She says it felt like her body was repelling her eye.
If you’ve got a pet at home, you’ll know it’s more than just a pet: it’s family! Actress and cat-owner Alexandra Sedlak (@itsalexandrasedlak) tells us how her cat sneezed in her eyes, causing an allergic reaction.
In her two-minute video on TikTok, Alexandra Sedlak talks about the moment when something normal turned into an allergic nightmare.
She also talks about how she fell asleep with her cat face to face a few years ago at Christmas.
She says that the cat sneezed straight into her eyes, which caused an allergic reaction and made one eye really puffy.
“Without warning, he sneezed straight into my eye,” she says. “Here’s how quickly it got infected. Seconds after he sneezed in my eye… and closed it, I immediately knew something was wrong.”
He says he felt like he was going to be sick because he was in a lot of pain, was infected and felt like he had been “kicked”. He took Benadryl to fight the infection.
“We still hug, but I wear glasses,” Sedlak adds in the caption.
Pets and allergies
WebMD says that around 10% of Americans are allergic to pets, and cats are among the most common causes. Cat allergies are twice as common as dog allergies. (Via)
This is because the body of allergy sufferers is sensitive to one or more substances present in cat saliva, urine and fur. These allergens stick to the animal’s skin and fur and spread easily. They can also be airborne and stay in the air.
If you’re allergic to cat allergens, you might experience symptoms when you breathe them in (through direct or indirect contact with a cat), according to thermofisher.com. (Via)
What are people saying about it?
People were pretty worried and upset that a cat sneeze could cause this health problem.
It’s more of an allergy than an infection. My cats have sneezed in my face a few times. It’s gross, but it’s never caused this problem,” commented one viewer.
“If you’re allergic, you’re allergic to their spit. So it makes sense,” someone else said.
Ms. Sedlak confirmed that she was indeed allergic.
Other viewers said they were worried their pets might sneeze and have the same allergic reaction.
“My dog has sneezed in my face or in my eyes a couple of times, but nothing ever happened to me,” she said.
“My cat has sneezed in my face a couple of times, as have dogs. But this time it was like a bullet straight into my eye. I couldn’t even close my eyes,” said the TikToker.