過敏，甚至也會對我們過敏

More specifically, to human dander.

更準確地說，對人的皮屑過敏

No matter who's sneezing at whom, the basic science behind allergies in pets is the same

不管是誰在對誰打噴嚏，寵物過敏的原理其實和人類是

as in people.

一樣的

Basically, the immune system confuses a harmless allergen, like cat dander, for a dangerous

基本上，免疫系統會把無害的過敏原，像是貓的皮屑，誤認成有害的入侵者

invader and attacks.

並攻擊它們

It releases antibodies, which are proteins that detect and bind to the allergen, then

免疫系統會產生抗體，這些蛋白質會找出並阻擋過敏原

sends a signal to other immune cells to release inflammatory molecules like histamine.

接下來發送訊號給免疫細胞，讓免疫細胞釋放發炎物質，例如組織胺

Inflammation irritates the sensitive tissues that line the insides of your nose, respiratory

發炎同時也會刺激鼻腔裡的敏感組織、呼吸系統

system, eyes, and skin.

雙眼以及皮膚

And that makes you all sneezy and itchy and eye-watery.

最後造成打噴嚏、發癢和流眼淚等症狀

Just like us, our pets can be allergic to a variety of things, like pollen, grasses,

就像我們一樣，寵物也可能會對各種不同的東西過敏，例如花粉、草

mold, and food.

黴菌和食物

One study from 2014 looked at about a hundred dogs that were having an allergic reaction

一項 2014 年的研究觀察了一百隻過敏的狗對某些過敏物的反應

to something, and found that about half of them were sensitive to house dust and dust

最後發現有大約一半的狗對家裡的灰塵以及塵螨很敏感

mites, little critters that eat dead skin.

塵螨是一種吃死皮的動物

But that's not because dust is mostly made of human skin.

但對灰塵敏感並不是因為灰塵大部分是由人的皮膚組成的

If you've heard that before, it's a common misconception.

或許你曾經聽過這個說法，但這是個常見的迷思

House dust is mostly made of dirt that comes in through open doors or windows, or on the

家裡的灰塵有很大一部分是從門外或是窗外帶進來的，除此之外

bottom of your shoes.

也有部分是附著在鞋底被帶進來的

But you do shed some dead skin, and some experts think there are rare instances of pets that

但人還是會掉一些死皮的，有些專家認為會對人類皮屑過敏的寵物

are specifically allergic to human dander.

其實相當的稀少

When a dog is allergic to something, whether it's you or dust mites, they often develop

要是狗對某樣東西過敏，不管是對你或是對塵螨，他們通常都會患上

a condition called atopic dermatitis, or itchy, red, swollen skin.

異位性皮膚炎，或是會有皮膚發癢、紅腫等症狀

Cats can also get itchy skin or can lose patches of fur.

貓也可能會皮膚發癢或是掉毛

Their allergies are also likely to cause inflammation in their respiratory tracts, which makes them

貓的過敏也可能會造成他們的呼吸道發炎，導致貓咪

sneeze and cough.

打噴嚏或是咳嗽

It's common enough that feline asthma affects about 1% of the cat population.

通常大概會有百分之一的貓患上貓氣喘

Luckily, vets are great at diagnosing and treating allergies, so there's no need to

幸好，獸醫師在診斷及治療過敏上很有一套，所以飼主不需要因此

say goodbye to your furry friend.

送走家裡的毛小孩

To test for allergies, vets can do blood tests that measure the amount of antibodies in the

要測試是否有過敏時，獸醫會採取血液檢查來測量血液裡的抗體數量

blood, or a skin test, which is more sensitive and has quicker results.

或是採取皮膚測試，因為皮膚較敏感，而且可以更快得知檢查結果

For the skin test, the vet scrapes or injects a small amount of allergen on or in the skin

進行皮膚測試時，獸醫會在寵物的皮膚抹上少量過敏原或是將過敏原注射到皮膚裡

to see if it causes a reaction.

以觀察是否有出現過敏反應

If it does, they can treat the allergy with shots or oral medication.

如果有的話，獸醫就會以注射或是口服治療的方式治療過敏

Just like in humans, these treatments expose animals to small amounts of allergen, slowly

和人類一樣，治療過程中會讓動物接觸少量過敏原

increasing the concentration over time so their immune systems can build up a tolerance

並漸漸增加過敏原的濃度，如此一來動物的免疫系統就會產生耐受性

and stop freaking out.

讓動物不會再抓狂了

So if you notice your pet breaking out in a rash or sneezing after you cuddle them,

如果你發現你抱家裡過寵物後，他們就開始起疹子或是打噴嚏

they may be allergic to you… but it's most likely some other allergen, like pollen

有可能是因為他們對你過敏，不過更有可能是因為其他原因造成過敏的，像是花粉

or dust.

或灰塵

Because even for our furry friends, allergies can be a little… rough.

就算是對毛小孩來說，過敏也是會很不舒服的

If you have allergies that prevent you from cuddling up to a cute dog or cat, you might

如果過敏讓你不能抱抱貓咪或是狗狗，你可能會

distract yourself instead by cuddling up to a good book.

轉而去找本書來看

But what if you're short on time, or want to know if a book is really up your alley

但如果你太忙了，又或者是你想先確定某本書是不是合你的胃口再開始看

before you dive in?

那該怎麼辦？

Blinkist is a new app that lets you cram the world's bestselling nonfiction books into

有個新的 app 叫 Blinkist，它可以幫你把世界上最暢銷的非小說類書籍存進你的腦袋

your brain in 15 minutes.

而且只需要花 15 分鐘

It basically gives you a superpower by framing a book's key concepts so that you get the

Blinkist 會把一本書的核心概念摘要出來給你

gist of all those books you just don't have time to read.

讓你可以吸收那些你沒時間看的書的精華

Blinkist titles, or Blinks, are presented in both audio and text format, so you can

Blinkist 也稱為 Blinks，提供聽力以及閱讀兩種模式

listen on your walk to work, or read them on the ride home, using apps for iOS and Android

所以你可以在上班的路上聽，也可以在坐車回家的時候看，透過 iOS、Android 系統的 app

devices, or their website.

又或是使用他們的網站

Over 2,200 books are already on Blinkist, and 40 new titles are added each month.

目前有超過 2200 本書可供閱覽，Blinkist 每個月也會固定增加 40 本新書

I've been thinking about reading The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, and checking it out

我正在考慮要不要看《海拉細胞的不死傳奇》，先上 Blinkist

on Blinkist first was a great way to vet the story.

看看這本書或許能夠幫我決定要不要看它

Blinkist is offering an exclusive deal for SciShow viewers, so to support this channel

Blinkist 有提供給 SciShow 的觀眾特別的優惠，只要支持我們的頻道

and receive 20% off a new subscription, click the link in the description.

就可以享有 8 折訂閱優惠，詳情請點擊下方的連結

Anyone can try out Blinkist for free, but we think you'll find the full subscription

任何人都能免費試用 Blinkist，但我們相信你們會發現訂閱 Blinkist

totally worth it.

絕對是值得的