People with Asthma caused by allergies to a pet may have to choose between their furry friend or better health.

Removing the pet from the home is more effective than even optimal drug therapy in reducing wheezing and airway constriction,  researchers from Fujinomiya City General Hospital reported on Monday.

Although it may seem obvious that pet removal would improve the symptoms of pet-allergic asthmatics, very few studies have actually looked at the effect of doing so in terms of patients’ airway function, according to the report in the medical journal Chest.

To investigate, Dr. Toshihiro Shirai, from Fujinomiya City General Hospital in Japan, and colleagues assessed airway function in 20 asthmatic pet owners. Half of them gave their pets away and half did not.

A year later, the group that gave up their pets had a much greater reduction in the tendency of their airways to constrict and cause difficulty breathing than did the group that kept the pets.

In addition, none of the pet-removal participants required inhaled steroid therapy, while 9 of 10 patients in the pet-keeping group did.

Given the small size of the study and other limitations, the current findings “must be considered preliminary,” the team notes. They say more stringent studies “are needed for convincing evidence.”

SOURCE: Chest, May 2005.